Hi everyone! My name's Farah Eltohamy and I am the podcast editor here at the
State Press we have another opposing
views podcast and this time it's a
sports one it's actually our first
sports podcast of the semester but also
our last podcast of the semester so haha
anyway Kellen Moore and Alex Coil from
the opinion desk we'll be debating over
whether or not Barry Bonds should be
allowed into the Hall of Fame
the format is the same as the last time
each speaker will have two and a half
minutes to make their opening statements
then there's going to be the 5 minute
debate period where it's kind of just
where they can both go back and forth
out each other and then the 30-second
closing statements and I will be here to
moderate it and make sure that they
don't go over their time yes so Barry
Bonds is very first year and I first
want to talk about pretty much know when
he did sir it's it's very clear where
his stats kind of completely went off
the radar and when he was reported to
gain a lot of weight and turned to a
much better hitter around the 1999
season if you take a look at his stats
before that season he's the only player
in MLB history to have a 400 400 career
which is 40 supported stolen bases and
400 home runs he is the only player
besides his dad to have five thirty
thirty seasons he's a three-time MVP
eight time All Star a time Gold Glove
and seven times Silver Slugger
those steps alone if he had just said
you know after 1998 I'm done I'm done
baseball he would have been a whole a
family probably first felt it I mean if
you look at Chipper Jones
he was a first spell Hall Famer and he
only had one MVP and if you take a look
at the worst and I don't know how you
personally feel about the worst set but
he is third left fielders before in 1999
so if you ended there
he's only behind I think Ted Williams
and Rickey Henderson and that's it I
also want to point out that like yes he
did resort to using peds that's
unfortunate
obviously I don't support people using
steroids but rules are only effective if
you enforce them
but ceiling knew that this was a problem
in the 90s didn't really make any real
effort to do anything about it there was
no real enforcement until 2004 which was
near the end of his career and I also
think that there's issues because
there's a lot of people that do a lot of
speculation about steroids who Orin so I
don't even think it's maybe not even
just a conversation about steroids I
mean if you look at the Vaughan
Rodriguez was in the Canseco book Mike
Piazza there's always been rumors about
him doing steroids David Ortiz will be
on the ballot pinky there next year the
year after and everyone loves Ortiz are
we gonna put Ortiz in but not put Barry
Bonds you know it was reported but
through private sources that David Ortiz
did steroids and tested positive so I
think that these are all kind of unfair
to Barry long as if these guys can come
in but not very bonds because for some
reason he was the best that day and um
alrighty I'll get your two and a half
minutes turned up right now Alex well
you make some good points there but the
reason that Barry Bonds should not be in
a Hall of Fame as is you talk to our
length is his steroid use you look at
numbers and the numbers before you
steroids are phenomenal the numbers he
used after you steroids are phenomenal
as well yes he would have been a
hall-of-famer if he ended in 1999 when
it was is assumed that he started using
steroids and extended his career to
break records and all that stuff but the
idea of cheating the game of baseball
whether like he had put this great
career on the field already but then he
decided to cheat the game of baseball he
is the home run leader
currently right now baseball is without
its home run leader and it's hit leader
in the Hall of Fame
Pete Rose also is banned from baseball
on there and also not in the Hall of
Fame and it is because of what he did
post career he did not do this during
his career he already had the numbers
phenomenal and the numbers that are most
hits of anybody highest are basically
senators and all this stuff and he
ruined it after his career based phony
was a manager he'd been on baseball
after you doing all these perfect
numbers looking at the numbers yes Barry
Bonds is definitely one hundred percent
a Hall of Famer but due to him cheating
the game of baseball and we already have
the precedent set that Pete Rose who
cheated the game of baseball when he was
a manager not a player when he was a
manager that he then therefore Barry
Bonds should not be in the Hall of Fame
also if Shoeless Joe Jackson a member of
the Black Sox the 1919 World Series who
had a very minimal role in the whole
Black Sox scandal didn't want to be a
part of it but was caught it in the
crosshairs he's also a guy that is out
in the Hall of Fame and probably did
less than Pete Rose did and West
then what Barry Bonds did Barry Bonds
knew the rule knew it was a bad thing
and it was cheating the game and the
idea that Oh everybody else was doing it
at the time
well again just because everybody else
is doing it doesn't make it right and
yes there are some players that are on
the bout here and then that are gonna be
on the bout in the future that did do
steroids and now they should not be
included in this and I think that we're
seeing that with the voting out okay so
we're gonna move on to five minutes
right now of you guys just discussing
each other's points and dissecting what
the other person said so let me get that
started up and um hi I'm starts no no I
think that's the game I agree I think
what's different from maybe they're gone
sir Pete Rose I think she was Joe
Jackson she'd be the whole thing now
there's a lot of conclusive evidence but
what separates Barry Bonds from Pete
Rose is that Pete Rose knew what he was
doing would get him
a banned from baseball entirely whereas
