How the Baseball Hall of Fame can solve its 'character clause' issue
There won't be any new plaques in Cooperstown this year after no player met the 75 percent voting threshold required for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
There are several players on the ballot whose resumes would normally make them shoe-ins, but in many cases — like those of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, and Manny Ramirez — allegations or proof of performance enhancing drug use have stymied their path to baseball immortality. And then there's Curt Schilling, who came closer than anyone to getting in Tuesday. Schilling isn't tied to steroids, but his controversial public persona and political stances have complicated his case (he's asking to be removed from the ballot next year, though it's unclear if the request can or will be granted.)
Those may certainly be valid reasons not to vote for someone, but the voters, who are members of Baseball Writers' Association of America, still face criticism for their choices, and the current focus on the Hall of Fame's "character clause" seems to have sapped the joy from the process, to the point that 14 voters simply submitted blank ballots.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
So, ESPN's Buster Olney has an idea — instead of making writers the gatekeepers, forcing them alone to make complex, weighty, and personal judgments on ethics, the Hall of Fame itself could apply the character clause and declare which players warrant a place in its halls regardless of their on-field accomplishments. Tim O'Donnell
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
'The House under GOP rule has become a hostile workplace'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
The Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal is about more than bad bets
In The Spotlight The firestorm surrounding one of baseball's biggest stars threatens to upend a generational legacy and professional sports at large
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Iowa's Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA scoring record
speed read College basketball star Caitlin Clark set the new record in Iowa's defeat of Ohio State
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Eight-year-old Brit Bodhana Sivanandan makes chess history
Speed Read Sivanandan has been described as a 'phenomenon' by chess masters
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Watch Simone Biles win her record 8th US gymnastics championship
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Spain beats England 1-0 to win its first Women's World Cup
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
US knocked out of Women's World Cup in stunning exit
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Katie Ledecky surpasses Michael Phelps for most world championship titles
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Marketa Vondrousova becomes first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Former Mets player receives annual $1.1M payout despite retiring in 2001
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published