Aaron wants past steroid users exposed, banned from Hall
Henry Aaron, here with Chipper Jones, says there's no room in Cooperstown for cheaters.
The only man recognized as baseball’s true home run king — without the benefit of a laboratory detour — is finally speaking out. No more hanging back by Henry Aaron. No more letting others do the talking.
“My feeling has always been the same – the game of baseball has no place for cheaters,” Aaron said Sunday morning. “There’s no place in the Hall of Fame for people who cheat.”
He was speaking by phone from Cooperstown, where he was attending the Hall of Fame induction of Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice. Aaron has been to several of these ceremonies. But he probably hasn’t created this kind of news since his own enshrinement 27 years ago.
It started Saturday when he told a small group of reporters that he would be in favor of players from the steroid era going into the Hall with asterisks by their name, indicating their statistics might have been artificially enhanced. One excerpt: “Somewhere on the plaque or behind his name, say, ‘Hey, 73 home runs, da da da da, he was accused of …”
It was by far the strongest comments from Aaron I could remember. But those words were tame compared to what he said early Sunday morning when I phoned him. Aaron said his comments about asterisks pertained only to players suspected of using performance-enhancing drugs. But what of players who actually are proven to have taken drugs?
“That’s a different story,” he said. “If it’s proven that you took any kind of drug or substance, then you shouldn’t be there [in the Hall]. Like I said, the game has no place for cheaters.”
And then this: Aaron wants the list of 104 players who tested positive in baseball’s confidential drug tests in 2003 exposed. So far, two names have leaked out in media reports: Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez.
“If there’s another 102 players on the list, that would be my position – bring it all to light now and get it over with,” he said. “The game has come through things before. It needs to come through this. If there are a hundred and some names on the list, let’s just get them out and get this over with so we can get on with the game.”
For closure?
“That’s it,” he said. “We need to bring closure to this.”
Aaron is right. It’s understandable that many have grown weary of steroids stories. But baseball never truly can move on until we understand the extent of what happened in the past.
That said, Aaron’s candidness seemed stunning. He largely had maintained a low profile on the subject, particularly during Barry Bonds’ chase of his career home run record. When I mentioned that to him, he laughed.
“Well, I’ve always felt this way,” he said. “There was just so much being said about it, I figured I would just kind of step back and listen. I didn’t want to open up any more doors that hadn’t already been opened. But when somebody asked me a question [Saturday] about, ‘Well, how do we handle this if a player from the steroid era is voted in,’ I just answered it. But I haven’t been losing any sleep at night.”
Asterisks won’t be necessary if suspected cheaters aren’t voted in. Hall of Fame voters have made their feelings clear on Mark McGwire. He has been on the ballot for three years and hasn’t received more than 23 percent of the vote (75 is needed).
Aaron hit 755 home runs. He did it the right way. He knows the difference between real and fantasy.
The 1998 battle between McGwire (70 homers) and Sosa (66)? Pure fantasy.
Bonds’ 73 homers in 2001 – and the 51.6 he averaged for five seasons between the ages of 36 and 40? Please.
But Aaron knows baseball can’t just whitewash statistics. It’s not feasible.
“There’s no way to just erase 73 home runs,” he said. “But I know some of those numbers being put up were impossible. The best thing is to just say, ‘They played in this era.’”
We’ve always known the truth. But it means more coming from Aaron.
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97 comments Add your comment
Coach (2010 or Bust)
July 26th, 2009
10:39 pm
Barry Bonds may be the HR leader but Hank Aaron will always be the HR Champion.
Chauncery Peirpoint O'Brien, Sportswriter
July 26th, 2009
10:39 pm
I sat on a story once and I regret it more than you know. I saw a baseball player put on some fishnet stockings after a game when he thought everyone in the clubhouse was gone. He headed downtown and I followed. What I saw would take paint off a wall. What I saw would peel an onion and put the peel back on. What I saw I failed to report and now it is too late. Now, it is much too late because that player has family and I could never tell the wife and boys about the night daddy dressed up like a woman and belted out show tunes like Ethel Merman.
