Category: OLD SPORT SHORTS (Page 5 of 68)
An old guy’s perspective on all sports
Continued from Post #2593
“Never lie. Never cheat. Never Steal. This was the way Jim Harbaugh claims he was strictly raised. Yet, the University of Michigan always seems to be in the NCAA rules violation spotlight. When you’re the National Champion, everyone wants to take a cheap, credibility shot. Anti-Wolverine fans probably outnumber the supportive alumni. However, he’s now a Charger, but has left behind a cloud of suspicion. He’s now slipped out of the grip of the Big Ten and the NCAA like Houdini and seems to be one that prospers!
Back in 2023, as head Coach of the 49ers, he was all over the performance-enhancing drug infractions of division rival Seattle Seahawks, quoted as saying “Cheating won’t be tolerated.” As we’ve already covered, there are many forms of cheating. Harbaugh also faced charges related to illegal contact with student-athletes during the Covid-19 “dead period.” Denial. Denial. Denial.
He left the 49ers in 2014 to take the job at the University of Michigan. Sherrone Moore then took over in an interim capacity in 2023 after Coach Harbaugh was suspended for 3-games by the Big Ten for “conducting an impermissible, in-person scouting operation over multiple years, resulting in an unfair competitive advantage that compromised the integrity of competition.” Isn’t that the very definition of cheating?
His replacement, now the new Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore, is one of seven members from the 2023 Championship football program accused of violating NCAA rules. Harbaugh naturally claims that he did not participate and was not aware or complicit in these allegations. “Moore could face a show-cause penalty and possibly suspension for allegedly deleting a thread of 52 text messages with former Michigan staffer Connor Stallions in October 2023 on the same day that media reports revealed Stalions was leading an effort to capture media reports revealed Stalions was leading an effort to capture the play calling signals of future opponents,” according to ESPN. It’s just another example of how history repeats itself with another sign stealing incident. Cheaters Unite!
Cheaters become repeaters. In the previous installment, I’ve already pointed out where history repeats itself (See Post #2591). It’s also worth pointing out that “cheating is not an accident. It’s a choice.” Gamblers often see cheating as a way to beat the system, so it’s an encouraged practice. If you can get away with doing it, it’s considered fair game. This is why states like Hawaii and Utah have completely banned all forms of gambling. Critics argue that it “leads to increased political corruption, compulsive gambling, and higher crime rates.” Others feel that there is a Mafia or organized crime influence. Dating back to Roman times, gambling was periodically outlawed, but exceptions were made for holidays. Even today’s laws waver with the wind.
Gambling in the States dates back to 1612 when King James (not LeBron) established the first lottery in Britian, an event that would play a key role in the funding of the Jamestown Colony. Similar public and private lotteries played a vital role in U.S. development, leading to our country’s first public buildings, colleges, roads, canals, and religious structures. In 1776, the First Continental Congress approved a lottery to kickstart the Revolutionary War.
British settlers brought their passion for horse racing to the New World that soon led to 1665 construction of the first racetrack on Long Island, New York. Then, it was Westward Ho! as expansion spurred a rise in poker and other card games. San Francisco took advantage by licensing limited forms of gambling while many other gambling establishments were frequently ignored by authorities. Beginning in 1787, gambling was largely outlawed but was permitted to raise revenue via lotteries or raffles. Naturally, scandals began to surface. By the end of the 1830s, there was a state-to-state push to ban gambling activities. Oddly, even today, lotteries remain banned in Nevada. The invention of the steamboat blurred the state gambling regulations and quickly gained a reputation for dishonest gaming through the emergence of crafty “riverboat gamblers.”
Following the Civil War, legal lotteries reemerged to fund Reconstruction in the American South. Ironically, whenever there’s a need for money, gambling all of a sudden becomes tolerable, and cheaters once again prosper. State constitutions were rewritten, and bans lifted, or the rules simply ignored. Casino-style games became popular but fell out of favor since the odds were rigged in favor of the operator. Poker games were more difficult to fix. Lottery scandals created more gambling suspicion, especially when word spread that Louisiana Lottery officials tried to pay off the state legislature.
Lottery fraud has become commonplace. Several common techniques include using a forged, altered or stolen ticket. There are also many examples of insider fraud, involving employees or agents who exploit their positions. Unsurprisingly, scammers take advantage after informing their victims of falsified prize winnings. Scam, cheat, repeat!
