Rewriting baseball history isn’t the answer, no matter what Roberto Alomar might have done

So, like doubtless many others, I am dismayed and conflicted about the sad news — every which way — that Roberto Alomar, arguably the greatest superstar in Toronto Blue Jays annals, has been whacked by Major League Baseball for sexual misconduct.

The Hall of Famer — still Hall of Famer — was on Friday terminated by commissioner Rob Manfred and placed on the “Ineligible List.” Simultaneously with that shocking news, the Blue Jays announced they would also be “severing all ties” with Alomar. Further, the club will eradicate Alomar’s name from the Level of Excellence and take down his banner at the Rogers Centre.

Cooperstown, by contrast, won’t remove Alomar’s plaque from the Hall. “When he was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in the Class of 2011, Alomar was an eligible candidate in good standing,” chairman Jane Forbes Clark said in a statement. “His plaque will remain on display in the Hall of Fame in recognition of his accomplishments in the game, and his enshrinement reflects his eligibility and the perspective of the BBWAA voters at that time.”

I suspect there will be displeasure over that by some members of the BBWAA. I am a member, but I don’t disagree with the Hall’s more measured response. It would be insupportable to retroactively banish someone from Cooperstown when egregious conduct comes to light. Just imagine going backwards in time and stripping a player of that specific honour, a summation of career brilliance, for behaviour which is now recognized as reprehensible but wasn’t then. So many scoundrels are in the Hall and, at least figuratively, their statues would have to be toppled.

That can be justified for historical racism of acute proportions, for slave-traders and Confederacy generals — traitors who waged war on America — whose marble and bronze depictions in the public square are an abomination, their image a constant wounding sight for descendants of bondage, for all Black people.

At the very least, that can be empirically quantified.

I don’t know what Alomar is alleged to have done and Manfred isn’t telling. I do know that some accusations, when exposed in a court of law, criminal or civil, do not rise to the threshold of conviction. And nowhere have I seen a claim that Alomar’s conduct was criminal. It might or might not pass the sniff test of a human rights complaint. It clearly did not pass scrutiny of the MLB investigation — conducted independently by an external legal firm.

The complaint, lodged by an individual described only as a “baseball industry employee,” dates back to 2014, long after Alomar’s retirement. As a result, Alomar has been excised — fired, in a word — by baseball. “Having reviewed all of the available evidence from the now completed investigation, I have concluded that Mr. Alomar violated MLB’s policies, and that termination of his consultant contract and placement on MLB’s Ineligible List are warranted,” Manfred said in his statement.

That means Alomar is ineligible to perform services on behalf of any major- or minor-league club, either as an employee or independent contractor. The Jays had no choice but to terminate his special assistant role after that. “Ineligible” is a more severe designation than the “restricted list.” Had Alomar not already been elected to Cooperstown, he would henceforth be barred, a rare undertaking, with Pete Rose (for betting on baseball games) the most notorious example in recent decades.

I wish there were more details disclosed about the alleged incident, which surely could have been done without identifying the complainant. For me, Alomar is still the guy who hit arguably the most important home run in franchise history: on a sun-drenched afternoon in Oakland, a game-tying home run off Dennis Eckersley in the American League Championship Series, after the Jays had been down 6-1. It changed everything as Toronto would go on to win its first World Series.

That matters. And it can’t be undone even if, as the Jays have done, Alomar — the only Jay to have his number retired — is rendered persona non grata and un-Leveled of Excellence. That doesn’t make me a denier, nor dismissive of serious allegations. But I’ve covered enough legal proceedings on this subject to understand that a great deal of nuance separates accusation from even the lower bar of civil action proof. The vacuum of information leaves a worrisome gap for warranting so ham-fisted a decision.

And this comes from someone who was once called a “f——— c—-” by a player in the Jays clubhouse; who, on another occasion, had a player simulate pelvis thrusting from the rear while I was bending over to conduct an interview with another player at his stall. These were not incidents I reported to the club or to my employer. I’m just not that delicate a flower.

Of course, MLB isn’t a court of law. It is a privilege, not a right, to play, to be part of the professional baseball domain. Alomar hasn’t overtly denied the allegation — that’s important — but he did address it Friday in a statement on Twitter.

“I am disappointed, surprised, and upset with today’s news. With the current social climate, I understand why Major League Baseball has taken the position they have.

“My hope is that this allegation can be heard in a venue that will allow me to address the situation directly.

“I will continue to spend my time helping kids pursue their baseball dreams.”

Later, the employee who made the allegation issued a statement through lawyer Lisa Banks:

“We applaud MLB for having this matter thoroughly investigated and for taking meaningful action against Mr. Alomar ... My client has no plans to file a lawsuit or take further action. She has not exposed Mr. Alomar’s behaviour for notoriety or for money and looks forward to moving on with her life. She simply wants to ensure that Mr. Alomar is held accountable ...”

Alomar most recently held the title of special assistant with the Jays and has been involved with youth baseball initiatives in both Puerto Rico and Canada.

Club president and CEO Mark Shapiro issued the following statement:

“The Toronto Blue Jays believe in creating a safe, inclusive and empathetic environment, where everyone involved in our game is respected. I am reaffirming our organization’s commitment to our employees, fans, media and partners to uphold a culture of respect that treats all individuals with dignity.”

This isn’t the first time Alomar has been in the crosshairs of a sexual scandal. In 1996, a woman who claimed she’d been spurned by the then-Jay after a brief sexual encounter was sentenced to nine months in jail after pleading guilty to a charge of threatening to kill Alomar. She’d previously been obsessed with Andre Agassi and Paul McCartney.

In 2009, the 12-time all-star was hit with a $15-million lawsuit by an ex-g who claimed Alomar had unprotected sex with her while infected with AIDS. Of the lawsuit, Alomar said at the time: “It is filled with lies and I am deeply saddened that someone I care for would make such terrible accusations and try to hurt me in this way.”

The lawsuit was apparently settled out of court shortly afterwards.