Jeff, you probably know the player. Did you know the story? I shoulda reported it, I coulda been a contender.
Coach (2010 or Bust)
July 26th, 2009
10:50 pm
Speaking of this Hall of Fame induction day……….Did you know that Jim Rice was almost a Brave?
It’s true.
Back when Brad Komminsk was considered a phenom and couldn’t miss, the Red Sox were willing to Trade Jim Rice straight up for Brad Komminsk back in 1983.
junebaby
July 26th, 2009
11:09 pm
webmaster…, a player that’s considered a can’t miss prospect, i.e. BRAD KOMMINSK, JEFF FRANCOUER, and others!!! how long should a team wait for those players to blossom? 2 years, 3 yrs, 4??? in other words how soon should you trade this player for prospects?? would this be good for the team and the player?? maybe he’d develop elsewhere rather than waste his best years struggling with team a. at the same time the club wouldn’t lose the return on an investment. maybe on another team the player could turn out to be the next home run king or multiple cy young winner. would this be a period, while they’re struggling, that a player would look for an off-field solution(peds)????
Greg Leathers
July 26th, 2009
11:13 pm
What makes everyone think that Hank Aaron did not use steroids himself? They were around in the 70s and perfectly legal. It could have helped him recover faster, especially as his career trailed off. Wouldn’t that be sad if Aaron were lambasting current players and he was using steroids himself?
Blog Troll
July 26th, 2009
11:21 pm
I use steroids, that’s why I’m still blogging. SEEEEEEEE !
Jeff Schultz
July 27th, 2009
12:06 am
Greg — nothing like just throwing something against the wall, huh?
mamaj
July 27th, 2009
12:29 am
I always thought that Hank was a classy guy,until BB continued to get close to breaking his record. Now I think he’s just a bunch of sour grapes.
Drew
July 27th, 2009
1:12 am
So Jeff, amphetamines were ok in baseball? Racism was ok in baseball? Why don’t you want the players from those eras to have their stats kicked out and be removed from the Hall of Fame? Why only steroids? Because steroids is easy to oversimplify and write a piece that any hack with a computer could? I guess you win.
Aaron Boone | All Days Long
July 27th, 2009
2:33 am
[...] Aaron wants past steroid users exposed, banned from Hall | Jeff … By Jeff Schultz A…, why not discuss the points i raised? i'm sure if i was bashing barry bonds or sammy sosa, you wouldn't hesitate to leap right in! the rocket, big mc, andy pettit, jason giambi(and his brother), brady anderson, brett boone, … Jeff Schultz – http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/ [...]
Coach (2010 or Bust)
July 27th, 2009
2:50 am
Amphetamines were allowed in ML baseball until 2006 as they were an open secret. Virtually everyone took them during the previous four or five decades of baseball. Greenies (amphetamines) have been around since the 1940’s. The owners and coaches winked and looked the other way.
In other words, the playing field was level until steroids showed up. Then the HR barrage started with Canseco in Oakland back in 1986 and the after effects didn’t stop until Bonds doped his way into the record books in 2007.
The funny thing is, if you ask the players, the ban on amphetamines has had more of an impact on them than the ban on steroids.
Home runs are down, stolen bases and small ball are back. The game looks like baseball again and I could not be any happier about it, except for our Braves. Who just don’t have a clue when it comes to the whole stolen base, small ball thing.
nobody
July 27th, 2009
3:33 am
All this bonds bashing…let me give you some reality first. Baseball is messed up and has been messed up for a while. The stats from pre 94 seem to suggest that the ball was juiced that year. And regarding steroids, the players werent cheating! Why? Because major league baseball didnt make it illegal because bud selig wanted them to do it. Im not saying that its right but I am saying that we should be angry at the owners not at the players for risking their health for greatness. About bonds in particular, even before he took steroids he was hall of fame caliber. And now? Now hes still good enough to be in the majors but the league is black listing him.
Its ludicrous to say that every suspected player should have an asterick by his name. Who decides whos suspected? Hank Aaron?
This is all a joke. The only reporter to have any balls in this matter was Jose Canseco. Before he spoke out many people knew of the problem in baseball but no one wanted to speak of it.
