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Dan Shaughnessy didn't vote for Piazza because he thinks he took roids


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http://da.radio.cbssports.com/2015/01/07/dan-shaughnessy-didnt-vote-for-piazza-because-i-believe-he-took-peds/

 

 

Four players were inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday, and Mike Piazza was not one of them. One of the greatest offensive catchers in the history of the game, Piazza hit 427 home runs over 16 MLB seasons. He also had 2,127 hits, 1,335 RBIs and a .545 slugging percentage.

So, why did Piazza not get in? In a word, steroids – even though we don’t definitively know if he ever used them.

“I did not (vote for him),” Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy said on The DA Show. “I’m withholding on him. And I know it’s unfair, but let’s start off. By definition, all voters are jackasses. We get that. We operate from that starting point, and it’s almost impossible to remain consistent. Everybody has their own case. All I ask is I promise not to be judgmental about your case if you’re not about mine. I’m out on the PED guys. I know he’s not proven, but it doesn’t add up to me. And so, I’m out. If it weren’t for that, I would vote for him because numerically as a catcher, his numbers are off-the-charts. You got to vote for him.”

So what exactly doesn’t add up about Piazza?

“Well, I mean, he was drafted in the 62nd round,” Shaughnessy said. “Not that you can’t overcome that. Tom Brady was drafted in the sixth round. I get that. But he played in an era which had a lot of artificially inflated numbers and guys. I believe he’s one of those guys. I can’t prove it. I can’t prove a lot of things. It’s my vote. That’s the vote. It may be unfair. I’d rather be unfair erring on that side than on the other.”

Still, Shaughnessy admitted he’s probably unknowingly voted for a PED user at some point.

“I would guess yes, sure,” he said. “But I go with what I saw in the time I saw it, and that’s all I can do. I understand those who aren’t crazy about this line of thinking. (Jeff) Bagwell is another case. If you go strictly by the position he played, the numbers he put up and the time he played – unless you thought he was dirty, you’d have to vote for him.

“I mean, we heard rumors about just about everybody,” Shaughnessy continued, “and certainly in (Piazza’s) case, you did. The eye ball test, he didn’t pass it for me. I’m sorry that doesn’t work for a lot of people, but that’s my position and I’m sticking to it.”

Not all of Shaughnessy’s fellow voters feel the same way. Piazza debuted on the ballot in 2012, garnering 57.8 percent of the vote. Last year, he got 62.2 percent. This year, he received 69.9 percent – just 28 votes shy of induction.

A player needs 75 percent of the vote to be elected.

“I think that as time goes on, I don’t think people are going to be having (this PED) discussion,” Shaughnessy said. “You can tell with the younger voters. I think there’s going to be some yielding. Although it’s surprising (Roger) Clemens and (Barry) Bonds aren’t getting additional love. It doesn’t appear they’re trending upward.”

Bonds got 36.8 percent of the vote, while Clemens got 37.5 percent.

The four players elected this year did so comfortably. Randy Johnson got a whopping 97.3 percent of the vote, while Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio got 91.1, 82.9 and 82.7, respectively.

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Mike Piazza took steroids. Also Im so sick of hearing how he's the greatest hitting catcher of all-time. Josh Gibson is the greatest hitting catcher of all-time and he didnt take steroids and was probably 50x better defensively. My Grandma could steal on Piazza.

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Mike Piazza took steroids. Also Im so sick of hearing how he's the greatest hitting catcher of all-time. Josh Gibson is the greatest hitting catcher of all-time and he didnt take steroids and was probably 50x better defensively. My Grandma could steal on Piazza.

Gibson for no fault of his own never played in the major leagues. It was also different era, so it's impossible to say either way. Gibson is in the Hall of Fame, so should Piazza.
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Mike Piazza took steroids. Also Im so sick of hearing how he's the greatest hitting catcher of all-time. Josh Gibson is the greatest hitting catcher of all-time and he didnt take steroids and was probably 50x better defensively. My Grandma could steal on Piazza.

I don't think you can compare the two leagues. Piazza was good defensively other than base stealing. 

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I don't think you can compare the two leagues. Piazza was good defensively other than base stealing.

Nonsense. Most baseball writers and 20-something yr old fanboys dont know the history of the game so ofcourse the roider who was the face of the Mets for 8 years is the greatest catcher of all-time. The players themselves have outed Piazza as a roider the guy's body went through a metamorphosis. Its ridiculous that the Mitchell Report, one investigation by a former senator who used to be a director of the red sox, is considered the gospel as to who did or did not use steroids when most of the mlb was on PEDs from the mid-90s until they finally started testing for it.
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He did take roids. And penis.

Dig.

The kid who grew up with a batting cage in his mansion who surrounded himself with the world's biggest steroid abusers in Venice Beach who had easy access to any PED under the sun from the Tijuana pharmacies? Yeah we're supposed to believe he never did steroids because he wasn't on the "I hate the Yankees" manifesto the Mitchell Report.

