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The Rog's Rant

Baseball to blame for drug scandal mess

The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame ballots are out for this year and two names will be ticked off every single writers ballot – Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn.

Both of them are sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famers. Absolutely no question about either of them, they belong.

That’s the easy part this year. There are other names on the ballot that require some thought, like Jim Rice and Rich Gossage (both of whom should already be in the Hall of Fame in my humble opinion), as they just missed last time out. As for the rest, I don’t think they’ll be much thought given to the remaining names as legitimate candidates.

Except for one name. Mark McGwire.

For the first time Big Mac’s name is on the ballot and the early general consensus is that voters will not elect him. Not on the first ballot and perhaps not at all.

It’s the drug issue of course that haunts McGwire and rightfully so. He made a fool of himself at the U.S. congressional hearings and there is plenty of circumstantial evidence he was one of the many players who were using “something” that helped him become the monster power hitter that he was.

However – if I had a vote – I’d vote him in, despite the fact I think anybody who uses drugs to enhance himself is a moron and I am totally against the use of performance enhancing drugs in any sport.

Here is my logic:

There is no proof McGwire took drugs because there was no drug testing in baseball. He didn’t “cheat” because there were no rules. You can’t cheat if there are no rules.

Yes, steroids are illegal period in the United States. But again – where’s the proof? Who is to say Ripken didn’t use something? I’m not saying he did, but he played more than 2,600 games in a row and drugs were all over the place and no testing – who is to say he was 100 percent clean? Some of the drugs now tested for are good for healing from injuries after all.

The taint and suspicion of drugs is on all players from this era, not just those who got mentioned in Jose Canseco’s book. Baseball knew drugs were being used in the late 1990s, but the sport was too busy counting the dollars it was getting from the McGwire/Sammy Sosa home run chase to do anything about it.

McGwire has 583 home runs, seventh most in the history of the game. He’s a 12-time All-Star. He had more than 1,400 RBI. He won a gold glove. He was rookie of the Year. He consistently finished high in the MVP voting and was among the premier players in the game during his prime. He broke Babe Ruth’s home record with 70. He followed that with another season of 65 home runs. Yes, he has some deficiencies on his resume like career batting average, but if there was no drug scandal, he’s in. Everybody with that many homers already is.

And that’s the whole point, the drug scandal. Baseball is to blame for that mess, not just McGwire. So, he’d get my vote if I had one.

I say you either vote him in or take EVERY player from that era off the ballot then – McGwire and Ripken and Gwynn have one number in common – Zero. That’s the number of drug tests they failed in their careers.

I tell you who should never get into the Baseball Hall of Fame – Commissioner Bud Selig and the baseball big wigs who did nothing about the problem as they counted their money. The only reason there is drug testing even now is because of government intervention.

Shame, shame, shame on them. And shame on McGwire too if he was a juicer – but I don’t know that for sure. And I don’t know that Ripken or Gwynn weren’t either, so I’d mark an X beside all three names.

Bud Selig would never get my vote, however.

Comments on The Rant of November 22 on Blue Jays:

“I couldn’t agree more The Rog, the Blue Jays have created more excitement in this town about baseball than they have in 15 years. And they did finish in second place after all.” – Steve in Hamilton

“Frank Thomas will be a big-time bust, but I guess you have to give them credit for trying.” – Gary in Scarborough

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