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During the playing time of Babe Ruth he was a daily drinker of booze. But during his playing time it was not legal to drink. Illegal drug is what it was. But hey the Babes still there in the HOF as should be Barry Bonds, Pete Rose and the rest. Now a days we have wimpy sports writers deciding whats good for baseball. Most probably did more drugs than any baseball player.

Interesting perspective, John.



Of course, the difference between the Babe and somebody like Sammy Sosa may be that the Babe had records DESPITE drinking, while Sosa had records BECAUSE of the steroids.



Some are of the opinion that Mickey Mantle may have been our home run king if it weren't for his love of alcohol.



Ruth led the league twice in home runs before prohibition, along with being one of the best pitchers.

The Babe treated prohibition like most other Americans of means, like a pain in the ass.



Whether guys like Sosa and Bonds get in, is all opinionated. I agree with your assessment of the writers.



With the advent of technology, the class has become as smart as the teacher in reader/writer relations. I know some friends that I would trust with a Hall of Fame vote much more than some beat writers or worse, retired writers.



The time is now to change the voting structure for the Hall of Fame. Some writers follow one team and not the sport in whole. Some writers are retired and do not follow baseball at all. They may as well be voting for the next American Idol.



It'll take somebody a lot smarter than me to come up with a new voting arrangement, but at the least, ALL voters should be well rounded and versed in baseball today and baseball over the last 20 years. A criteria that has a lot of voters falling short.