Kruk, Schmidt, Showalter talk about state of baseball, Hall of Fame during Seacrest fundraiser

Buck? Mike? They were one nut away from an R.E.M. reunion.

With the heated discussion of performance enchaining drugs (PEDs), Kruk, an ESPN baseball analyst, commented.

“From an analyst side I don’t like it,” he said. “From a realistic side, there are a bunch of guys who think they need it to compete.”

Alex Rodriguez again is in the news for PEDs. He has admitted using them in the past.

“When you have been great and your stats start slipping, sometimes you change it up,” Kruk said. “Some want to say ‘kick them out of baseball.’ Pretty soon you will be kicking them all out.”

...Schmidt is not so sure “how I would have handled it during my career. I’d like to think I would make the right moral decision. I understand how those things can happen. Right or wrong, it is not for me to say.”

He and Kruk are concerned that the baseball writers who select those enshrined in the Hall of Fame may be too cynical. Craig Biggio and Mike Piazza, eligible for the first time this year, did not get enough votes. Biggio has never been mentioned in PED discussions, while Piazza has denied any use.

“They both have the credentials and will get in,” Schmidt said. “What about next year, are the writers going to vote in Greg Maddux? Can they doubt him?