The case of Robinson Cano and Cooperstown is going to be an interesting one.
Cano is an eight-time all-star and five-time silver slugger and a two-time gold glove award winner. He’s also helped the Yankees with a World Series.
Those numbers are all better than Tim Raines, who has recently been inducted in the hall of fame.
But now Cano has tested positive for a diuretic that is used a masking agent for PEDs. It’s Cano’s first test and some want him thrown on the list of players who should never get into the hall because they’re a cheater.
I’m not of that thought. The players from the steroid era like Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds we can never know when they started or how many years they were juicing. Now, with the amount of drug testing going on, this is one strike for Cano.
He’s still allowed to play baseball in 80 games and his numbers will grow. Is there reason to be skeptical he hasn’t been juicing the entire time? Sure. But isn’t there a little bit of doubt for baseball players period because of their history.
When his name comes up for induction, he’d still be on my ballot if I had one… unless of course there is a strike two.