I try very hard to keep this blog away from discussing drugs, steroids, gambling, public displays family domestic disputes or other such issues.

When one talks or writes about Mark McGwire, one can either focus on the steroids — how many other hitters and pitchers over recent years have used them without the public notoriety of a McGwire or a Barry Bonds and more?  Or they can focus on the player’s contribution to his team and to the sport.

McGwire’s then record-setting 70 homers in 1998 was a source of excitement, as a baseball fan, in my last year in the U.S.  I made Aliyah in March, 1999 and have been following baseball since, including Barry Bonds’ 73 dingers in 2001, from Israel.   Further, McGwire’s on-field and off-field demeanor and attitude toward the fans seemed generally personable.

Here is some of what Mike Lefkow of ContraCostaTimes.com writes regarding Mark McGwire;

Only two players — McGwire and Barry Bonds — hit 70 or more home runs in a single season between 1986 and 2004.

How many of those homers were hit off pitchers who were juiced? As a voter, it’s my job to determine whether a player’s career numbers justify entry into the Hall. McGwire hit 583 lifetime home runs. He broke one of the most cherished records in sports, a mark that had stood for 37 years when he surpassed Roger Maris’ single-season record of 61 homers in 1961.

If a voter can make the argument that McGwire doesn’t belong in the Hall based on merit, fine. He was a .263 career hitter. He clogged the basepaths. He captured one Gold Glove at first base but will never remind anyone of Steve Garvey, Keith Hernandez or J.T. Snow for his brilliance around the bag. He wasn’t an MVP.

But McGwire would be a certain first-ballot choice were it not for the suspicions — remember, we’re still lacking proof — about steroids. And a lot of those people campaigning against McGwire are being mighty self-righteous about it.

Many of us benefited from McGwire’s pursuit of the record — our newspapers, television and especially baseball. As the A’s beat writer for the Times in 1997, I recall the San Diego Padres opening up the left field bleachers earlier than usual so fans could catch bombs hit by McGwire and Canseco in batting practice. I’ll assume the Padres made a few extra concession dollars from the larger-than-normal crowds

At the time, no one gave much thought to steroid use in baseball. It was fun and games, tape-measure shots.

Over the last couple of years, there have been times when I have asked myself if I did a poor reporting job, being in the Oakland clubhouse day-after-day and not being aware of the supposedly rampant steroid use. I have discussed it with a former A’s beat writer who happens to be one of my closest friends. And I have wrestled with how I should vote.

I have come to this conclusion.

Not voting for McGwire means you had better leave Ripken and Gwynn off your ballots, too. They played during the steroids era. Ripken played in a record 2,632 consecutive games. Can we be positive Ripken didn’t use any banned substances to keep himself in the lineup day-after-day for all those years? Not voting for McGwire is singling him out, making him the poster boy for the 1,500 players or so that Gammons estimates used illegal substances between 1986-2004.

Not that it matters when choosing whom to vote for, but McGwire is a decent man whose image has taken a much tougher beating than he deserves. He was a doting father to his son, Matthew. I don’t ever remember him showing up late to games, not hustling or being arrested. He made the Maris family an endearing part of the 1998 homer chase.

In short, Mark McGwire deserves induction to the MLB Hall of Fame by virtue of the compelling fact of his performance, lifetime stats, the run-up to 70 homers in 1998 and the resultant contribution of all of this to the enjoyment and betterment of Baseball as a sport.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 1st, 2007 at 9:29 am and is filed under All Time Hitting Highlights, All Time Baseball Highlights, Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, Post-Season Awards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.