Alex Rodriguez is eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time on the 2022 ballot. His eligibility undoubtedly will lead to debates with those on both sides of the performance enhancement drugs (PED) narrative.
A-Rod’s stats are more than Hall of Fame worthy. His 696 career home runs are fourth all-time, trailing just Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth. He was a 14-time All-Star, three-time AL MVP and two-time Gold Glove winner. Rodriguez was also a major catalyst on the 2009 Yankees World Series champion team.
Alex Rodriguez
Conversely, A-Rod was suspended for the entire 2014 season for PEDs in one of the most noteworthy MLB controversies of all-time.
What will the Hall of Fame voters do? Bonds and Roger Clemens, two of the other all-time greats who were implicated in baseball’s PED fiasco, have not yet been enshrined in Cooperstown. And guess what? They’re both in their final year of eligibility on the ballot.
Joining A-Rod on the ballot for the first time is David Ortiz, who has his own PED controversy. Ortiz was reportedly on the list of players who tested positive during MLB’s trial testing run in 2003, but has continued to deny usage.
To qualify for the Hall, A-Rod and Ortiz would need 75 percent of the votes from voters. We will find out on Jan. 25, 2022 who, if anyone, will get the call to Cooperstown. As that date approaches, count on the PED debate returning to the sport stories news cycle.
Cam Not Enough
Cam Newton’s return to Bank of American Stadium in Charlotte was not supposed to end like it did. Most thought the storyline would be that Newton would revitalize the Carolina Panthers’ offense and that the team’s defense would continue it’s fine play.
Newton did his part but the defense did not as the Washington Football Team handed Carolina a 27-21 defeat.
Newton, making his first start in Charlotte since Week 2 of the 2019 season, looked healthy and fully capable of winning upcoming games. Meanwhile, the Panthers defense digressed and let former Carolina quarterback Taylor Heinicke look like an All-Pro signal-caller.
As a result, the Panthers are now 5-6 for the season and perhaps have thoughts of why Heinicke is still not wearing a Carolina uniform.