the rules are enforced with steroids
were not clear they were not ever really
enforced in very once was never even
tested positive through you know the
base Major League Baseball testing and
for steroids and neither was Sammy Sosa
so if you're looking at hard evidence
like actual like we do know that Barry
Bonds that starts but with you're
looking at hard evidence for the MLB
there's not I do believe Barry Bonds
through a lawyer didn't admit to
steroids back in 2011 but he used the
caveat that his trainer did it without
him knowing which you know how true that
is but let me ask you this what is what
is worse I guess to you cheating the
game of baseball where while you're
number one a player and using steroids
to further your talent for their
endurance whatever cheating guys out of
jobs whether from you terrorizing them
at the plate when they're on the mound
or just taking spots away from being
your career on longevity some guy that
say what's he's been in the minors for
10 years at was fighting to get the cusp
of all we've got Barry Bonds for another
ten years so why are we gonna bring this
guy up that is that worse or is betting
on which is very very bad when you're
when you're our manager betting for your
team to win which is worse than which
cheats the game you think yeah I would
say that if we're going off of what Pete
Rose said and that's like but I do think
that like well it's reverse tearing on
to that just because he was the only
thing on schemes to win doesn't mean
that he wasn't like trying to cheat
around the game and potentially make his
team's lose at some point like for
example like if I like it today's
Thursday and I'm betting on Friday that
my team's gonna win maybe on Thursday I
put out all my rice maybe I like Cabo my
worst players today so I play not all my
worst players play so that you know my
best players are there for Friday so in
that way like Pete Rose is still
cheating the game I have honey does that
agree with that yes but it comes to the
point where
Barry Bonds is on the field and you go
on to the Hall of Fame with what you did
on the field
yeah and his numbers no matter how much
what percentage of the numbers were
tainted by steroids are always going to
have the idea Oh Barry Bonds did
steroids so these numbers are gonna be
there like though because of steroids
and being in the whole thing was an
honor I think if you ask most Hall of
Famers I would say it's a humbling honor
and it's something that people of high
standards not only just good people on
the field but off the field as well the
combination of a man should go to a Hall
of Fame with integrity as well yeah I
would ask you would you agree that like
bonds kind of singled himself out by
being so much more dominant when he was
on steroids I would say yes I was
definitely and I am setting a record and
especially the stigma of breaking the
record of a guy that in Hank Aaron that
was the stand-up guy and in this great
character yeah definitely tarnished as
that as well and but I guess like my
point too is I like baseball already
messed up the kid does I think that the
writers who vote for Mike Piazza or you
know vote for Yvan Rodriguez again Obama
Regas looing the good Sega book and
that's what people consider us like
something really good that letter really
broke out the steroid scandal in
baseball and they bowed those people and
and also like oh I forgot to mention
like Gaylord Perry he was a pitcher
during the seventies and eighties
admitted to using a spit ball which was
illegal at the time and he's in Hall and
people don't really how prompt that so I
think baseball and the whole thing
already messed up they could have made a
decision early like we either what guys
who did steroids in or don't let them in
mm-hm
and they decides what started people who
did stories in so I just think because
Barry Bonds was universally better than
everyone doesn't mean that he can't
I would say that there we we have the
admission of guilt from the bond side
that makes it we we know for a fact in
its ear words yeah
Vaughn Rodriguez there is still this we
cloud around it Mike Piazza again
there's a cloud around and that's a
little less of a thing than than other
guys that are on this list currently and
it's just easier on the ballot and he's
not raised as high as he can and I think
I think it's because he was so good and
he admitted it and it was the most
affected by this error sorry about that
yeah so um I think we have 30 seconds
closing statements okay so um yeah so 30
seconds Alex I'm gonna let you go first
because Kellen went first at the very
beginning so your 30 seconds starts now
I think a final point that I would like
to make it was go back to my opening
statements with the Pete Rosado and Hall
of Fame because he cheated the game
therefore Barry Bonds should not be in
the Hall of Fame because he cheated the
game and yes it is terrible that
baseball doesn't have a tick King and
homerun King and a Hall of Fame but it's
because they did something at the
detriment of the sport now if you're
gonna say we're gonna let those people
in you gotta let them both think you
can't just let bonds in because
everybody was doing it or they or vice
versa was gross so yeah I think that if
but ceiling if baseball really cared
then we're really hard on steroids back
in the day they wouldn't have enabled it
by not enforcing it and also they very
much profited from people using it like
Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in the home
run chase so the same reg the same
people who were in awe at what these
guys were doing or also in some ways the
same people that are preventing them and
the whole thing I think is a huge
disservice to Barry Bonds and on top
of that Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa and
Mark McGwire.
For the State Press, I'm Farah Eltohamy.