The Twentieth Century marked the expansion of legalized gambling. Changes in the law allowed Nevada to emerge as a gambling destination, while Indiana reversed course. The popular French Lick sight, where the mob hung out in May each year to bet on the Indy 500 and Kentucky Derby, became a ghost resort. Instead, the desert began to draw the crowds. In 1964, state lotteries also began to get popular again. Atlantic City New Jersey also capitalized on becoming a legal gambling destination. Slowly, casinos began to pop-up around the country as other states followed suit, as did the Indigenous Nations where U.S regulations did not apply. As of 2022, only the states of Hawaii and Utah did not agree that the revenue benefits outweighed the potential harm. Anymore, however, you can gamble on your phone or computer, visit a nearby betting parlor, or work with a licensed broker. This same individual, not too long ago, was referred to in a derogatory sense as a “bookie.” By the way, I need to call my guy.
Next, we’ll look at University of Michigan football, with repeated allegations of cheating, even in transition between coaches.
To be continued….
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Thanks
The Fever have become the new darlings of Indiana basketball, supplanting I.U., Purdue and the Pacers in the hearts of fans. Their playoff drought officially ended after seven seasons, after just clinching a treasured spot in the postseason, the first since 2016. Number One draft pick, Caitlin Clark, ironically from the college-rival Iowa Hawkeyes, takes over for the long-retired Tamika Catchings. There were grave doubts, as the Fever started the season 2-9, but since then they’ve gone 15-7, including impressive wins over 10 of their 11 league opponents.
Clark has been putting up unprecedented numbers in her inaugural season. She tallied the first rookie triple-double in WNBA history, led the league in assists per game, broke the rookie assist record, and had the most single-season double-doubles by a guard in WNBA history. Guard Kelsey Mitchell, a seven-year veteran, responded with some of the best basketball of her career, making her and Clark a nearly unstoppable backcourt duo.
As far as creating lofty 20-24-25 I.U. Basketball expectations, Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook was the first major publication to pick the Hoosiers to win the BIG Conference. They also gave several preseason honors to incoming transfer Oumar Ballo. In addition, Mackenzie Mgbako was featured on the regional cover of Lindy’s Sports.
While I count the days until Hoosier Hysteria and the first exhibition basketball game against Tennessee, Fever playoff action and the rejuvenated I.U. football program under new coach, Curt Cignetti, had me mixing another pitcher of Kool-Aid. On the gridiron, Hoosier football reached 60 before their Western Illinois opponent, and went on to win 77-3, breaking a scoring record that stood since 1901 when they defeated Franklin College 76-0. Earlier in this book, we already accounted for the other handful of instances where the “Magic of 60” applied to I.U. football routs.
Western Illinois came into the game with a 25-game losing streak, so it was no surprise that the Hoosiers prevailed, but no one expected that large of margin. The team improved to 2-0, with the previous week’s win over the Florida International Pitbulls 31-7 and set another program record with 701 total yards against the Leathernecks. Reality will probably set in next week when they travel to U.C.L.A. for the first Conference game. Starting QB Kurtis Rourke, a veteran transfer from Ohio University, completed 15-of-17 attempts for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns before being replaced by back-up Tayven Jackson, brother of former I.U. basketball star Trayce Jackson-Davis, now a Golden State Warrior.
The Bears won their opener against the Titans thanks to the defense, while the Colts fell short to the Texans. My son’s fantasy team is also poised for a victory and the Oregon Ducks eked out a victory against Boise State. Purdue did not play. The biggest upset of the weekend, perhaps the century, was Northern Illinois over the highly favored Fighting Irish. Reportedly, Notre Dame paid $1.4 million for the loss. There was certainly no magic in South Bend.
Continued from Post #2588
Cheating, in all its myriad forms, has from the beginning of time been an unavoidable part of sports. As far back as 4000 BC, ancient Egyptians bet on dice, board games, and feats of skill such as chariot racing and fencing. There were probably challenges on who could kill the biggest dinosaur or the fiercest lion. It seems to be part of man’s nature. Betting on sports took place during the ancient Olympic Games, according to “Sports Betting History.” For hundreds of years, it has been at the center of some of the most dramatic athletic scandals and controversial moments, raising questions of integrity and, in many cases, spurring significant changes to the rules themselves.
I’m sure we all remember, back in the days of Plato and Sparta, 388 BC to be exact, when there was evidence of cheating in Ancient Greece. A 1952 article titled “Crime and Punishment in Greek Athletic” details a boxing bribery incident at the 98th Olympics. According to Ohio State professor Clarence Forbes, Eupolus of Thessaly “bribed all three of his opponents to let him win, prompting games organizers to impose ‘heavy fines’ on all four men, with the money used to erect six bronze statues near the entrance to the stadium in Olympia.” Their inscriptions warn of future cheating.
