Orlando, Fla. – The Hall of Fame case of Mark McGwire will not only influence how voters view candidates’ bodies, but their bodies of work.
With Sammy Sosa riding shotgun, McGwire is credited for saving baseball with his 1998 assault on Roger Maris’ single-season home run record. In an era of muscle-bound sluggers, no one was bigger than McGwire. But he has shriveled in the eyes of voters, largely because of his decision not to discuss allegations of performance-enhancing drug use before Congress in 2005.
McGwire hit 583 home runs during his career. Every eligible player who has reached 500 has gained entrance into Cooperstown. That represents another layer of McGwire’s complex bid – that the fallout from the steroid crisis could result in the devaluing of power statistics.
“I don’t think 500 home runs can be a benchmark anymore because of all the suspicion surrounding some of those numbers,” said former star pitcher Rich Gossage, who again is on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot. “I am opposed to anyone getting into the Hall if they used steroids. The home run just doesn’t mean what it used to. It’s so watered down.”
Or in McGwire’s case, artificially fueled, charge critics. McGwire admitted to using andro during his magical 1998 season at a time when it was sold as a legal, over-the-counter supplement. And while steroids were banned in society without a prescription, baseball didn’t test for them during McGwire’s career. Power is impossible to overlook with McGwire because his candidacy is built around the home run, making him the poster child for an era of exploding numbers.
A Hall pass seemed certain until former teammate Jose Canseco accused McGwire of using steroids in his book “Juiced.” McGwire’s refusal to discuss his past when grilled on Capitol Hill also didn’t help. In minutes, McGwire went from a lock to potentially locked out forever. The Associated Press recently polled 125 of the voters and fewer than 25 percent, well shy of the 75 percent needed for entry, said they would support McGwire.
This signals a seismic shift in voters’ minds, and could forever alter the view of a previous benchmark statistic. In years past, 3,000 hits, 300 wins and 500 home runs were automatic Hall of Fame entrance cards. Dave Kingman (442) and Andre Dawson (438) have the most home runs of eligible players not in Cooperstown.
That threshold soon could change. Canseco (462) joined McGwire on this year’s ballot and is considered to have no chance of being elected. Fred McGriff, who will be eligible in a few years, hit 493 home runs and is a longshot to make it.
The 2007 season could see several players reach 500 homers – Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield – a club that currently has only 20 members. That raises the question: What does 500 home runs mean anymore?
“I know there are a lot of questions surrounding McGwire, and he didn’t look good at all in front of Congress,” former Rockies slugger Ellis Burks said. “But to me he’s a Hall of Famer. You hit 500 home runs, you should be in there in my opinion.”
Cal Ripken Jr., a favorite to be voted in this winter along with Tony Gwynn, remained diplomatic when discussing McGwire on Tuesday. On the one hand, Ripken labeled any numbers produced by steroid users as “artificial.” And yet, he said he was in no position to judge McGwire or the value of 500 home runs.
“To me, the Hall of Fame vote, at least in my opinion, is something like the most valuable player vote,” Ripken said. “It’s a subjective vote and a whole lot more is considered than just the numbers. I didn’t know there was an automatic qualification if you got to those certain numbers.”
History screamed as much. But that was before voting baseball writers were charged with deciding if achievements deserved an asterisk.
“If some feel like McGwire is guilty without having gone through any trials, then we are going to have to apply it across the board and not just to position players, but pitchers,” Houston Astros manager Phil Garner said. “You guys have a difficult process. But to be fair to McGwire and everybody else coming up the next few years, there needs to be one set way to judge. To say because he didn’t testify to the point we would have liked him to, therefore we think he’s guilty, to me that is not a good enough standard.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
McGwire’s Hall of Fame debate
THE CASE FOR:
1. 583 home runs. Enough said.
2. 70 home runs in 1998, the single-season record at the time.
3. One of baseball’s top sluggers for 16 years.
THE CASE AGAINST:
1. Widespread belief he used steroids before setting slugging records in 1998 and 1999.
2. Often viewed as a one-dimensional player.
3. Not widely viewed as a Hall of Famer before alleged steroid use and late career spike.
Unfortunate 500 Club
If Mark McGwire does not make the Hall of Fame, it will set a precedent. No player eligible for the Hall with 500 home runs has not been elected. Denver Post baseball writer Troy E. Renck looks at those with the most home runs who have not gained entrance:
ELIGIBLE AND NOT ELECTED
Dave Kingman, 442
Andre Dawson, 438
Darrell Evans, 414
ON BUBBLE THIS YEAR AND FUTURE
Sammy Sosa, 588
*Mark McGwire, 583
Rafael Palmeiro, 569
Fred McGriff, 493
*Jose Canseco, 462
Jeff Bagwell, 449
*McGwire and Canseco are on the ballot this year. A player can remain on the ballot for up to 15 years if he receives at least 5 percent of the votes.