Amazing people are actually outraged about this.

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Don't think anyone calls Piazza the greatest catcher of all time, possibly hitting catcher, but Johnny Bench I believe is still considered the best cather of all time. By the way, I take Pudge Rodriguez over Piazza, but both guys as you know have steroid ties.

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Nonsense. Most baseball writers and 20-something yr old fanboys dont know the history of the game so ofcourse the roider who was the face of the Mets for 8 years is the greatest catcher of all-time. The players themselves have outed Piazza as a roider the guy's body went through a metamorphosis. Its ridiculous that the Mitchell Report, one investigation by a former senator who used to be a director of the red sox, is considered the gospel as to who did or did not use steroids when most of the mlb was on PEDs from the mid-90s until they finally started testing for it.

Hey, I am an admitted Met fan, but I was not a huge Piazza guy. Not home grown, and I always consider him a Dodger. That is what I think he go into the Hall as.

 

All that said, I think it is pretty hypocritical for you smash the Mitchell report because of a supposed bias by a Red Sox, YET you taint Piazza without any true incriminating evidence. 

 

Aren't you as bad as the Mitchell report then? Creating witch hunts that are misleading?

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Nonsense. Most baseball writers and 20-something yr old fanboys dont know the history of the game so ofcourse the roider who was the face of the Mets for 8 years is the greatest catcher of all-time. The players themselves have outed Piazza as a roider the guy's body went through a metamorphosis. Its ridiculous that the Mitchell Report, one investigation by a former senator who used to be a director of the red sox, is considered the gospel as to who did or did not use steroids when most of the mlb was on PEDs from the mid-90s until they finally started testing for it.

 

Read Piazza's scouting reports, he was always a big guy.  I'm not a 20-something fanboy and am well versed in the history of baseball.  One of my favorite books as a kid was a huge cope of the Baseball Encyclopedia.

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Read Piazza's scouting reports, he was always a big guy.  I'm not a 20-something fanboy and am well versed in the history of baseball.  One of my favorite books as a kid was a huge cope of the Baseball Encyclopedia.

In the area that I live, a lot of the dads played baseball and knew Piazza. he could turn around a fastball with the best of them. Off speed stuff baffled him. 

 

They say he did have a physique then, BUT when pressed they question how he got that size.

 

Nothing more than heresay, but these are guys that played against at HS and Legion ball.

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Yes, but they lived in a modest home. I know the area.

Modest home yet his father was rich and got his son adopted by the Dodgers in the 64th round because he had connects all over major league baseball.  I don't even care that he was a rich kid it just goes to show he's always had the money and access to steroids and don't listen to me skippy, the players who played at the time Piazza played are saying he did steroids.

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Modest home yet his father was rich and got his son adopted by the Dodgers in the 64th round because he had connects all over major league baseball.  I don't even care that he was a rich kid it just goes to show he's always had the money and access to steroids and don't listen to me skippy, the players who played at the time Piazza played are saying he did steroids.

ok, sparky.

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Starting pitchers with Piazza catching 3.80 ERA

Same pitchers without Piazza catching 4.34 ERA

 

Mike's time will come. 

 

Next year.

 

He should go in. If nobody did drugs and he had those numbers, he gets in right away. They made him wait, I guess it is the writers protesting. The no brainer guys Clemens \ Bonds really get penalized obviously. The guys that people aren't really sure about, some of them get caught in the cross fire unfortunately.

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Modest home yet his father was rich and got his son adopted by the Dodgers in the 64th round because he had connects all over major league baseball.  I don't even care that he was a rich kid it just goes to show he's always had the money and access to steroids and don't listen to me skippy, the players who played at the time Piazza played are saying he did steroids.

 

No one who'll put their name on it says he used.  Regardless, there are steroid guys and cheaters already in the Hall and more coming.

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I look forward to posting in this thread next year when Piazza again doesn't get in the hall of fame.

We will all count the minutes. It must be nice to know how to read the minds of 549 baseball writers, one year ahead of time, particularly when said player was only 28 votes shy of this year's ballot, and gaining votes each year.

 

Who you get in Monday's title tilt?

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Modest home yet his father was rich and got his son adopted by the Dodgers in the 64th round because he had connects all over major league baseball.  I don't even care that he was a rich kid it just goes to show he's always had the money and access to steroids and don't listen to me skippy, the players who played at the time Piazza played are saying he did steroids.

 

Isnt Piazza related to Lasorda?

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Next year.

 

He should go in. If nobody did drugs and he had those numbers, he gets in right away. They made him wait, I guess it is the writers protesting. The no brainer guys Clemens \ Bonds really get penalized obviously. The guys that people aren't really sure about, some of them get caught in the cross fire unfortunately.

 

I dont see how you can have a Hall of Fame without inducting Barry Bonds.

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