Hollow of Fame

This week Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn were rightfully voted in to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Both guys had great careers, each only playing for one team and always class acts. But their election into the Hall has been overshadowed by the exclusion of Mark McGwire, who was kept out because of steroid allegations and one horrible appearance in front of Congress. Now, I may be wrong, but I only thought he should have spent time preparing for plate appearances, not court appearances.

Did he use steroids? It’s quite possible. But as of now, there are only allegations. And I’m pretty sure our country claims that you are innocent until proven otherwise. I know that was meant for the courts, and not the court of public opinion. Baseball writers and fans claim they are just interested in protecting the integrity of the game. I call bullshit. Other players, who have actually failed tests and been suspended for steroid use, aren’t raked over coals like Big Mac, or Barry Bonds or Sammy Sosa. No, they save their lashings for only those that hit home runs. Because baseball has always been tied so closely to its records. 755, 61, 56, .400, 511 all mean something to baseball fans.

And it’s not that I think these guys are innocent. I know that steroid use has been rampant in baseball. But, I don’t believe it started in 1998 when Mac and Sosa went after the single season home run record. And I don’t, not for a second, believe it’s a problem special to baseball. But the writers and fans don’t seem to care about other sports. Barry Bonds hits 73 home runs, and a year later his name is mentioned in the BALCO case. Then everyone comments how obvious it is that he was on something. That he got so huge. Same with McGwire, after Jose Canseco outs him in his book, it’s suddenly obvious because he was so big.

But only in baseball, does being strong mean you’re on steroids. No one seems to mind the difference in how LaDainian Tomilson is built totally different then the running backs from the 80s. Look at how he’s built compared to Marcus Allen. No one bats an eye at how big and strong LeBron James was coming out of high school compared to Michael Jordan when he came out of college. How about the fact that Allen Iverson has so much more muscle than Isiah Thomas? Or how Greg Oden, as a freshman at Ohio State, is already stronger then David Robinson or Patrick Ewing ever got. These young guys got that way from working out. Riiiiight. They couldn’t possibly be on anything, we all know how tough the high schools test for steroids. And that high school kids would never, ever, look for a way to get ahead or put something illegal in their bodies.

And how about the stats? Three times in the last four years, the single season rushing touchdown mark has been broken. When Michael Jordan was scoring 30 a night in the late 80s and early 90s, he was almost always the only guy in the league to average over 30 points a game. Last season three guys accomplished that, and another averaged 29.3. But no one bats an eye.

Only when you hit a small round ball over a fence a certain amount of times, do people begin to worry about the integrity of the game. Now writers want to play the role of morality cop, and tell us that Mark McGwire cheated us. They write that his accomplishments are tainted. But they didn’t mind using it to sell papers then, or now. And they still turn a blind eye to plenty of other cheaters. Yet they still have the nerve to lecture us about right and wrong.