Wow! Frank Robinson doesn't mess around.
WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson thinks Rafael Palmeiro's statistics should be erased because the Baltimore Orioles slugger was suspended for a failed drug test.
"Where do you go back, stop and say, 'OK, when did he start using steroids?' To eliminate all that, and get the players' attention, you wipe the whole thing out," Robinson told MLB.com in a story posted on the Web site Tuesday night.
"Why put the burden on baseball to try and figure out where to go, and maybe put an asterisk? Just wipe the whole thing out."
Palmeiro was suspended Aug. 1, less than three weeks after he recorded his 3,000th hit to become one of four players in major league history with that many hits and at least 500 homers.
His 569 career homers entering Tuesday rank ninth in history.
Robinson, a member of the Hall of Fame, is sixth with 586 homers. He has been reluctant to discuss steroids.
Asked by MLB.com if he would wipe out Palmeiro's records, Robinson answered: "I would. He was found to have used steroids, and he served a 10-day suspension."
"I was surprised and taken aback that he was using steroids, because I never thought about him being a person that might be a steroids user," Robinson continued. "I always admired him for the way he went about his work, the way he performed on the field and the way he conducted himself off the field."
WASHINGTON -- Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson thinks Rafael Palmeiro's statistics should be erased because the Baltimore Orioles slugger was suspended for a failed drug test.
"Where do you go back, stop and say, 'OK, when did he start using steroids?' To eliminate all that, and get the players' attention, you wipe the whole thing out," Robinson told MLB.com in a story posted on the Web site Tuesday night.
"Why put the burden on baseball to try and figure out where to go, and maybe put an asterisk? Just wipe the whole thing out."
Palmeiro was suspended Aug. 1, less than three weeks after he recorded his 3,000th hit to become one of four players in major league history with that many hits and at least 500 homers.
His 569 career homers entering Tuesday rank ninth in history.
Robinson, a member of the Hall of Fame, is sixth with 586 homers. He has been reluctant to discuss steroids.
Asked by MLB.com if he would wipe out Palmeiro's records, Robinson answered: "I would. He was found to have used steroids, and he served a 10-day suspension."
"I was surprised and taken aback that he was using steroids, because I never thought about him being a person that might be a steroids user," Robinson continued. "I always admired him for the way he went about his work, the way he performed on the field and the way he conducted himself off the field."