Not only should barry bonds be in the hall of fame but they should let him play again instead of black list him for some PR crap…and they need to fire Bud Selig.
Coach (2010 or Bust)
July 27th, 2009
5:44 am
Um, mr. nobody, steroids have been illegal in ML baseball since 1991.
Jose Canseco isn’t a reporter, he is the typhoid mary of steroids.
Barry Bonds will in all probability…..never be voted into Cooperstown. Not just because of his cheating either, he was and is despised almost universally by writers and journalist.
Bud Selig should have been fired years ago but the same thing can be said about Bobby Cox.
And last but not least, steroids can’t be kept out of Cooperstown because they are already in baseball’s Hall of Fame.
Aaron has changed my stance; now I'm curious about your's | Jeff Schultz
July 27th, 2009
6:31 am
[...] an asterisk, I never expected he would take his feelings to the next level. In our conversation, Aaron said he believed that any player who was proven to have taken performance-enhancing drugs shou…He said there was “no room for cheaters.” He said all 104 Major League players who [...]
Mr. A
July 27th, 2009
8:32 am
june baby…. when you make a point then I will respond to it until then
Jeff Schultz
July 27th, 2009
9:24 am
Drew – What do amphetamines have to do with racism? .. As for the any hack with a computer argument, I think you’ve illustrated that.
Nobody – I’ve never seen Canseco referred to as a “reporter” before, but you are right that him speaking out went a long way toward reform, as much as people want to admit it or not. Of course, he only spoke out because he was out of the game, banned, needed the money and is a sleazebag. But that’s another story.
Coach – as has been stated previously, steroids have always been illegal to purchase without a prescription, whether baseball tested for it or not.
John Davis
July 27th, 2009
10:09 am
WOw, that dude just looks cool!
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Paul Donovan
July 27th, 2009
10:12 am
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KJ
July 27th, 2009
10:29 am
Aaron played in a far from “drug free” era. Not only were steroids available but players in his era are well known to have taken speed and other substances so why should they get a bye? The whole Hall should have a fat asterisk outside the entrance. Given that alcohol is not really a performance enhancer maybe the early players can be in the “red nose” section.
Drew
July 27th, 2009
10:44 am
Jeff, at what point did I say amphetamines have anything to do with racism? Since you’re clearly too unintelligent to understand, let me spell it out for you a little better. Every era in baseball has been tainted. Before Jackie Robinson, minorities were not allowed to play in the major leagues, yet I see very few calls to put asterisk next to the numbers of Cobb, Ruth, Gehrig, etc. For the better part part of the second half of the twentieth century, there was rampant amphetamine use of questionable legality. Yet I see no calls for asterisks for players under the influence of amphetamines, e.g. Willie Mays. What about when Babe Ruth injected himself with the extract of sheep testicles to attempt to get stronger (the precursor to steroids)? No asterisks there.
Steroids, on the other hand, gets calls for asterisks left and right. In no shape or form do I condone the use of steroids. However, in my view, the steroids era is a tainted era, just like virtually every era in baseball history is tainted in some fashion. We have no idea how many players were juicing. All we can do is pull out a handful of players who we found out; there will be plenty who will get away with juicing. If there’s going to be an asterisk, put on every single player from the steroids era. Note that this entire era was under suspicion for steroid use and we have no real way of knowing who was on and who wasn’t. Meanwhile, put an asterisk on every player from before 1947 that notes they benefited from not having to play against minorities. Include asterisks for the amphetamines era, etc.
Of course, I expect you to ignore my larger points, as you have done twice so far. Continue to set up your straw men, Jeff.
wheby
July 27th, 2009
11:06 am
let’s just mark their records thusly:
ASS (Accused Steroid Stmulant, user) That ought to do it……
Jeff Schultz
July 27th, 2009
11:17 am
Paul: Utilize both of your brain cells and listen up: One more race-baiting comment like the one I deleted and you’re banned.