The apparent winner of the 1904 Summer Games in St. Louis, American Fred Lorz, rode 11 miles in a car before being called out and admitting to cheating. A similar thing happened 76-years later in Boston, when Rosie Ruiz was stripped of her medal when it was discovered that she had not run the entire race.
We’ve already detailed the 1919 Black Sox Scandal in a previous installment (See Post #2484), but thirty-two years later in 1951, a group of college basketball players, starting at City College of New York, took money from bookmakers in exchange for manipulating the scores of games. History continues to repeat itself. 32 players from seven colleges eventually admitted to accepting bribes in the point-shaving scheme. Two of those players and at least 10 other fixers, agents or bookies went on to serve jail time, according to ESPN.
Controversy and cheating prevail in all types of sports including international football. In 1986, an infamous goal known as “hand of God” by Diego Maradona led Argentina to a 2-1 win over England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup, eventually leading them to the finals that they would also win. He initially said it was the “hand of God” that knocked the ball into the net, rather than his own. But in his autobiography 14 years later, Maradona fessed up. “What hand of God?” he wrote. “It was the hand of Diego! And it was like stealing the wallet of the English, too.” Justified theft in his eyes!
Cheating incidents in sports rarely involve acts of violence, but this one did in 1994. In a brazen assault, a man named Shane Stant attacked top U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan with a baton after practice. It was later revealed that Stant had been hired to attack Kerrigan by the ex-husband of her main rival, Tonya Harding, in hopes that the injury would prevent Kerrigan from competing in the national championships and 1994 Winter Olympics.
Faking a disability was a shocking factor in the 2000 Paralympics. Spain’s intellectual disability basketball team won gold in Sydney. Later it was revealed that 10 of the 12 players were not disabled after all. At the same time, the stronger got stronger as baseball’s steroid era made Lance Armstrong and Russia’s state-sponsored scheme look trivial by comparison. Dozens of players were implicated, including Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and several other big-name stars. Congress got involved. Major League Baseball was forced to overhaul its drug-testing policies. And while the time period listed here covered the “peak” of the era, including the 1998 home run record chase between McGwire and Sammy Sosa, its effects stretched well beyond this window − from the Mitchell Report to Barry Bonds’ trial for perjury.
American football showed its ugly side in 2015 when Superstar Tom Brady, then of the New England Patriots, was accused of cheating. This did not involve steroids, fake disabilities, or even gambling. He simply asked team equipment staffers to deliberately underinflate footballs in the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. It’s reminiscent of doctoring the baseball and bats that we already covered. Same cheating techniques – different sport. Brady was suspended four games and appealed in this memorable cheating scandal known as “deflategate.”
While there were wide gaps of time between scandals of years past, they seem to occur frequently these days. In 2019, the Houston Astros were in the spotlight. As I wrote in Parts 4 & 5 of this series (See Post #2486), they utilized both a centerfield camera and banging on a trash can to relay stealing signals. The incident soured their World Series title and led to several suspensions, firings and fines. Years later it inspired the technological introduction of “PitchCom”, allowing catchers and pitchers to communicate their signs wirelessly.
Many people might view what happed in the 2024 Paris Olympics as just another form of cheating, changing your sex to gain an advantage. Hungarian boxer Anna Luca Hamori said she didn’t “think it’s fair” that her opponent, Algerian Imane Khelif is taking part in the women’s category at the Olympics. Khelif is one of two athletes, along with Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting , who have been cleared to compete despite being disqualified from last year’s Women’s World Championships after they were said to have failed gender eligibility tests. Both identify and compete as women but have XY chromosomes in their DNA. They were defended and allowed to compete by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach. However, this could be considered similar to steroid use, altering the body to gain a competitive advantage.
Cheating has come a long way from the childhood playground. No one is above suspicion, so scrutiny and rule modifications will continue to increase in all sports, extending to the business world. Everyone wants to find a way to get an edge over their competitor and there continues to be a fine line between fair and unfair.
Like a kid in a candy store, I’ve been sorting baseball cards for the last few days. My son brought over his collection of sports cards, many of which were mine many years ago. I simply put them all in order, removed all the duplicates, and added some of those to my binders. The triplicates I’ll take to Blue Breaks, my local store and put them in the kid’s box – free cards to perhaps motivate a youngster to adopt the hobby.
