Joe Morgan: ‘Steroids don’t belong’ in Hall, urges voters to deny them

Hall of Fame second baseman and Hall vice chairman Joe Morgan sent a lengthy letter to Baseball Writers’ Association of America members who’ll vote on the upcoming ballot encouraging them not to elect a player with a suspect history of steroid abuse.

The letter comes one day after the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot released its 33-player ballot, which included Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, who both have been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs. Although Morgan never mentions Bonds or Clemens, it’s clear that is who he’s warning against voting in this upcoming election.

Morgan, a two-time MVP second baseman who was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1990, wrote the Hall of Fame is no place for “cheaters,” who used PEDs in the past.

“We hope the day never comes when known steroid users are voted into the Hall of Fame,” Morgan wrote. “They cheated. Steroid users don’t belong here.”

Morgan also pointed out that section 5 of the Rules for Election states, “Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.” But Morgan wrote that if a player did steroids, he lacks integrity.

“[A steroid user] lacks sportsmanship; his character is flawed; and, whatever contribution he made to his team is now dwarfed by his selfishness,” Morgan wrote.

Morgan continued writing that those who used steroids already “tainted an era [and] now risks tainting the Hall of Fame too.”

“The Hall of Fame has always had its share of colorful characters, some of whom broke or bent society’s rules in their era,” Morgan wrote. “By today’s standards, some might not have gotten in. Times change and society improves. What once was accepted no longer is.

“But steroid users don’t belong here. What they did shouldn’t be accepted. Times shouldn’t change for the worse.”

Read the full letter below:

View this document on ScribdBallots are due by Dec. 31 and results will be announced Jan. 24. Ballots of individual voters will be made public for the first time, but not until Jan. 31.

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