La Russa wants steroid-era stars in HOF, but with asterisks
Count Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa among those who believe baseball's so-called "steroid-era" stars are deserving of admission to Cooperstown - but with one catch.
La Russa disagrees with the one-sided stance of Hall vice chairman Joe Morgan, whose controversial November letter asked voters not to elect suspected or admitted users of performance-enhancing drugs, including Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. But La Russa, the third-winningest manager in baseball history, told MLB Network Radio on Saturday that he'd only welcome those players to Cooperstown if they had asterisks on their plaques.
"I do believe that it's a black mark, as far as what your production was, but you know, pitchers (are) using it, hitters are using it, and if you were great during that period I would not vote against you," La Russa said. "I just would maybe have an asterisk on your plaque, and I know that's not what Joe was saying but there's already been some guys that you question that have been inducted."
La Russa is now the second Hall of Famer to offer even a conditional endorsement for PED-linked stars since Morgan's letter, joining legendary San Francisco Giants slugger Willie McCovey, who lobbied for Bonds' induction in December.
Related - McCovey: 'A sin' that Bonds isn't in the Hall of Fame
In stating his opinion on the issue, however, La Russa acknowledged that his thoughts might not carry as much weight given his connections to admitted PED users. Two of the faces of baseball's drug-fueled era, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, led La Russa's Oakland Athletics to three straight pennants; McGwire later broke Roger Maris' single-season home-run record with La Russa's Cardinals in 1998.
Both men have since admitted to using PEDs during their careers, including while playing for La Russa. The 73-year-old denied allowing his players to juice under his watch.
"I don't know the credibility I have because I know when I got in, same thing with (fellow 2014 inductees Joe Torre and Bobby Cox) ... they managed guys that had some enhancements, and they had some wins because of it," La Russa said.
"My opinion's not really worth much because people will think that I okayed (the use of PEDs), which is not true."
While McGwire wasn't elected in his 10 years on the BBWAA ballot, Bonds and Clemens are gaining momentum in spite of Morgan's letter. The pair have been named on 66.9 percent of this year's 165 publicly released ballots as of Sunday, according to the Hall of Fame ballot tracker.