Reggie Jackson, Johnny Bench: Let Clemens into Hall of Fame

Reggie Jackson, Johnny Bench: Let Clemens into Hall of Fame

Reggie Jackson, who believes baseball turned its back for years to rampant steroid use, told USA TODAY Sports that Roger Clemens deserves to join him in the Hall of Fame in 2013, a sentiment echoed by Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench.

Jackson and Bench, who have been critical about the possible induction of steroid users into the Hall of Fame, said that Clemens' acquittal on all charges of lying to Congress in denying use of performance-enhancing drugs should open the door to the game's Cooperstown, N.Y. shrine.

"Here's a guy who took his principles that he believed in, and exposed himself to that kind of ridicule, to prove he was right,'' Jackson told USA TODAY Sports in a telephone interview. "He was proven through the legal system that he was correct. If you can beat Congress and federal judges, buddy, you must have had a pretty strong case.

"Yet, I listen to television today, and TV says that although he was ruled not guilty, he's going to be held accountable in public court, and they doubt seriously he'll ever get into the Hall of Fame.

"I don't understand that. He was ruled not guilty. He beat Congress. Our judicial system says he's not guilty. By that ruling, he should get into the Hall of Fame, regardless of anybody's opinion.''

Bench told USA TODAY Sports that he didn't need a trial to prove Clemens' innocence. He took justice on in his own way. He directly asked Clemens himself years ago whether he took performance-enhancing drugs.

"Roger was straight to the point with me,'' Bench said in a telephone interview, "and he told me he was innocent. That was good enough for me. I didn't need a trial. I wouldn't think he'd lie to me. Now, it's up to the voters.

"I'm sure people will still have some kind of resentment, and people want to keep the purity of [the Hall of Fame], but for me, I'd welcome him into the Hall of Fame.''

Jackson, who says there likely will be Hall of Famers that boycott the ceremony when players linked to steroid use are inducted, believes that Clemens and Barry Bonds belong. They each won their case in federal court, with Bonds only being charged with obstruction of justice, not steroid use. Players who tested positive like Rafael Palmeiro, or admitted to steroid use like Mark McGwire, don't belong in the Hall, Jackson says. The voting bloc has not been kind to many of the game's stars from the height of the steroid era, and several voters have already expressed reservations about voting for Bonds and Clemens.

Yet, with Bonds convicted on the single obstruction charge, Bench isn't sure he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Bonds, after all, is a convicted felon unless he wins his appeal.

"There's always been a little more haze over his name and everything else,'' Bench said. "They're certainly not going to elect [Mark] McGwire, so I don't think they'll vote for Barry. That's just the voting the way it is.

"If [Bonds] was exonerated and everything was clear, it might be different. But there's still pending stuff going on. Until that's worked out, there will be a little hesitancy for all of us.''

There will be plenty more test cases on the ballot. Houston Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell, who never tested positive nor was remotely connected to PEDs in his career, has failed to garner more than 57% of the writers' vote. Sammy Sosa and Mike Piazza, who also never tested positive but who experienced a remarkable increase in size and strength, are on the ballot for the first time this year.

"There's a wavy line there,'' says Jackson. "Some guys will skate away unscathed. Some don't. I'm glad I don't have to resolve it. I'm glad I don't get a vote.''

Said Bench: "There are several guys out there, you can't make a decision on. You don't know what the Commissioner holds in his hand, if there's a basic evidence of some form, or somebody didn't pass the acid test. The Commissioner has to dance around the rain drop. How much do you release, how much do you leak?''

There are no true answers, only confusion, with Hall of Famers not sure any longer who to believe.

"Part of this is our fault,'' Jackson said. "We enjoyed the success of the great home-run race in '98 [with McGwire and Sosa]. It used to be that just two guys [Roger Maris and Babe Ruth] hit 60 homers, then it was four guys that hit 60, and doing it every year. Then, it was like 10 guys who hit 50 homers. It was like, "Whoa!' It got stupid.

"It wasn't just the game's greats. It was Luis Gonzalez (57 in 2001). It was Brady Anderson (50 in 1996). When that happened, we were shocked. Our culture was shocked. We lost our measuring sticks.

"The greatness of the nature we cherished, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Frank Robinson, the names that were so important to us, we lost all of that.

"We all sat back and watched it get out of control. It was like, "OK, now how do we fix it?' [Commissioner] Bud Selig is doing his darnedest trying to correct that, but the horses got loose. They're already out of the gate.''

Yet, for Clemens and Bonds, they should no longer be subjected to the speculation, Jackson says. The gray turned to black and white, he says, once they were found not guilty in federal court.

"You have to really admire what Roger did. He stood up for what he believed in,'' Jackson says. "Here's a guy whose life has been altered, which cost a fortune to buy part of his credibility back, and he did it. He won't get his money back. But he paid for the truth.

"I'd be proud to welcome him into the Hall of Fame.''