Since I’ve been nursing a sore leg, sitting and sorting seems like a good idea. However, then it stiffens even more and makes walking miserable. It seems to be getting worse rather than better and a call to the doctor’s office yesterday didn’t seem to speed up the process of getting an MRI. No one knows what to do for me until I get these results, so progress is at a standstill. I’ll work out the pain in the morning and then am able to do my workouts at the gym or the pool. However, sedate evenings of watching TV or distractions like baseball cards, lead to hours on a soft couch. This seems to aggravate the nerve. It’s like a hamstring injury, with stabbing pain running down my left leg into my calf. Ice provides temporary relief, but a heating pad last night didn’t seem to help. I’m lost for a solution.
The baseball world that I live in this time of year keeps me sane. Kyle Schwarber hit 3-homers in a single game this week, the first, a lead-off shot, tied him with Alfonso Soriano for the season record. Japanese phenom Shota Imanaga hurled 7-innings of no-hit ball for the Cubs, and two relievers combined to finish off the game, holding the Pirates hitless. Aaron Judge pursues the 60-mark and Shohei Ohtani inches closer to the 50/50 Club. However, the White Sox continue to lose at a record pace. I still check the box scores in the middle of the night and go to the Topps Baseball site every afternoon to purchase cards that capture those moments of actions. History is made almost every day on the diamond. In another month or so, my entire focus will shift to I.U. basketball. Too much idle time, like this, is driving me crazy. I need to find something constructive to do with my days.
My wife spent another day teaching school, while I took the dogs to the park. She almost didn’t get home, considering the fact that her Lexus key fob fell apart, and she couldn’t get the car started. Fortunately, she was able to improvise and drove to Sarasota to pick up a pricy replacement. The nearly 20-year-old sports car, her baby, needs an oil change, tune-up, and struts, so hopefully the rest of it won’t fail in the near future. She has errands tomorrow and I’ll need it Saturday, but school is on hold until Monday. I need this leg to heel, so I can go back to work.
Another painful start to the day. I’ll sit here writing until the ice pack does its work, and my left leg finally loosens up. I go through this process every morning now while taking the dogs out is the worst part. Fortunately, I was talking to a kindly neighbor as Tally did her business, and he did the honors of picking it up. He apparently went through the same thing with a disc problem, knowing that bending over can be excruciating. Fosse did not need to go, so I’m wondering if she picked a spot indoors – I just can’t check at this time.
Within an hour, my leg began to function normally, and soon I’ll be able to help it along with some stretching and a trip to the fitness center. I was at least able to go out again and see that my timer project is working. I’ve installed two on our fountain. The first fills the base with water and the second activates the pump that is then set to then shut off at dusk. I got tired of manually refilling the fountain bowl all the time since most of the water splashes out or is scattered by the wind rather than be recycled efficiently. I chose the lazy man’s way out – technology!
It took me two days of hassle to finally get it operating properly. I had to order two different timers to get the right one, returning the first. I also had to contact customer service because the valve on the water timer was stuck. They have yet to get back to me, but I apparently solved the problem on my own through trial and error. I thought I would have to send that one back too. Instead, today became a Labor Day victory!
My wife has the day off from substitute teaching, so we were all able to sleep a little later. She just got up and took the dogs to the park. In the meantime, I enjoyed my little victory over technology and took Fosse out one more time – this time successfully – she didn’t go in the dining room as I suspected. I think she just wanted multiple treats, one of Tally’s tricks. The more they go out – the more the rewards. I’m surprised they don’t park themselves by the front door. By the way, Fosse chewed up her fourth remote control!
I have one more Labor Day project that has already presented several days of DIY hassle. A landscaping light went out, and I may have shorted out the system trying to get the bulb out of the socket. I also had to do some major digging to expose the underground network of wires. After the fact, You Tube showed me how to properly do it, carefully twisting and removing the protective shroud to gain access, rather than trying to muscle it out. Now that I know how to do it right, it should be easier in the future. Unfortunately, I didn’t happen to be around to ask questions when they installed the system. Rule #1: always learn how to properly maintain the unfamiliar when they initially put it in. This saves time and trouble. Now, I should simply have to take the bulb to the dealer. Hopefully, it’s still under warranty, since it’s the only one of a dozen that failed. However, I still think there may be a problem with the wiring that “Mr. DIY Disaster” caused.
