ARTICLE: Hall of Fame Trial - Mark McGwire

[splitterpfj]

Hi Guys-

 

Glad people are enjoying these!

 

Ashburn and Allen are definitely coming, I hadn't considered Stephens, but why not?

 

Rich Gossage has been the most requested player I haven't gotten to yet, he'll be here soon.

 

Ashburn is a great example of a whole new set of guys I want to bring in, those already elected who perhaps should not have been.

[splitterpfj]

SoCal, outstanding post............I agree completely.

[brettac1]

Ashburn is a great example of a whole new set of guys I want to bring in, those already elected who perhaps should not have been.

 

That sounds like fun.

[RightFieldCoder]

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a steroid user during that time could be charged with a crime, but could not be punished by baseball- no one had ever bothered to declare the use of these substances to be against the rules.

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His qualifications are built solely on power hitting, and if he achieved his totals through artificial means, I'm not certain I could still vote for him.

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By this same reasoning, a pitcher who used a spitball to gain an unfair artificial advantage should not be in the HoF. I don't remember off the top of my head who, but I know pitchers who used spitballs have gotten in. What about people who were caught using corked bats? Does that automatically ban you from the HoF?

Even if he came to my house and showed me the needles he used to inject himself (if he ever did steroids), I would still feel obligated to vote for him.

[Picciolo]

I'm not sure when the baseball HOF succumbed to the "innocent until proven guilty" clause. Anyone who thinks he wasn't a cheat in his career should take a test of their own. Those who are grounded in reality & know he's a cheat should be subject to other tests if they think cheaters should be rewarded with the highest honors in their profession. Mac should be scorned for being a cheat and a liar and a druggie, not immortalized.

[Picciolo]

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By this same reasoning, a pitcher who used a spitball to gain an unfair artificial advantage should not be in the HoF. I don't remember off the top of my head who, but I know pitchers who used spitballs have gotten in. What about people who were caught using corked bats?

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Absolutely true. The Perry's & Niekro's of the world put some spit on the ball before the current age of legal spitballs.

 

Come on, you're going to compare licking a baseball to injecting yourself with an illegal drug? What illegal drug are you using?

[don1481]

I'm going to say absolutely not.

 

McGwire's admitted usage of andro (a steroid precursor) - while legit at the time - began the overinflation of stats and - in my opinion - the rise of heavier steroid usage. The big questions that would need to be answered are:

 

1. For how long did he use andro,

2. How good was he before andro,

3. How much better was he on andro,

4. How long did he play on andro,

5. Testimony a la Giambi's that gets "leaked" - what did McGwire admit to using, when did he use it

 

As far as I'm concerned, his election to the Hall would serve to remind baseball everyday of this black eye.

[DuWayne Steurer]

It is indeed going to get ugly as this era's sluggers (and maybe even the next) become hall eligible.

 

Voting 'no" based on alleged steroid use is going to be a sticky, sticky situation.

 

Sheffield?

Bonds?

Palmeiro? (ok, he got caught!)

McGriff?

 

Are voters going to be instructed to vote based on numbers only? Or are they going to be allowed to take into account "alleged" steroid use?

 

If that's the case, we've heard rumblings of just about EVERY major homerun hitter who's played in the last 20 years.

[splitterpfj]

RoCo, I do think this will get ugly in the coming years, particularly in the cases of Palmeiro, Bonds and Sheffield.

 

I chose McGwire for the article because he is nearing eligibility, and because I thought his performance before Congress was absolutely pathetic. I suspect he'll be elected to the Hall, and without empirical evidence I suppose that's the way it should be, but I don't like it. I think a lot of people would give him a break if he just admitted using this stuff to overcome the injuries that had started to wreck his career.

 

I never would have questioned his Hall credentials if he had answered either way when he had the chance. The fact that he totally dodged the question left me feeling he had something to hide.

[don1481]

Sheffpuke? Absolutely not. Unless, as punishment, they made him go in as a Brewerhttp://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Palmeiro? Does 3,000 hits outweigh the power surge? Maybe. I'd be interested if someone projected his career out prior to the power surge following the "normal" player's rise and fall to see how many hits he'd have.

McGriff? You're kidding, right...? Not even close.

 

And that leaves us with:

 

Bonds. I say absolutely because of his peripherals.

[splitterpfj]

ESPN.com discusses McGwire, and the steroid issue.

 

sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2298560