Jeff Schultz
July 27th, 2009
11:26 am
Drew — no, racism’s not OK. Obviously Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, et. al. should’ve been allowed in. Unfortunately, we’ll never know the extent of how baseball records would be different. But we do know how records would be different without PEDs. We know how Barry Bonds’ numbers spiked in his later years after he juiced. You can go back through history in any sport and find a different game — smaller stadiums, heavier uniforms, athletes that weren’t conditioned as well. They used wooden racquets in tennis and leather helmets in football and hockey skates that were slower and sticks that were made of wood, not graphite or composites. Where does it end. But there is a line and steroids is it. It gave players in the same as their competitors a distinct advantage over their competitors. You want to disagree, fine. I’m OK with that.
Nate
July 27th, 2009
12:22 pm
“The only man recognized as baseball’s true home run king — without the benefit of a laboratory detour”
Except for the also banned greenies he used and admitted to using in his book, right? We just like to erase that with a kind of Etch-A-Sketch we keep in our brain!
Also, Greg has a valid point. Steroid testing in baseball didn’t begin until what, early this decade? Steroids have been pharmaceutically available since 1931. We know that they were rampant in the NFL in the 1970s. Are we naive enough to think that nobody EVER used steroids until the “steroid era” began in baseball?
Drew
July 27th, 2009
12:46 pm
Jeff, let me begin by apologizing for my hack comment and any other slight towards you. Those were uncalled for.
I appreciate this response and respect your opinion. I just can’t see it as such a cut and dry or black and white issue. Yes, steroids can help a player become better. To what extent, we’ll never know. Maybe a juiced bonds hit a number of home runs off juiced pitchers. Should that negate the fact that his juice helped him hit the home run? I don’t really know. Yes his numbers spiked in the later years, but wouldn’t they have still been really good – even hall worthy – without the juice? I just have trouble drawing this clear line to which you refer. It’s a very complex issue and I don’t think the answer is as simple as banning suspected users.
Ryan
July 27th, 2009
12:59 pm
How can you even think to compare stats from players in this era to players from 30 years ago. Back in the day not only did they play baseball but they held down some sort of 9-5 job because they didn’t make 45 million dollars a year. Aaron did all his stats with probably half the training any player gets today. Its a real testiment to how good Aaron really was. Everything in these days is better, better equipment, better training, Honestly you can’t go easy on anyone who takes steroids. It should be you are caught taking steroids, BANNED for 5 years. Caught again? Banned for life. Maybe that will make some of those people who make more in one night than I do in 35 years of working maybe think twice about cheating. Seriously, playing baseball as career. You should be one of the happiest people in the world because your job is much easier than many others on the planet.
Could Hank Aaron Help Pete Rose Into The Hall Of Fame? | The Urban Daily
July 27th, 2009
4:16 pm
[...] the one that is possibly the most directly affected—is Hank Aaron’s. He was widely quoted this weekend for saying that anyone who has been proven to use steroids should be banned from the Hall of Fame. [...]
Renee Langley
July 27th, 2009
4:28 pm
I have always admired Hank Aaron for his baseball accomplishments and for the way he handles things in general. I am so glad that he finally came out and spoke about his feelings concerning steroids, baseball Hall of Famers. No player who used steroids should be in the HOF,whether or not there is an asterisk by their name or not. They should be banned from baseball entirely.
Hank Aaron’s Convoluted Logic Could Put Pete Rose In The Hall Of Fame Mlb | myMLB - Angels
July 28th, 2009
12:01 am
[...] the one that is possibly the most directly affected—is Hank Aaron’s. He was widely quoted this weekend for saying that anyone who has been proven to use steroids should be banned from the Hall of Fame. [...]
Hank Aaron’s Convoluted Logic Could Put Pete Rose In The Hall Of Fame [Mlb] | AthletePoint
July 28th, 2009
2:33 am
[...] the one that is possibly the most directly affected—is Hank Aaron’s. He was widely quoted this weekend for saying that anyone who has been proven to use steroids should be banned from the Hall of Fame. [...]
