Monday, January 03, 2011

Alas, The Difficult Travails Of The Elite

I've had lifetime access to the VIP room at the Spearmint Rhino for years. But ever since breast implants have become the norm, it has become a real chore to hang out in the VIP room. I long for the days before cosmetic surgery.

Similarly, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal is deeply pained by having to make his Baseball Hall of Fame votes these days. Oh, the horror, the horror.

I used to love voting for the Hall of Fame. Now I hate it.

Don’t get me wrong — the vote is a tremendous honor, a privilege earned by serving 10 years in the Baseball Writers Association of America.

While a writer’s job is to cover news, not make it, the BBWAA remains the right group to select Hall of Famers. No one buys or coerces our votes. We generally get it right. I am not about to relinquish my ballot out of frustration.

But I am indeed frustrated now that players from the Steroid Era are becoming prominent candidates.

The Hall of Fame vote never was simple. Distinguishing between players from different generations never was apples-to-apples. But at least before steroids, the comparisons were baseball comparisons.

Now it’s, “Who did what? For how long? To what extent?” No one knows the answers. It’s likely that no one ever will. But if you believe, as I do, that the questions matter, you can’t help but be torn.

I really hope Rosenthal can overcome these obstacles and cast a vote that others would give their left nut to make. Steel yourself, Kenny. Please don't be torn.

As for me, I'll sulk my way back to the VIP room.

4 comments:

Neeebs (The Original) said...

Someone stole my VIP card to Crazyhorse Too in Las Vegas.

But I've not been there in the implant era.

*showing his age*

Mr. LA Sports Czar said...

I bet listening to Warrant's "Cherry Pie" brings back memories, right Sax?

rbnlaw said...

What's he all upset about (Palmiero, I know)? He'll get to cast his vote for Jeter eventually.

I actually had a VIP pass to the SR at one point (a friend used to broker land deals for them). Never used it.

Pistol Pete Reiser said...

Power Station "Get it on, Bang a Gong", ftw.

Instant 80s-stiffie.