Sympathy for the Devil?
It’s hard to feel sorry for professional athletes. They get paid millions of dollars to play games. They get special treatment from all segments of society and are able to retire in their thirties to pursue other interests. Even after that humiliating, enormous screw-up by Tony Romo that cost his team a playoff victory in their match-up against the Seattle Seahawks last weekend, when he was unable to hold the ball for the Cowboys kicker, I would probably trade places with him in a heartbeat. Professional athletes just seem to have it that good in this country.
However, despite my general lack of sympathy for ball players, I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Mark McGwire when I learned yesterday that he only received 23.5% of the vote on this year’s baseball Hall of Fame ballot. McGwire was eligible for HOF induction for the first time this year along with Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken. Both Gwynn and Ripken attained the 75% of the vote required for induction and there’s no question in my mind that they both merited it.
Of course that’s not saying much since I don’t know a great deal about what makes a player HOF-worthy. A few months ago I was actually arguing with my friend Dr. X that Kenny Lofton and Nomar Garciaparra deserved to be in the HOF. Of course Dr. X told me I was an idiot and after taking a better look at their numbers, he’s probably right. But one thing that I did know about making it to the baseball Hall of Fame is that hitting 500 homeruns was pretty much a ticket in. There have been 20 players in Major League Baseball’s history that have hit at least 500 and of the 16 players that are eligible for induction, all 16 are in the Hall.
When Mark McGwire retired it sure looked like his induction was a sure thing. Sure some might say that aside from his homers, Big Mac’s numbers weren’t that great. But at the time he was number five on the all-time homer list with 583 dingers so I thought he was still a shoe-in. But then the steroid cloud started forming with Ken Caminiti and Jose Canseco exposing what baseball, sportswriters, and fans had been ignoring for too long. Ultimately, the cloud led to congressional hearings in which McGwire was called to testify and consistently refused to answer any questions about the past.
I couldn’t help feeling betrayed when I saw what I considered Big Mac basically admitting he was on the juice when he broke the single season record for homeruns. I really hoped that baseball writers would make an example of him and keep him out of the Hall of Fame. I felt the same way about Barry Bonds even though my friend pointed out that Bonds had a Hall of Fame career even before he presumably started taking steroids.
Well I got my wish, at least for one year, but now I’m starting to wonder whether such treatment is really fair. Baseball didn’t prohibit the use of steroids at the time and while their use without a doctor’s prescription might have been illegal at the time, Big Mac has never been convicted of anything. Plus, it seems we will never really know who was taking steroids at the time so without a positive steroids test, like Rafael Palmeiro, exclusion does not seem to be the right answer. Unfortunately from what I've been hearing and reading, it seems like my view is in the minority.
So what now? Well if McGwire really cares about getting into the Hall of Fame, he’s going to have to come forward and admit that he used steroids. Americans have short memories and love to forgive heroes that have fallen. If Pete Rose had made his admission about betting on baseball before cashing in on it by writing a book about it, he might have been forgiven and would be in the HOF right now. Of course the question remains whether Big Mac really cares. It seems he has tried to stay of the limelight since he’s retired from baseball. He had his glory days, including all of the personal accolades and a World Series championship in 1989. Does he really want to castrate himself just so baseball writers and fans can feel better about themselves? My guess is no and I really couldn’t blame him. I just hope that McGwire doesn’t become a scapegoat and that if he is to be kept out of the HOF, all other players under the steroids cloud, including Barry Bonds, receive the same scrutiny and are denied induction when their turn comes.
However, despite my general lack of sympathy for ball players, I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Mark McGwire when I learned yesterday that he only received 23.5% of the vote on this year’s baseball Hall of Fame ballot. McGwire was eligible for HOF induction for the first time this year along with Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken. Both Gwynn and Ripken attained the 75% of the vote required for induction and there’s no question in my mind that they both merited it.
Of course that’s not saying much since I don’t know a great deal about what makes a player HOF-worthy. A few months ago I was actually arguing with my friend Dr. X that Kenny Lofton and Nomar Garciaparra deserved to be in the HOF. Of course Dr. X told me I was an idiot and after taking a better look at their numbers, he’s probably right. But one thing that I did know about making it to the baseball Hall of Fame is that hitting 500 homeruns was pretty much a ticket in. There have been 20 players in Major League Baseball’s history that have hit at least 500 and of the 16 players that are eligible for induction, all 16 are in the Hall.
When Mark McGwire retired it sure looked like his induction was a sure thing. Sure some might say that aside from his homers, Big Mac’s numbers weren’t that great. But at the time he was number five on the all-time homer list with 583 dingers so I thought he was still a shoe-in. But then the steroid cloud started forming with Ken Caminiti and Jose Canseco exposing what baseball, sportswriters, and fans had been ignoring for too long. Ultimately, the cloud led to congressional hearings in which McGwire was called to testify and consistently refused to answer any questions about the past.
I couldn’t help feeling betrayed when I saw what I considered Big Mac basically admitting he was on the juice when he broke the single season record for homeruns. I really hoped that baseball writers would make an example of him and keep him out of the Hall of Fame. I felt the same way about Barry Bonds even though my friend pointed out that Bonds had a Hall of Fame career even before he presumably started taking steroids.
Well I got my wish, at least for one year, but now I’m starting to wonder whether such treatment is really fair. Baseball didn’t prohibit the use of steroids at the time and while their use without a doctor’s prescription might have been illegal at the time, Big Mac has never been convicted of anything. Plus, it seems we will never really know who was taking steroids at the time so without a positive steroids test, like Rafael Palmeiro, exclusion does not seem to be the right answer. Unfortunately from what I've been hearing and reading, it seems like my view is in the minority.
So what now? Well if McGwire really cares about getting into the Hall of Fame, he’s going to have to come forward and admit that he used steroids. Americans have short memories and love to forgive heroes that have fallen. If Pete Rose had made his admission about betting on baseball before cashing in on it by writing a book about it, he might have been forgiven and would be in the HOF right now. Of course the question remains whether Big Mac really cares. It seems he has tried to stay of the limelight since he’s retired from baseball. He had his glory days, including all of the personal accolades and a World Series championship in 1989. Does he really want to castrate himself just so baseball writers and fans can feel better about themselves? My guess is no and I really couldn’t blame him. I just hope that McGwire doesn’t become a scapegoat and that if he is to be kept out of the HOF, all other players under the steroids cloud, including Barry Bonds, receive the same scrutiny and are denied induction when their turn comes.
posted by The Pocho at 11:49 AM
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