Once I get these problems solved, I can re-focus on my leg, as if I can ignore the pain. It’s already been a week with no feedback on a MRI date. I go back to the chiropractor in a few days, since like everything else his offices are closed for the holiday. There’s not much he can do until I get the results of this test. The lighting store will probably also be shuttered, so that DIY project will continue to wait.
I also initially thought this would be an exciting football weekend, but the IU game was only available through streaming since the Big Ten Network was showing the Northwestern game, and the University of Oregon does not have a contract with Xfinity, so it too was unavailable to watch in our area, except via streaming. Both teams at least won! Televised sports are getting too complicated for this retiree. In addition, the Bears don’t play until next Sunday, so that too was a disappointment. At least, I got my Labor Day victory over the fountain.
I
Continued from Post #2587
The 1998 home run record chase between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire brought worldwide attention to performance enhancing drugs. In 2002, the Major League Baseball Players Association adopted mandatory testing, and in 2003 the federal government got involved with an investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. A grand jury heard testimony from athletes like Marion Jones, Jason Giambi, and Barry Bonds, ultimately determining that 27-athletes received steroids from this lab. There was also the Mitchell Report in 2007, another investigation regarding steroid use in sports.
As a result, mandatory testing expanded to include other stimulants in 2005, and in 2011 human growth hormones (HGH) were banned. The Biogenesis scandal broke in 2013, alleging that Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun acquired HGH from an anti-aging clinic. Thirteen players were suspended as a result. There is nothing wrong with a player’s motivation to improve body and mind. Proper diet, vitamins, and supplements are a first step, but sometimes what you put in your body can get you in trouble. In some cases, an athlete may not even know the impact of the contents, so drugs will always be subject to controversy and there will undoubtedly be new developments.
There are other tricks of the trade that fall into the category of cheating. Altering the facility grounds typically involves conniving people in the organization outside of the players themselves. Some might consider this clever gamesmanship, but there are rules against it. Airflow manipulation to change the trajectory of the ball was the big concern at the Metrodome and other indoor facilities. Is this a home field advantage or blatant violation? In 1981, Seattle Mariners manager Maury Wills instructed the grounds crew to draw the batter’s box one foot longer than allowed to prevent his player, Tom Paciorek, from stepping out of the box after complaints from the Oakland Athletics. Naturally, their coach Billy Martin spotted the modification before the game, always seeming to find the smallest indiscretions and holes in the rules. Wills was suspended for two-days. Groundskeepers have been known to water down the basepaths to slow running speed or slope the infield to keep bunts in play. These changes were made depending on the opponent.
The strategy of the game has also changed. Consider the inaugural rule of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club back in 1845: “The ball must be pitched, not thrown, for the bat.” The pitcher’s role back then and for many years following was to put the ball in play for batters to hit. There then came a point where pitchers began intentionally throwing pitches that were difficult to hit, underhanded styles disappeared, and bending the elbow was allowed, soon evolving into today’s overhand delivery. Pitchers, as always, tried to get away with what they could and still do!
Lying and cheating about age has always been a factor in any sport. A player takes advantage of competing with younger kids, sometimes influenced by parents, or suddenly becomes younger to appeal to the scouts. Others have changed their names to cover previous involvement like Roberto Hernández from Puerto Rico and Juan Carlos Oviedo from the Dominican Republic. Denny Almonte competed in the 2001 Little League World Series, despite being two years older than the 12-year cutoff. Controlling such age fabrication is a major concern, particularly when it comes to international competition. Similarly, the 2014 Little League World Series runner-up was disqualified after it was discovered that many of the players lived outside the acceptable geographic range. Even at the amateur level in softball and baseball leagues, “ringers” are often brought in to pad a team’s lineup.
It’s not just great players that are enlisted to help the winning effort. The St. Louis Browns famously sent
Eddie Gaedel to bat after signing a contract with team owner, Bill Veeck. His 3’7″ frame made the strike zone exceptionally small, so naturally he walked and was replaced by a pinch runner. Silly cheating tricks like this include a minor-league catcher who hid a potato in his glove, intentionally deceiving the baserunner as to the actual ball. Finally, New York Mets manager, Bobby Valentine, after being ejected from a game in 1999, disguised himself in a hat, sunglasses, and fake mustache to gain entrance back into the dugout. He was quickly recognized and later suspended for two-games. Are these questionable actions really considered cheating or just good entertainment?
