So here we sit, 11 years after the great "Home Run Race" of 1998 between the Cardinals' Mark McGwire and the Cubs' Sammy Sosa. Many said they rescued baseball. We saw the two muscle-bound sluggers on the cover of Sports Illustrated, named "Sportsmen of the Year." We all bought into it too, didn't we?? Come on, admit it. You were as captivated as the next guy as to when the next 400 foot missile would land in the bleachers at Wrigley, or the grassy knoll in center field at the old Busch Stadium. And that's okay.
But knowing what we do now, and that's a lot but still probably not everything, what are your feelings on guys like Sosa, McGwire, Bonds, Palmeiro, Rodriguez(both Alex and Ivan), Ramirez, and Sheffield being inducted into baseball immortality with a plaque in Cooperstown? Some claim that the Hall of Fame should introduce a "steroids wing" that gives said players their just due for the accomplishments, but notes that they did indeed play under suspicion in the "steroid era."
I tend to lean the other way. Cheating is cheating, even if it wasn't technically illegal when most of the dirty work was done. These guys shouldn't sniff the hallowed halls of Cooperstown. But then we run into a quandary. What about Barry Bonds? He took steroids, or the cream, or the clear, or flax seed oil, or B-12 shots, or whatever the drug of the week was at the local gym.....but was Barry Bonds a Hall of Fame player BEFORE his head swelled and temper flared a little more frequently than usual? That's kind of a tough one.
Please give us your opinion. It seems to be the story that won't go away, but no one seems to have the right answer. Care to give your two cents? Please leave your comments in the section provided below. As always, thanks for reading!!
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9 comments:
Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro, A-Rod, etc. should not be inducted into the Hall of Fame. If they add a "steroids wing" to the Hall of Fame, maybe they should add a "segregation wing?" Why not add a "diabetics wing" for Ron Santo?
Be ready to add Albert Pujols to that list someday. He passes the "eye test" better than Bonds and Sosa but drug-cheating technology has improved. Jose Canseco busted this baseball-steroids saga wide open with a book a few years ago. Tony LaRussa was his manager for a majority of his career. LaRussa also managed McGwire in Oakland and St. Louis. Albert is having a Hall of Fame career so far. Not bad for a 13th round draft pick that few major league clubs were interested in.
I hope I am wrong.
Everyone should remember this: Mark McGwire has never tested positive for anything. His great crime was saying “I am here to talk about the future, not the past”. People such as “Larussaisafraud”, should try to control their leaps of illogic. As to Pujols, how is he any more suspect than any other great hitter or pitcher (Greg Maddux) comes to mind. For Larussa, should we go back and check on all of Sosa’s managers and paint them guilty by association? After all, we know Sammy is a cheater (corked bat) and a roid user.
Note: new moniker. Thanks for your post, stantheman. The subject of steroids definitely ignites some lively discussion. As for your statement that McGwire has never tested positive for steroids.....I agree. He probably was never tested. His last season was 2001 and testing did not start until 2003. Never being tested does not prove innocence. Not talking about it does not help his cause. I know this is America so he is innocent until proven guilty. I agree that his choice to keep quiet on this issue was a smart move. Telling lies like Palmeiro, Sosa, and A-Rod did not work out too well for them.
As for Pujols, I agree that he is playing in an era where every player can be a suspect. It's hard to trust any MLB player these days.
Sammy Sosa is definitely a cheater. I'm not sure that every manager Sosa played for should be considered guilty. I do think Dusty Baker should be. He definitely enabled Barry Bonds for many years in San Francisco.
Your moniker suggests to me that you are a Cardinals fan. If that is true, perhaps your red colored glasses are blocking your view of McGwire? I do appreciate your advice for me to control my leap to illogic. Perhaps you should follow your own advice?
Stan - Please don't tell me you honestly think Mark McGwire was clean. I'll admit it, I was the biggest Sammy Sosa fan there was during his hey-day, but it became pretty obvious looking back with the info that's been divulged the past five years that he wasn't clean, only reinforced with last week's failed test news.
