Jan 10 2007
Got Juice? No Baseball Hall of Fame for Mark McGwire
Mark McGwire has impressive numbers as a baseball player; hall of fame type numbers. So, why did he fall so short in his first bid for induction into baseball’s hall of fame?
McGwire’s name was included on just 128 of the 545 ballots cast by baseball writers who took part in the voting, a 23.5 percent showing that fell far short of the 75 percent needed for induction. Because this was McGwire’s initial appearance on the ballot, the vote was viewed as one of the first verdicts to be handed down on baseball’s troubled steroids era, a period that began in the early 1990’s and apparently continued unabated until recent seasons.
The voters must believe that McGwire’s performance was enhanced and if it was, they are not sure if they can induct someone what could have played for the East German Olympic Team. At the time, steroids were not official banned in baseball, but they were illegal and cheating is as cheating does.
I suspect as memories fade and other “juiced” players names start appearing on the ballots McGwire will appear less objectionable. After-all, Sammy Sosa likely juiced and we no for sure he corked his bat. Once you cross that line…
Cheating is cheating and if you break a rule, you should pay. Pete Rose bet on baseball and he is not in Cooperstown. McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, et al should not be allowed in either.
Captain’s Quarters: If any of the steroid-era players could have expected a pass from the BBWA, it would have been McGwire. After a disastrous lockout and the first cancellation of the World Series in ninety years, major-league baseball looked as though it had lost its fan base for good. McGwire and his smashing of Roger Maris’ 37-year-old single-season record captured the imagination of the nation, and his good-hearted inclusion of Maris’ family in the celebration as well as his friendly competition with Sammy Sosa created a lot of goodwill — and it showed at the turnstiles.
Cold Hearted Truth. In a word, that’s why he got major-league dissed by the Baseball Writers Association of America. He took them – that’s all but certain. And then he utterly embarrassed himself in front of Congress in 2005 by testifying – when asked whether he used them as a player – that Congress should only concern itself with current steroid usage, not past usage.
Cafe Hayek: A lot of the steroids controversy comes down to one very ugly word: cheater. Cheaters don’t belong in the Hall of Fame. But when you chew on the word for a while, you realize that cheaters come in lots of different flavors.
Baseball Crank: Cheating of one sort or another has always been rampant in baseball – the old National League Orioles used extra baseballs in the outfield, skipped bases, mauled baserunners, etc. Multiple spitballers are in the Hall, including guys from the era when “everybody did it” (e.g., Ed Walsh) and guys who were clearly breaking the rules (Whitey Ford, Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton). Leo Durocher’s 1951 Giants made a science of illegal high-tech (for the 50s) sign-stealing. Do we really need to discuss corked bats here? Or, for that matter, segregation?
