Stats and the Hall of Fame

I don't think the steroid era record setters should be in the Hall of Fame any more than Pete Rose. The unfortunate thing is that the Cooperstown loses something when the all time leaders are not included. Baseball is a game of numbers and statistics are the measuring stick used for the Hall. There used to be a direct correlation between statistics and the Baseball Hall of Fame. What I mean is, you could read the record book and identify the all time leaders in specific categories and almost always they would be in the Hall. Or, you could read a list of Hall of Famers and know which ones led their league or the majors in something for a season or a career. The reason I say it "used to be" is because the leaders in today's record book have no shot at the Hall.

There was a time when 714 was a magic number. When Hall of Famer Babe Ruth was passed by Hall of Famer Hank Aaron the new number became 755. That milestone was a big deal. When 755 was passed, the record now is 762, the fan fare wasn't as great. PED's may not have ruined the game but they sure ruined the record book and tainted the Hall of Fame. The all time home run king will probably never enter the Hall.

Another special number was 60, so special when it became 61 they made a movie about it. Now the guy who hit 60 is in the Hall (inaugural class). The guy who hit 61 is not. Not for reasons the guy who hit 762 is not. Seems the guy who hit 61 doesn't have the body of work to gain entrance to the Hall. I'm good with that. But the guy with 762 lifetime homeruns also hit 73 in a season. That means the single season record holder will also never be in the Hall.
61 has been bested 6 times, none of whom will be enshrined in Cooperstown.
Another PEDer, Sammy Sosa, hit more than 60 home runs in a season 3 different times. From 1998-2002 he hit 292 homeruns. How good is that? The most home runs that Babe Ruth hit in a five year period was 256.

Most home runs in a single season:
1. Barry Bonds, 73
2. Mark McGwire, 70
3. Sammy Sosa, 66
4. Mark McGwire, 65
5. Sammy Sosa, 64
6. Sammy Sosa, 63
7. Roger Maris, 61
8. Babe Ruth, 60

Most home runs over a five-year period.:
1. Sammy Sosa, 292 (1998-2002)
2. Mark McGwire, 284 (1995-1999)
3. Sammy Sosa, 279 (1997-2001)
4. Mark McGwire, 277 (1996-2000)
5. Barry Bonds, 258 (2000-2004)

I guess the most significant vacancy is the fact that the all time leader in games played, hits, plate appearances, singles and times on base will also never grace the Hall. Poor Pete.