To be continued…
Continued from Post # 2584
After Judge Landis died in 1944, there was a long lull before the next banishment. During the tenures of Commissioners Happy Chandler (1945–1951), Ford Frick (1951–1965), Spike Eckert (1965–1968), Bowie Kuhn (1969–1984) and Peter Ueberroth (1984–1989), only three players (or former players) were banned for life. All three were banned by Kuhn, and all three were later reinstated.
Peter Ueberroth reversed the silly Bowie Kuhn decision to have Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle banned in 1980 and 1983 respectively. Both were retired at the time and no longer involved with baseball but were hired by Atlantic City casinos as greeters and autograph signers. Kuhn opined that a casino was “no place for a baseball hero and Hall of Famer.” Ueberroth’s counter was that the pair were “more a part of baseball than perhaps anyone else.” Pete Rose could probably benefit from this type of sentiment.
“By the time of Kuhn’s tenure, players had organized the Major League Baseball Players Association and negotiated the first Basic Agreement with the owners. Among other things the Agreement provided, for the first time, an independent process through which active players could appeal disciplinary decisions (up to and including lifetime bans) by League presidents or the Commissioner. As of 2024, no such process exists for personnel who are not members of the MLBPA.”
On April Fool’s Day of 1989, Angelo Bartlett “Bart” Giamatti took over the office from Peter Ueberroth. He died five months later of a sudden heart attack. The job does take its toll, not even lasting to see the World Series that year, yet he ruled over Pete Rose’s ineligibility on August 24,1989, a mutual agreement. He is allowed to apply for reinstatement once a year indefinitely, stirring the annual controversy. Should the fact that he admitted to gambling and not on his own team take away from his honors on the diamond. So far, 3,000 hits don’t seem to count!
Francis Thomas “Fay” Vincent Jr. became commissioner 8-days later. He first dealt with George Steinbrenner, New York Yankees owner in 1990 for trying to discredit Dave Winfield. It backfired on him and led to an investigation that tied Steinbrenner to a small-time gambler. Vincent then took control of the team away from him. His other key decision in 1992 involved Yankee player, Steve Howe, after receiving seven suspensions related to drug use. Both of these bans were quickly reversed, erasing most of Vincent’s work.
The position fell into limbo following Vincent’s resignation, as an Acting Commissioner, Allan Huber “Bud” Selig was appointed to fill the term. He was ultimately elected in 1998 and oversaw the disbandment of the American and National League offices, the 1994 strike, the introduction of the wild card, the beginnings of interleague play, revenue sharing, and the establishment of the World Baseball Classic in 2006. Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was banned in 1996 for repeatedly making racial slurs but was reinstated in 1998 as the first and only woman to date on baseball’s blacklist.
Current Commissioner, Robert “Rob” Dean Manfred, followed Selig’s retirement on January 25, 2015. “To date, he has banned the same amount of people as his four previous successors and is second only to Landis for most people placed on the permanent ineligibility list.” Jenry Mejia, New York Mets pitcher was banned on February 12, 2016 after testing positive multiple times for performance-enhancing drugs. He sought and was granted reinstatement in July, 2018. Former St. Louis Cardinal scouting director, Chris Correa was banned for hacking the Houston Astros scouting database. In addition, “he was imprisoned, thus becoming the first person to be incarcerated for activities that resulted in a ban from the game.” John Coppolella, former Atlanta Braves general manager, was permanently banned by Manfred for circumvention of international free agent rules. He was reinstated in 2023. Brandon Taubman, former Houston Astros assistant general manager, was a 2019 addition to “the list.” Inappropriate comments and sign stealing were the charges. Mickey Callaway, former pitching coach of the Los Angeles Angels, was banned in 2021 after an investigation uncovered numerous allegations of sexual harassment.
As far as actual players, the Manfred list is much shorter, but it includes a 2011 Hall of Famer. Roberto Alomar was banned in 2021 for sexual harassment, but he did not lose his place in Cooperstown. Could this eventually set a precedence for a reversed situation? Ferguson Jenkins of the Texas Rangers was banned and reinstated in 1980 for cocaine, hashish, and pot, but still made the Hall of Fame in 1991. Finally, in June of 2024, “San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was banned from baseball for life after betting on the sport and four others were suspended for one year by Major League Baseball on Tuesday in the game’s biggest gambling scandal in decades.”
In Manfred’s eyes, a Pete Rose reinstatement is still an “unacceptable risk to baseball.” Who’s the bad guy? Baseball doesn’t have the only Hall of Fame with an attitude. According to founder, bassist and primary songwriter Nikki Sixx, Motley Crue is banned from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame due to their “bad behavior.” There’s that “bad” word again!
To Be Continued….
