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Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Baseball HOF is disgrace without Bonds & Co.

Dieter Kurtenbach

THE MERCURY NEWS

If the Baseball Hall of Fame no longer wants to recognize the best players in the history of the game, then we no longer have to recognize it as the ultimate shrine to the sport.

On Tuesday, arguably the greatest hitter in the history of the game, Barry Bonds, was denied entry – again – on moral grounds. Roger Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers in the game, received the same fate. Meanwhile, another unquestionably great pitcher, Curt Schilling, missed out because of his political beliefs and bigoted comments.

And I’m wondering why they were excluded.

The Baseball Hall of Fame is filled with cheaters, bigots, scoundrels, and folks who used performance-enhancing drugs – both the early-day stuff and the real good stuff of recent years.

Yes, there are some men of exceptionally high character in the hall, but to believe that Cooperstown is exclusively filled with such people is beyond naive – it’s willful ignorance.

Bond, Clemens, and Schilling would fit right in with this lot.

After all, they were exceptional baseball players. I thought recognizing such titans in the industry – flaws and all – is why the Hall of Fame was built.

The Hall of Fame’s selfappointed mission is – and this is directly from its website – “to preserve the sport’s history, honor excellence within the game, and make a connection between the generations of people who enjoy baseball.”

Were Bonds, Clemens, and Schilling not unquestionably excellent, even if the first two’s means weren’t necessarily scrupulous and the latter has been anything but excellent since retirement?

The last time I checked, Bonds had a career so prolific he would have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer without the specter of performanceenhancing drugs on his record. The same with Clemens.

Schilling is unquestionably an all-time great, too.

Many point to the “character clause” on the Hall of Fame ballot as the reason to not include these three. Apparently, voters need to take into account “integrity, sportsmanship and character” for each player.

That’s a nice thought. The problem is that character seems to be more heavily weighted for some players and not others.

Mariano Rivera’s unsavory

See Bonds, Page B2

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Marcus Semien, the East Bay native who became the A’s shortstop and clubhouse leader, is on his way out of Oakland.

A free agent after six seasons with the A’s, Semien and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement Tuesday on a one-year deal for 2021. The deal is for $18 million, according to ESPN.

Semien, who grew up in El Cerrito and went to Cal, transformed with the A’s into a sure-handed defensive shortstop who finished third in SECTION B Paul Farmer . Sports Editor . 427.6926

Hall of Fame voters pitch a shutout as character questions muddle debate

the Washington Post

The National Baseball Hall of Fame voters, who hold the awesome power of bestowing immortality on the greatest players in the sport – or, if you prefer, who face the awful duty of determining how that power should be applied – pitched a collective shutout Tuesday, failing to send a single player to Cooperstown, N.Y.

On a day when luminaries such as Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling

ALUMNI UPDATE PFARMER@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET Deone Bucannon is going to the Super Bowl. And he’ll likely get to play in it. The Vanden High graduate was added to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad on Jan. 6 and has seen action throughout the playoffs on special teams. Most recently he was promoted to the active roster on Jan. 19 after inside linebacker Jack Cichy suffered a broken arm in the Divisional Playoff win over the New Orleans Saints. American League MVP voting in 2019, when he played in all 162 games. His value to the A’s ran deep as their leadoff hitter, steady clubhouse presence and player union representative.

A’s officials said after the 2020 season they would love to re-sign Semien and the A’s did make Semien an offer, The Chronicle learned. Specifics of that offer weren’t known but the $18 million figure in Semien’s deal with Toronto is more than the A’s have ever paid a player for one season. The A’s opted found out they would have to wait at least another year to gain induction to the hall – each fell short, for the ninth year in a row, of the 75% vote threshold required for election – the sole winner, such as it was, was the so-called “character” clause in the voting instructions that, more than statistics, decided this year’s outcome.

