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Have we had this before? If not, and if we can agree on how to do it, perhaps I'll start an election poll. But the idea is, the opposite of being a contributor- who's done the most to harm the game? Some suggestions for the premier class, listed alphabetically:
Cap Anson - With six simple words- "get that n***** off the field"- baseball's biggest star set half a century of systematic racism into motion. It's partially explainable by his background, I suppose, and of course he can't be blamed for the continuation of it that came afterwards, but it's hard to say what might have happened otherwise- certainly John McGraw, among others, made at least half-hearted attempts to integrate the game years before it happened, and were met with immediate and near-complete resistance. Without baseball's most popular player being a willing spokesman for racism, might things have been different?
Barry Bonds - While there's still an interesting discussion going on (mostly) about his playing ability, I figure it's worth examining how we feel about the poster boy for cheating. Yes, a lot of people cheated, and Bonds didn't talk out of both sides of his mouth to quite the degree some others listed here did, but nobody went to jail for them. And none of them had quite the ungodly spike in their numbers, which, while it may prove he had the most natural ability of any of the cheaters, also makes one wonder how anyone can possibly think that was just good conditioning and a short RF fence.
Roger Clemens - The pitching version of Bonds. They have a lot in common- both were caught using then lied about their own complicity, and got other people to take the rap. The difference is Bonds was publicly inscrutable, Clemens took umbrage at the attack on his good name while throwing two allegedly close friends, and even his wife, under the bus.
Donald Fehr - Presiding over the biggest and most rapid financial numbers increase in sports history impresses some people, and it's benefitted a good many players, but at what cost? The main direction he looked, in addition to players' pocketbooks, was "the other way." Not as embarrasing as Selig or Palmeiro in front of congress, but good lord- how was he able to mention the need for "reasonable cause" with a straight face in his testimony to congress? I get that his job is protecting the players, but is there any limit to how much he'll allow the public to be fleeced?
Kenesaw Mountain Landis - A resolutely fair judge the likes of which we could use more of now, he was still, by most accounts, a hardline southern racist. Whether Bill Veeck's accusations of him refusing to allow the hiring of black players is fully accurate, he did preside over an era during which a majority of Americans, white and black, wanted to see baseball integrated. There are those who suspect that Branch Rickey had been planning on signing black players for a while, but only put the plan in motion after he knew that Landis was no longer around to block it. If that's true, Landis's public statement that black players were not banned by him or anyone else, was as blatant a lie as there's been in professional sports, and you've got to go some.
Rafael Palmeiro - Another "close personal friend" of former Rangers owner George W. Bush, another huge hypocrite. Again, it's not even that he lied so much as he lied out of one side of his mouth while expressing outrage at anyone who would actually do the very thing that he had knowingly done and lied about. The fact that he was one of the best-liked players in the game at the time makes it even worse. There's a word for someone who can lie, cheat and steal while giving you the impression that he's the last person that would ever do such a thing- that word is "sociopath."
Bud Selig - In addition to his horrible decisions regarding the All-Star Game, his two-faced statement to congress while throwing the Player's Union under the bus, and his aiding and abetting of Dodger, Met and Marlin ownership looting local economies for their own gain, he's also a mealy-mouthed creep who has done nothing to serve the game other than making sure more and more millionaires become multi-millionaires or billionaires. For this his yearly salary is close to $20 million a year. No wonder he keeps threatening to retire then signing up for more years of graft, complicity and abuse.
So, any interest in such a project? Suggestions for nominees? If there's interest I can start thinking about how best to make it work
Cap Anson - With six simple words- "get that n***** off the field"- baseball's biggest star set half a century of systematic racism into motion. It's partially explainable by his background, I suppose, and of course he can't be blamed for the continuation of it that came afterwards, but it's hard to say what might have happened otherwise- certainly John McGraw, among others, made at least half-hearted attempts to integrate the game years before it happened, and were met with immediate and near-complete resistance. Without baseball's most popular player being a willing spokesman for racism, might things have been different?
Barry Bonds - While there's still an interesting discussion going on (mostly) about his playing ability, I figure it's worth examining how we feel about the poster boy for cheating. Yes, a lot of people cheated, and Bonds didn't talk out of both sides of his mouth to quite the degree some others listed here did, but nobody went to jail for them. And none of them had quite the ungodly spike in their numbers, which, while it may prove he had the most natural ability of any of the cheaters, also makes one wonder how anyone can possibly think that was just good conditioning and a short RF fence.
Roger Clemens - The pitching version of Bonds. They have a lot in common- both were caught using then lied about their own complicity, and got other people to take the rap. The difference is Bonds was publicly inscrutable, Clemens took umbrage at the attack on his good name while throwing two allegedly close friends, and even his wife, under the bus.
Donald Fehr - Presiding over the biggest and most rapid financial numbers increase in sports history impresses some people, and it's benefitted a good many players, but at what cost? The main direction he looked, in addition to players' pocketbooks, was "the other way." Not as embarrasing as Selig or Palmeiro in front of congress, but good lord- how was he able to mention the need for "reasonable cause" with a straight face in his testimony to congress? I get that his job is protecting the players, but is there any limit to how much he'll allow the public to be fleeced?
Kenesaw Mountain Landis - A resolutely fair judge the likes of which we could use more of now, he was still, by most accounts, a hardline southern racist. Whether Bill Veeck's accusations of him refusing to allow the hiring of black players is fully accurate, he did preside over an era during which a majority of Americans, white and black, wanted to see baseball integrated. There are those who suspect that Branch Rickey had been planning on signing black players for a while, but only put the plan in motion after he knew that Landis was no longer around to block it. If that's true, Landis's public statement that black players were not banned by him or anyone else, was as blatant a lie as there's been in professional sports, and you've got to go some.
Rafael Palmeiro - Another "close personal friend" of former Rangers owner George W. Bush, another huge hypocrite. Again, it's not even that he lied so much as he lied out of one side of his mouth while expressing outrage at anyone who would actually do the very thing that he had knowingly done and lied about. The fact that he was one of the best-liked players in the game at the time makes it even worse. There's a word for someone who can lie, cheat and steal while giving you the impression that he's the last person that would ever do such a thing- that word is "sociopath."
Bud Selig - In addition to his horrible decisions regarding the All-Star Game, his two-faced statement to congress while throwing the Player's Union under the bus, and his aiding and abetting of Dodger, Met and Marlin ownership looting local economies for their own gain, he's also a mealy-mouthed creep who has done nothing to serve the game other than making sure more and more millionaires become multi-millionaires or billionaires. For this his yearly salary is close to $20 million a year. No wonder he keeps threatening to retire then signing up for more years of graft, complicity and abuse.
So, any interest in such a project? Suggestions for nominees? If there's interest I can start thinking about how best to make it work
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