Do I have proof that Big Mac wasn't juicing? Absolutely not. But I also don't need proof that gravity exists, even though I can't see it.
In defense of Mark McGwire: 1) I never said he did not use steroids. I did say that I see no reason to assume he did, any more than any other MLB player. In 2003, after Mark retired, over 100 players tested positive. When that list is revealed there will be names on it that will shock everyone. It will, also, be a shock to some for names NOT on the list, including, Frank and Larusaisafraud, who seem to have a divine knowledge of who was using and not using “roids” 2) Can you judge a player by his hat size and muscles? Consider this: ARod and Palmerio would hardly be mistaken for Lou Ferrigno and they used PED’s. I was once in a hotel elevator with Frank Thomas. Believe me, he took up most of the space, and most believe that he was not a user of steroids. 3) The steroid era started in the early 90’s and lasted through the mid 2000’s. McGwire first full year was in 1987, over 20 years age. He hit 49 home runs and was well over 210 lbs. Contrast that to Bonds and Sosa who were not home run hitters early in their career and weighed around 170 lbs. 4) By the way, Frank, the gravity on the moon is 1/6 of that on earth. 5) I really wish this steroid business had never came out, and we could remember Sammy and Mark as they were in that wonderful season of 1998. I still think Sammy is a nice and caring guy, and believe it or not, so is Mark.
If you truly, honestly, and OBJECTIVELY don't think that Mark McGwire never used performance enhancing drugs of any kind at any time in his career, then I respect your opinion.
All I know is this. After Roger Maris connected for 61 homer's in the summer of '61, until, let's say 1994,(what's believed to be the beginning of the "steroid era") only 3 players hit over 50. George Foster, Willie Mays, and Cecil Fielder.
Then, as if the evolution of the Major League Slugger had decided to skip say, 50 years, along comes a few guys named Sammy, Mark, Brady, Luis, Barry, and so on and so forth. And not only do they hit 50+, they begin to hit 60 and 70 HR's.
This is basically akin to a RB coming suddenly rushing for 2,800 yards, and no one raising an eyebrow.
Like the old saying goes, if it's too good to be true, it probably is. But again, I respect your opinion on Big Mac. Whether or not the Baseball Writer's Association does....is another story all together.
I have enjoyed talking baseball with you gentlemen, and this will be my last post on this subject.
Frank, you are right, McGwire will never be in the hall of fame, and that is because he cannot PROVE that he is innocent. Even if he could, like Joe Jackson before him, who was acquitted in a courtroom in Chicago in 1921, baseball will not induct either into the hall.
You are, also, correct in saying Mark’s homeruns seem to good to be true. But, are they? Well, in 1920 Babe Ruth hit 54 homers. No one, in the history of baseball had ever hit as many as 30 in a season. Of course, no one said he used steroids, as they had not been invented. No one, as far as I know, accused him of cheating. But, had Frank or Larussaisafraud been around, I suspect they would have found someway to discredit even the Great Bambino.
Enjoy the rest of the baseball season, guys, and the on to football.
Stan - I've enjoyed the spirited debate. You know the guy that was vilified by baseball, the fans, and to a certain degree...the press, and now comes out looking like the only guy who was ever truthful? Jose Canseco. Yup, Mr. 40-40 wrote his two books, and was told he was ruining baseball.
From the outside, it appeared it was nothing more than sour grapes, but as we now take a moment to look back at what he had to say, in the end he was telling the truth.
That includes Palmeiro, Bonds, Sosa, ARod, and Mark McGwire? Unless Big Mac is the only portion of the book in which the Cuban Wonder is lying, I'd have to say that McGwire was indeed taking more than his daily vitamins.
Good luck to the Cardinals! A career .263 hitter that has now admitted to using steroids is the new hitting instructor. I'm so glad Tony LaRussa did not know anything about this.
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