Keith
July 28th, 2009
2:54 am
To compare eras is pointless and impossible to do. Have you forgotten that the stadiums of the Ruth Gehrig era where actually much, much, much larger than today. For example, the Boston Braves stadium measures 403 in the corners and 550 at center. The Polo Grounds were short in the corners at as low as 277 in left and 256 in right all the way to as long as 505 in center. These were the norm in their day. Also the balls were of much lower quality, the bats not designed as well, and the mounds were 15 inches high compared to 10 inches today. Babe Ruth actually batted with a 50 oz. bat. Show me one player who could bat successfully today with such equipment. None. And the other thing that no one seems to realize is that the players of the Ruth and Gehrig era actually played more games than today. True, official season was less games but the players would stop and play pick up games with kids in the towns between games. So for every 1 season game, 2 or 3 pickup games were also played. We cannot compare the eras but what the point is, is the illegality of the action. Rose is banned for gambling, on himself, that he would WIN!!!! There doesn’t seem to be much problem with that, but if for one minute we believe that a black guy who used steroids ILLEGALLY should be banned, then we are racist bigots who are obviously too stupid to make any decisions about baseball and we should just shut it and take what we get. And it isn’t just Bonds. Bonds was just an a-hole who John Q. Public loved to hate. But also all the other users should be banned as well. I DON’T CARE IF IT WASN’T TESTED, IT’S ILLEGAL. Catch the last word there, i-l-l-e-g-a-l. For that reason they should be banned just as Rose, and the others that I have lost the name for at 2 am, who are banned for gambling. If one is banned for illegal activities, then all are banned for illegal activities that would affect their play. I am sure I could say more but it is late and I must sleep.
Hank Aaron’s Convoluted Logic Could Put Pete Rose In The Hall Of Fame Mlb | myMLB - Yankees
July 28th, 2009
3:11 am
[...] the one that is possibly the most directly affected—is Hank Aaron’s. He was widely quoted this weekend for saying that anyone who has been proven to use steroids should be banned from the Hall of Fame. [...]
Hank, it's a start: Ramirez, Ortiz exposed | Jeff Schultz
July 30th, 2009
3:10 pm
[...] greatest clean home run hitter in baseball history said last week he wanted the entire list of 104 players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 exposed. I don’t know how much Henry Aaron’s [...]
Ginn
July 31st, 2009
9:24 am
Nothing Barry Bonds did or anything the other drug users do compares in any way to what old style players like Aaron have accomplished.I challenge any of them like AFraud, “Roid Bonds” or Manny lazyass Ramirez to bat without a helmet, no shinguards,and pitchers who would seriously throw right at you to get any of the records . Players complain and charge the mound when they have on a suit of armor. Back in the forties when my Dad played there was a whole lot of that, and yet they literally had no protection on their head, what’s up with that? It is a complete joke to glorify Barry Bonds, all he has done is make a mockery of Baseball, and most people have played right into his hands, so sad. People like him are ruining the game. Most of them (Jose Canseco, Manny Ramirez, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa) couldn’t have even played at the Major league level much less have all those records. Cheaters are cheaters, and they are all gutless. When can anyone remember in the last ten years of his career Barry stretching a single into a double, or Manny making a great catch against the wall? And some fans have called them the greatest players! Come on, what book are you reading, and what kind of altered glasses are you looking through. Bonds not running out ground balls, Manny jumping over his hat in the outfield is just the most lousy kind of destruction of the best game in the world. When are we going to get enough? “Old style” is the only way to play this game and these people need to get out and let the real players bring the game back.
Ginn
July 31st, 2009
9:31 am
My typing is bad, what I meant to say is that when my Dad played pro-ball in the forties, there was much less of charging the mound and fighting because a batter was thrown at. It was a legitimate part of the game, intimidation, asserting authority and taking a part of the plate from hitters. Now days I don’t think umpires or most batters even know when they’ve been thrown at. Someone like Ripkin or Brett would know for sure, but a bunch would not. Don’t get me started on Umpires. Now it happens quite frequently and yet they have protection. It just makes even the player nobody ever heard of a hero, just for the fact that they had the guts to get into the box with a bare head. I dare any player, steroids or not, cheater or not to do that.
