2007 Hall of Fame vote: Would you vote for McGwire?

Not a should or could, but would you vote for Mark McGwire?

 

No.

But not because of steroids.

Because he was a one-dimensional player and, less than that, a one-dimensional hitter. His numbers must be looked at in the context of the era in which he played, and his 583 home runs (disregarding how he got them) are simply not as high a standard as 500 home runs in any other era.

He's Dave Kingman with slightly higher raw totals, skewed by his era. Kingman doesn't deserve to be in Cooperstown. McGwire doesn't deserve to be in Cooperstown.

No.

 

Gwynn and Ripken are shoo-ins. 2008 might be the best chance for both Goose and Jim Rice. McGwire probably receives more votes then, but still not enough.

 

Yes. He was one of the most feared and respected power hitters of his era.

 

what i've been saying for years

 

If he's voted into Cooperstown, will he decline giving an induction speech since he doesn't believe in talking about the past?

 

Let's for a moment put aside his power years in St. Louis, before steroids became a real issue. Would he have made it then, assuming you extrapolate his numbers across the years? I'm thinking no, now that I look back on it.

 

No, at least not first ballot.

 

Not to pick on you, Bubba, but this brings up a pet peeve of mine:

What's the deal with the airplane food first ballot thing anyway? If the dude's a Hall of Famer, he's a Hall of Famer. What's it matter if it's on the first ballot or not? Joe DiMaggio didn't get in til third ballot. What kind of "punishment" is making the guy wait a year, and who gave the writers that type of judgement anyway? If he should be in the Hall, he should be in the Hall. Period.

 

yep

 

Classic!

 

McGwire's not a HOF, but I'm actually more interested to know if he still lives in Costa Mesa or Huntington Beach, Calif. If so, he's pretty close by where Canseco is playing for Long Beach and what would that meeting be like if they ran into each other?