If You Think PED Users Should Be Kept Out of HoF, What's Your Take on Tony LaRussa?

[gmarutiak]

After reading the article about Jack Clark's comments on Albert Pujols, I started thinking about Tony LaRussa's "legacy."

I think that most of us would agree that, based on his numbers, Tony LaRussa should get into the Hall of Fame as one of the most successful managers of all time.

But, you don't have to spend too much time thinking about it to realize that a lot of his wins came from teams that won (at least) in part to the steroid users who were on the rosters.

Even if you don't count the Pujols era (and I'm obviously not the guy to say if he did anything or not), those now-notorious Oakland Athletics teams sure put a lot of wins on LaRussa's resume. The same goes for the St. Louis teams when McGwire played there.

Personally, I agree with the baseball writers who vote for Bonds, Clemens, etc. to get into the HoF, because the names of those who have gotten caught only scratches the surface. Because of this belief, I think LaRussa should get into the HoF, but only AFTER Bonds, Clemens, and some of the other guys. If they don't get in, I don't think he should.

I'm curious if any of you have an opinion on this. Thanks in advance.

 

[Lars]

For all his misgivings, he gets more than a pass because he's seen as one of the managing greats in his time.

It's better to acknowledge him for his accomplishments than try to break his career down because of the types of players at his disposal.

 

[TNP777]

If he was using PEDs while managing, he should suffer the same fate as all the other juicers.

 

[Big Mac McGwire]

If your going to make the argument that managers and WS winning teams shoud be discredited cause they managed juicers and the teams benifeited then you MUST discredit just about every world series from the late 80's up till 2009. Cause chances are that 99.9% of the teams had at least 1 guy that was using and helped their team in some capacity.

And LaRussa......First Ballot. Their is no debate. Title in Both leagues along with the wins.

 

[RogerMarisCollector61]

ZERO TOLERANCE. Even if the team's bat boy is caught snorting coke, the whole team should be disqualified and sent to Siberia.

 

[craftysouthpaw]

Not to mention his DUI issues. But apparently the writers only invoke the character clause when PED's in the modern era are at issue and not alcohol, womanizing, beating one's wife, blatant racism, or PED's taken prior to 1980. For what it is worth, I think he should be inducted.

 

[KnuckleballNation]

Whether or not a manager knew about PED players on a team shouldn't matter. It's ultimately not their responsibility. The players should bear the burden of their mistakes and not those who did what they could with what they had. If a manager supplied or encouraged steroid use then they should definitely share the blame. Without the steroid users they would have found ways to win regardless. La Russa is an excellent manager, despite being a Cardinal at one point, and would have won regardless of the muscles behind the homers.

 

[Juan Gris]

If he was using PEDs while managing, he should suffer the same fate as all the other juicers.

+1. PED-laced sunflower seeds, gum and tooth picks are what's bringing down baseball.

 

[MansGame]

ZERO TOLERANCE. Even if the team's bat boy is caught snorting coke, the whole team should be disqualified and sent to Siberia.

+1 Couldn't agree more with this.


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[muskiesfan]

I think that he knew and didn't care. LaRussa's managerial career was greatly benefited by PED users. It wouldn't surprise me if we ever found out that he helped get, supply, or inject players.

Will that keep him out of the Hall? Doubtful. Writers aren't intelligent enough to make their stand against everyone, just the players that they want to make statements about.