Ginn
July 31st, 2009
9:40 am
Ryan,
Thanks for saying that. My Dad’s first pro contract in 1939 was for 89.00 a month and even then that was low pay. He couldn’t live on that so eventually had to desert his childhood dream of playing ball and make a legitimate living. And we listen to all the complainng and crying about players being accused of cheating like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. Waaa, Waa, Waa. I don’t feel sorry for any of the cheaters. They make such astronomical paychecks, they should be charged with crimes for what they make. Most of them milk the game for all they can possibly get, every year that they play, which is ruining it. I wonder, if Baseball goes broke in the near future, if any of them will be blamed or if they would even be sorry that they caused the game to close down? I have my doubts.
Ginn
July 31st, 2009
9:45 am
Keith,
You make a great point. Ball fields were much bigger in those days, so how and why some fans compare “Roid” and “AFraud” to real big name players is beyond me. I challenge any of those losers to play back then.
Ginn
July 31st, 2009
10:10 am
Something that really disturbs me is the Yankees not using Yankee stadium anymore. It’s a sad sign of the times. All the childhood dreams of playing at Yankee stadium are gone. Where is the destruction going to end? And steroids I’m afraid is the final blow. I’m worried that the game will not recover. I blame Bud Selig, (along with countless others) a typical “Spoiled boy” who claims to love the game and calls it “The best game God ever made,” but then continues to hide things and be sympathetic to cheaters. He is one of the biggest hypocrites we have ever had in there. His attitudes and dishonesty are a great problem for the game today. We have a cheater at the helm, and he’s steering the ship right into the rocks. I think he cares about money and nothing else. I don’t believe his lies. Do you hear me, Bud, “You haven’t fooled me.” You have protected the cheaters all along and have not protected or defended the integrity of the game that the fans sincerely love.
Ginn
July 31st, 2009
10:16 am
I want to know who all the cheaters are , I want all the names and I want them now, BUD SELIG!!! Let the fans know, the people who pay the players the big salaries deserve to know so they can boo them for the rest of their lives. All of them should be banned from the game for life, but I know that’s not going to happen. It won’t be long and all of it will be swept under the rug, as usual. THANKS, BUD YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB!!!
Ginn
July 31st, 2009
10:27 am
Bugkiller,
You are so right, Bud Selig is the worst. He has done more to ruin the game than almost anyone else, besides allowing the players to continue to ask for as much money as they can possibly get down to nickel, dime and penny. My husband and I figured it out one time, when Roger clemens played for the Astros. He made something like 10,000 dollars a pitch or somewhere close to that. He must think people are so stupid that they’ll believe just anything, like him not being on steroids, even though he showed a violent temper for no reason with Mike Piazza. I love that Piazza stared him down before he got into the box, I only wish he had hit the longest home run in history that day.In my mind Mike made a point that day. He has guts. Cheaters deserve that and a lot more.They should all be banned for ruining the game. I don’t think that anyone will forgive or forget the damage he has done to the game of Baseball. ( Roger or Bud) Clemens deserves to be in the phony, losers Hall of Fame. Too bad they cannot really make one like that, and too bad they can’t put Bud in there too.
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Risdon's Football Meterology For Week 10 : Eye Opener News
November 16th, 2009
5:38 pm
[...] it' s allowed to be tainted by acorn? Have you been following acorn in the news lately? . . . Aaron wants past steroid users exposed, banned from Hall | Jeff … reid adair. July 26th, 2009 12:11 pm. Thanks for the post, jeff. I am glad to see hank aaron [...]
McGwire comes clean -- are we supposed to care now? | Jeff Schultz
January 11th, 2010
4:34 pm
[...] July, Aaron said for the first time that he wanted all drug cheaters exposed and banned from the Hall of F…. Good for him. McGwire hasn’t come close to being voted into the Hall since getting onto the [...]
Bill Grant
September 8th, 2010
7:13 am
Facts to conside:
Steroids have been around since the 40s
Increased Usage actually began in the 60s
Aarons home run output spiked upwards in the 60s
look at pictures of Aaron in the 50s and 60s. Thicker/more muscular
How do we know any ball player is totally clean. Can’t prove a negative