In this 2006 column, Pedro Gomez explains why he couldn't vote for Mark McGwire and other steroid-era stars for the Hall of Fame:

That's one of the many beauties of baseball -- you can actually believe your eyes. If what you think you are seeing is unbelievable, then chances are it is. It's the reality of the steroids era and something all Hall voters will have to grapple with now and in the coming years. ... Again, the basic beauty of baseball is that you can trust your eyes. For many of us, our eyes told us something was wrong with what McGwire was accomplishing late in his career. Now I, along with 500-plus other voters, will have a say.

Which makes his 2009 Hall of Fame ballot all the more dumbfounding.

Gomez used his ballot - which he calls an "honor" - to vote for Jay Bell. That's right, Pedro Gomez believes Jay Bell is a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

To repeat: Jay. Bell. First. Ballot. Hall. Of. Famer.

Tim Raines? No. Bert Blyleven? Nah. Jay Bell? Absolutely.

Never mind the fact Bell's career numbers (.265, 1,963 hits, 195 HR, 860 RBI, 60 SB, two All-Star games) don't merit even passing Hall consideration, let alone first-ballot consideration.

The bigger issue here is Gomez's blatant hypocrisy as to whether writerly suspicions should play a role in Hall of Fame voting.

This vote seems to be based purely on the time Gomez covered Bell and the Diamondbacks from 1998-2002 for the Arizona Republic - and especially the 1999 season. Bell had his career year in 1999, with 38 home runs and 112 RBI, while batting .289/.374/.557.

How good was Bell in '99?

1. His 38 home runs were 17 more than his second best career year.

2. His 112 RBI were 20 more than his second best year.

3. His SLG was 116 points higher than his second best year.

Which brings us back to his 2006 column, in which he explains why he couldn't vote for Mark McGwire for the Hall of Fame:

Again, the basic beauty of baseball is that you can trust your eyes. For many of us, our eyes told us something was wrong with what McGwire was accomplishing late in his career.

Late in his career?

Gomez voted for Jay Bell, the very definition of a mediocre player who had his career year at age 33 at the height of the steroid era - and when he was just a year younger than Mark McGwire's career year in 1998 at age 34.

We of course have no evidence Jay Bell was using steroids or other substances in 1999. Nor do we even care (though many like to speculate).

But, given what Gomez wrote in 2006, something apparently has gone very wrong with Pedro's eyes. Not to mention his judgment.

Labels: Hall Of Fame, Jay Bell, Mark McGwire, Pedro Gomez