JUST A MINUTE , TONY

Cooperstown Has a Few Questions First

By John B Holway

 

Mark McGwire in Cooperstown next year?  Already the debate has heated up.  It’s now presumed that his prodigious home run totals late in his career were not achieved entirely with the muscles Mother Nature gave him. 

But what about Tony Gwynn, who also becomes eligible in the vote in December?  His rejuvenation late in life, beginning at the age of 33 in 1993, should also raise eyebrows.  It looks a lot like the McGwire-Bonds pattern.  Here’s his record:

 

 

Year            Age          BA.     HR

1982            22            .259       1

1983            23            .309       1

1984            24            .351*     5

1985            25            .317       6

1986            26            .329*     7

1987            27            .370*     7

1988            28            .313*     7

1989            29            .336*     4

1990            30            .309       4

1991            31            .317       5

1992            32            .317       6

 

1993            33            .358       7         

1994            34            .394*   12

1995            35            .368*     9

1996            36            .353*     3

1997            37            .372*   17

1998            38            .321     16

1999            39            .338     10

2000            40            .323       1

2001            41            .321       1

*led league

Gwynn had two careers.  He had a good career in his 20s, winning four batting titles with a high of .370, before tailing off at the age of 30. 

His second career began in 1993.  Tony suddenly added 41 points to his average, then challenged .400 at the age of 34.  It was the first of four more titles for Tony.  His last one was .372 at the age of 37.  He was a better hitter at 37 than he had been at 27.  He also put on 15 pounds, and his home runs almost tripled, from six at age 32 to 17 at 37. 

That raises my eyebrows. 

In 1995 Ken Caminiti joined Gwynn on the San Diego Padres and, he later confessed, began to use steroids.  In ’96 Caminiti added 14 home runs and 36 RBIs, he and Gwynn led the San Diego Padres to 21 additional victories and the pennant.

Coincidence? 

Gwynn’s defenders say his rejuvenation in 1993 was at least partly the result of expansion, which watered down the pitching a bit.  They say his power surge in 1997 and ’98 followed a talk with Ted Williams, who urged him to pull inside pitches.

Still, granting Gwynn every benefit of doubt, there are four month between now and the Hall of Fame vote in December.  The baseball press should use them to ask some probing questions.  The questions are legitimate; let’s hope the answers will defuse all suspicions so Gwynn can accept his plaque with no shadow attached.

Suppose Pete Rose’s gambling had been exposed after Pete was elected rather than before.  Would baseball take his plaque down?  Or would it remain up there for tourists to point to and shake their heads about? 

Is baseball like bicycling?  Can it take away a champion’s yellow jersey?

Another star who has some questions to answer is Roger Clemens.  He won't be eligible for the Hall until 2011 at the earliest, but, like Gwynn, he also had two distinct careers. 

                                    Age       W-   L             ERA

1984   Boston             21           9 -  4                4.32

1985                            22           7 -  5                3.29

1986                            23         24*-  4               2.48*

1987                            24         20*-  9               2.99

1988                            25         18  -12               2.93

1989                            26          17 - 11             3.13

1990                            27          21 -   6             1.93*

1991                            28          18 - 10             2.62*

1992                            29          18 -  11            2.41*  

1993                            30          11 -  14            4.46

1994                            32            9 -   7              2.88

1995                            32          10 -   5              4.18

1996                            33          10 -  13             3.63

 

1997 Toronto              34        21*-  7               2.05*

1998                            35        20* - 6               2.65*

1999 New York           36         4 – 10               4.00

2000                            37          3 -   8               3.70

2001                            38        20 -   3               3.51

2002                            39        13 -   6               4.35

2003                            40        17 -   8               3.91

2004                            41        18 -   4               2.98

2005                            42        13 -   8               1.87

 

Clemens had a very good career in Boston with five Cy Young awards in his 20s.  I saw him pitch then, and he looked like an NFL running back (he was listed at 205 pounds).  Then followed by a four-year drop-off at age 30. 

Rog had an amazing comeback in Toronto in 1997 at the ago of 34.  He more than doubled his wins, cut his ERA by a run and a half, and added 35 strikeouts to reach his highest total ever.  It was the first of two Cy Youngs, in Canada before the Yankees snapped him up.

Clemens’ first two years in New York were disappointing.  He fell from 20 wins to 14, added almost two runs to his ERA, and dropped more than 100 strikeouts. 

Then, two years later and 15 pounds heavier, the 38 year-old bounced back to

20-3 and another Cy Young.

 In Houston, life began again at 40 for Roger – two more Cy Youngs.   And in 2005, packing 235 pounds (but looking heavier, more like the Michelin Tire man), he lowered his ERA to 1.87, the best of his life – at the age of 42.

I think Clemens also has some questions to answer before he knocks on the door of Valhalla.

Fans and writers can scan the records to find other players to question.

Sammy Sosa went from 30 homers at age 28 in 1997 to 66 in ’98.  Rafael Palmeiro jumped from 23 at age 29 in 1994 to 39 in ’95, and to 47 in 2000 at the age of 34.

Others might also bear scrutiny from Sen Mitchell’s investigating committee.   Baltimore’s Brady Anderson comes to mind.  The leadoff hitter went from 16 homers in 1995 to 50 in ’96.  The Phillies’ Lenny Dykstra went from six in ’92 to 19 in ’93, when he led the Phillies to the pennant.

Actually, steroids had been around for two decades before 1993.  The East German girl swimmers were accused of using them in the 1972 and ’76 Olympics.  Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal when he tested positive in the 1984 Games.  We Americans clucked our tongues and said we would never do anything like that.

Uh  huh.

In 1985 37 year-old Carlton Fisk leaped from 21 homers to 37.  I'm not saying that Fisk used steroids; I'm just saying that Sen. Mitchell might want to schedule a chat with him.

In ’88 Kevin Mitchell went from 19 to 47.  In ’99 Cecil Fielder hit nine, spent a year in Japan, came home, and slugged 51. 

None of these is in much danger of being elected to Cooperstown.  But should there be some penalty for cheating?  For example, should a cheater be stripped of his Major League pension?

The immediate question is:  Should the Hall of Fame electors have all the facts in front of them before they cast their ballots four months from now?

I should think Gwynn and Clemens would welcome a probe, so when they do stand on the dais at Cooperstown, there will be no taint.  It would be far better to investigate first and avoid a scandal later. 

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John B Holway’s book, "TED, the Kid", has just been published by Scorpio Books