Re: haha stupid juicehead. got the message yet?
[QUOTE=Jenks;431150]For what it's worth, steroid scandal aside, McGwire isn't a first ballot hall of famer anyway. He was a one tool player. All this steroid talk has clouded the real issue, he's not one of basball's greatest players- which is what first ballot HOF is for.[/QUOTE]
Good point, IMO. I'll disagree on the ultimate conclusion, though, in that I do think he deserves a prominent spot in baseball's history and maybe the HOF eventually. Juice and whatnot aside, the reality is that no one gave a shit about baseball between the time the 1994 strike ended and the 1998 home run chase. McGwire and Sosa singlehandedly (well, bi-handedly) brought baseball back from the dead, and we as baseball consumers lapped it up.
McGwire was massive at that time. His forearms were 2" bigger than my neck, FFS. Sosa, too. We all pretended that it was all natural, but deep down we knew better, and anyone that tells you anything to the contrary is lying to themselves. I was at Busch for #62, and everyone was going crazy and lauding McGwire as the greatest hitter ever, but we knew.
Don't misinterpret this as a love-in for McGwire. I think he and the steroid era as a whole are a terrible stain on the game. I have an authentic McGwire jersey that cost me a pretty penny that I used to wear to the park that is still in great shape but that hasn't seen the light of day for a few years and probably never will again. His association with the Cardinals is really unfortunate, I think, and if he never does make the HOF, I'll be 100% OK with that and think it is probably just.
On the other hand, he gave everyone what they wanted at a time that baseball needed something to get people caring again. We all turned a blind eye to the obvious and deified the guy rather than calling him out on it. I cheered as loudly as anyone when he would hit those bombs at Busch, and I think it would be kinda hypocritical for me to now, after the fact, crucify the guy for something I really knew was going on but pretended wasn't happening.
At a minimum, Mac ought to have a prominent spot in baseball history, not so much for his numbers but for saving baseball when it needed to be saved. The HOF is for numbers, I get that, and using numbers alone, he's not a slam dunk and is def. not a 1st ballot guy. The HOF is also a record of the history of baseball, though, and as fans of the game, we cannot just pretend that the whole time period didn't exist. People didn't stop going to the park because the guys were juiced -- the opposite happened. We might like to wash it away, but the truth is that it happened and we loved every minute of it.
Maybe he doesn't get in to the HOF but he and Sosa get a big ass exhibit at the museum at the HOF. I dunno.