Schilling, a two-time strikeout champion and six-time all-star over a 20-year career, seemed poised to make the cut after slowly building support

It’s not Bucannon’s first time playing for the Buccaneers, having seen action in five games for Tampa Bay in 2019.

It’s also not his first time playing for Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians. In addition to 2019, Bucannon played his first four seasons under Arians with the Arizona Cardinals after being taken with the 27th overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft.

After being released by the Buccaneers on Oct. 9, 2019, Bucannon played nine games with the New York Giants. He started the 2020 season on the

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The Sharks didn’t stand a chance Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche.

Not after committing one defensive breakdown after another in the first two periods.

The Sharks allowed three goals in the first period and four more in the second as they were throttled 7-2 by the Avalanche in game one of their two-game series that continues Thursday at Ball Arena.

Goalie Martin Jones, making his second straight start and third in four games, was hung out to dry as the Avalanche scored five unanswered over the years among the 10-year members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America who make up the electorate. However, Schilling, a vociferous right-wing provocateur and Twitter antagonist, appears to have been penalized by some voters for his political views and intolerance.

Schilling was named on 285 of the 401 ballots cast – or 71.1% – leaving him 16 votes shy of enshrinement, slightly better than his 70% showing of a year ago. He has one more chance Atlanta Falcons practice squad but was released on Sept. 29

In seven seasons, Bucannon has played in 84 regular season games with 57 starts, recording 434 tackles, 329 of them solo with 28 for loss, along with seven sacks and two interceptions, both of which he returned for 39 yards, one for a touchdown.

Bucannon came close to reaching the Super Bowl during the 2015 season when the Cardinals reached the NFC championship game before losing to the Carolina Panthers, 49-15. goals after Ryan Donato scored for San Jose at the 10:39 mark of the first period.

After Samuel Girard scored at the 5:48 mark of the second period to give the Avalanche a 5-1 lead, Jones was pulled in favor of Devan Dubnyk. Jones allowed five goals on 19 shots, but didn’t have much help in front of him.

Like our Sharks Facebook page for more San Jose Sharks news, commentary and conversation.

After Donato scored his third of the season, the Avalanche needed just 46 seconds near the end of the period to take a 2-1 lead. next year before falling off the writers’ ballot.

As for Bonds and Clemens – the premier hitter and pitcher of their generation, if not of all time – both have unassailable statistical cases, but both continue to fall short of election because of their association with performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds was chosen on 61.8% of ballots, Clemens on 61.6% – both slightly up from a year ago but still more than

David Eulitt/Kansas City Star/TNS file (2014) Arizona Cardinals strong safety and Vanden High graduate Deone of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Bucannon has been added to Bucannon, right, tackles Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster as an inside linebacker for the and forces a fumble in the process, Dec. 7, 2014, at the University upcoming Super Bowl.

Vanden grad Deone Bucannon on Bucs roster for Super Bowl

Paul Farmer

See Hall, Page B2

Bucannon is listed on the Buccaneers depth chart as the backup to Lavonte David at an inside linebacker position. Should he take the field against the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7, Bucannon would be the third city player to play in a Super Bowl, following Armijo graduate George Martin (New York Giants vs. Denver Broncos, Jan. 25, 1987) and Fairfield grad Desmond Bishop (Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Feb. 6, 2011).

If it means anything, both

Former A’s shortstop Marcus Semien agrees to sign with Blue Jays

Defensive lapses doom Sharks in lopsided 7-2 loss to Avalanche

See Alumni, Page B10

Erik Johnson’s shot from the point was tipped by Donskoi at the 16:15 mark to tie the game 1-1. Colorado took the lead for good with 2:59 to go in the first, as Brandon Saad was left alone in front to tap a pass from Cale Makar past Jones for his second of the season. Makar drew both Dylan Gambrell and Timo Meier toward his before he found Saad.

The Avalanche finished the period with a power play goal. MacKinnon took a pass from Makar on the half-wall, darted toward the middle of the ice, eluded a stick check from