By Kevin Woo, Robinson Marketing | November 30, 2012
San Francisco – This week the ballots for the 2013 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame class were mailed to members of the Baseball Writers of America Association. Included on the ballot for the are first time Barry Bonds, who hit the most home runs in major league history; Roger Clemens, who won seven Cy Young Award’s, which recognizes baseball’s best pitcher each year; and Sammy Sosa, who ranks eighth on the all-time career home run list. The baseball writers will determine who will (or won’t) get into the hall.
All three players played a big part in baseball’s steroid era. Bonds is a convicted felon having been found guilty of one charge of lying to a grand jury. Clemens faced criminal charges of lying to Congress. He was later found innocent. When testifying before Congress in 2005, Sosa lost his ability to speak English and had his lawyer read a prepared statement denying that he’d ever taken steroids.
Will these three get into the Hall of Fame? Certainly not this near. Seventy-five percent of the baseball writers need to vote for a player before he can get in. That’s not going to happen. Bonds, Clemens and Sosa (and others who have been caught up in the steroid scandal) need fess up about their steroid use; do something in conjunction with major league baseball to help rid the game of performing enhancement drugs; and make amends with the press who hold the key to the hall.
Pete Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader isn’t in the Hall of Fame either because he gambled on his own team. Unless Bonds, Clemens and Sosa do something to repair their public image and relationship with the media it’s going to be hard to explain to the next generation of baseball fans why the all-time hits leader, all-time home run hitter, one of the game’s best pitchers and the eighth leading all time home run hitter aren’t in the hall.
If you were the PR representative for any of these players what would your media strategy be? Join the discussion or post your comments on our Facebook page.
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Kevin Woo is a partner at Robinson Marketing, a public relations agency with offices in San Francisco and Seattle.