Baseball Hall of Shame

Last time I checked this is still America.  Land of the free. Home of the Brave.   A land formed by pilgrims fleeing the tyranny of a king in order to establish a home free from prejudice and unfair rules.

Innocent until proven guilty = America
The 5th Amendment = America
Democracy = America
Baseball = America's Past Time

The Baseball Hall of Fame = Not American

With no disrespect to Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven (a common phrase these days), the vote for the 2011 Hall of Fame class proved that the foundation America was built on is dead to the voting baseball writers.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty:
Jeff Bagwell is a first ballot hall of famer. 449 Home Runs, 1529 RBI, .297 career batting average, 1991 Rookie of the Year and 1994 MVP. 
But only 41.7 percent of the HOF voters had him on the ballot?!   Why?  Because he had power numbers and some suspect him of steroid use?  Without a single positive test.  No accusations.  His name never showed up on any reports.  But the voting writers "think" he may have possibly used?  They have decided he was guilty without a shred of evidence or proof.  That's not American.

The 5th Amendment:
The 5th Amendment roughly says every citizen has the right to not say anything in court that may incriminate him or herself.  Well, isn't that exactly what Mark McGwire did and was therefore black-balled from hall of fame ballots?  Until his 2010 confession there was no factual evidence that he used illegal steroids. But the voters wouldn't give him the honor he deserved in the Hall of Fame. Why?  Because when asked about steroid use in court he did not provide any information.  He utilized his constitutional rights provided to him in the 5th Amendment.   But the voting writers felt that was guilt proven. It's ironic because the press is the first to rant about violation of 1st Amendment (i.e. why they have jobs at all) but then not grant someone else the 5th? 

Democracy:
When the Revolutionary War ended America determined that our leaders would be voted for the people, by the people. It will not be a royal appointed leader and the choice will not be left to the snooty upper class who have no connection to the every-man.  For good or for bad America is lead by the decision of the general population.   But then there is the HOF voting.  I have been a baseball fan for my whole life.  Who gets in the hall matters to me.  Do I get a vote?  No.  Do you get a vote?  No. 
Only selected newspaper, magazine and approved website writers who have been a BBWAA members for 10 years or more get a vote. 
So only the "most literate" get a vote?  And only the oldest of the most literate get a vote?
I'm 27. Unless there is some writer who started at the game of 17 with the Boston Globe or an "approved" website there is no one representing my voice.  And there likely won't be for another decade.
Democracy is dead to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Cooperstown is one of the last remaining gems of Major League Baseball. A heaven where all fans of every age can remember the greats of the past.  My grandfather would have gone to Ty Cobbs' plaque and joked about how he sharpen his spikes to scare his opponents. My father loved Mickey Mantle even if he was a womanizing drunk. 
I dream that someday I  can show my children Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa and remember when I was there age recording every at-bat on VHS during the Home Run chase.  I want to go to Jeff Bagwell and lament that the Red Sox should have never let one of the greatest hitters of my life go to Houston.  And I want to walk them by Roger Clemens with a profanity laced tirade on Dan Duquette and the Yankees.

From 1990 to the present this has been MY baseball ('roids or no 'roids), but those older than me, and supposedly wiser, have said that MY childhood heroes have no place with THEIR heroes. That MY memories have no place next to THEIRS. 

All I hope is when I'm older I don't forget the principles that America was founded on and I don't ostracize my children and their feelings from my world.