BIG MAC.
*Pete Rose gambled on baseball, but there are many people who want him in the Hall of Fame. Why? Because, technically, he gambled but he never gambled against his team. He was never hurting his team. In this case, Big Mac never hurt his team either. By ejecting steroids into his butt he was only helping his team by becoming a more powerful, and better baseball player.
*Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa and their respective home run chases saved baseball. Coming out of the hole of a crucial and game crushing strike in which many fans supposedly lost their faith and interest in America's past time, Big Mac and Slammin' Sammy were there to pick the game up and place it back on his pedestal.
*Oh, you wanna talk stats? You think he wasn't a good enough baseball player to be in the hall of fame, he's only getting credibility because he's a good person and because he saved the game of baseball? Well, he did hit 583 career homeruns, he did have seven 100-rbi seasons, and from 1996 through 1999 he averaged more than 61 homeruns. As you know, 61 homeruns stood as the single season record before Big Mac hit number 62 on that exciting, bone-chilling day in St. Louis. Not only did he break the record, but he AVERAGED more than the record for four seasons. Pretty impressive. Oh yea, he also won a world championship.
So it seems as though Big Mac never disadvantaged his team, he SAVED baseball, and he was a well above par offensive player. Sounds like he should be in, doesn't it? At least it sounds good to me.
BUT, in my opinion, he didn't save baseball. He ruined it. He took the game from a game of manufactured runs, stolen bases, sacrifice bunts, and gold glove defense in the direction of "homerun or nothing." He helped take the camera off defense, and he put it on his big, artificial muscles. He helped move the MVP award away from well-qualified, all-around baseball players and put it on the trophy shelves off fake homerun hitters like Barry Bonds. He took ALL the emphasis off defense and 95% of offensive category's, and placed every ounce of it on homeruns and RBI. Ladies and gentlemen, you can't be mad at the voters for taking Ryan Howard over Albert Pujols and not give the blame partly to McGwire, Sosa, and Bonds. They are the reason guys like Willie McGee can't win the MVP award anymore.
The good news is, baseball is slowly, but finally, starting to recover from the steroid era and we are beginning to see more old-fashioned baseball being played. And that's what I like. Maybe it's because I'm only five foot nine, and a buck sixty five. I was never able to hit homeruns. Or maybe it's because I grew up in a household that talked baseball, I learned from guys who played the game one base at a time, one out at a time. That's the way I learned to love it, and that's how I'll always love it.
If I had a vote, I'd do my best to vote Big Mac right off the ballot.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Although you have some great points and I too hate the home run era. To me I would rather watch a 1-0 pitchers duel, probally because I am a pitcher. But I do believe THE Big Mac should be put into the Hall, but not on first ballot. My reasoning behind that is many players we know around that time were taking many different supplements and steroids, and none of them hit 70 home runs in one season and only a few hit over 500 career home runs. The other reason is although it was illegal in America there was no rule against it in baseball. I am probally digging myself in a hole, but since there was no rule against it in the league there should be no punishment towards him and his records. Also my biggest reason is there is no proof that he actually took anything... although we all know he did without proof you can't judge. Innocent until proven guilty it is the American way. But since there is so much speculation and his embarassing display at the hearings I think he should make it on the second on third ballot.
Big was doing things that were not illegal at the time, pointed out by ballin'. Let the man in. 500+ homers, all those stats, let the man in. He is definately one of baseball's elite. Hey Dave, word about Mulder going to Arizona?
Cheers to that!
Post a Comment