Hey everyone, just a few thoughts on McGwire here. Does anyone else love the fact that he apologized to the Maris family? The Maris' were put through Hell in 1961 when Roger broke Babe's HR record, and because of that it meant so much to his family especially after his death. Maris did something absolutely remarkable that year, and (in this writers opinion) it has never been matched since. By apologizing to Roger Maris' family he basically was saying that he was giving back his home run "crown" to them. Now I know Bonds broke the record a few years later but that's a different subject. What McGwire did meant a lot to the Maris family, and equally to the great game of baseball.
Now to make my second point. MARK McGWIRE DOES NOT BELONG IN THE HALL OF FAME! I'm sorry... it appears I was shouting there but I really don't understand why people can't understand that. Barry Bonds cheated... and will never be in the HOF for that... A-Rod cheated, and we are so happy for him when he wins a World Series and most likely will vote him in to the Hall? ........stupid.... It doesn't matter if you apologize for doing something wrong, you still have to deal with the consequences. We may forgive you and love you again, but the consequences still remain. My counterpart Ryan brought up a great point in talking earlier today. He said that "Shoeless" Joe Jackson took money but never threw a game at all, apologized immediately, and still has not been put in the HOF to this day. How is what McGwire did better than what Jackson did? IT ISN'T!!! (sorry... shouting again)
One final point, is that McGwire should not be applauded so highly for this apology like he has been... he had a chance in front of congress 5 years ago to come clean and chose to avoid the truth. (and yes I know he technically did not lie he just said he wasn't going to talk about the past... but seriously people how dumb is that... if you didn't do anything wrong in the past then you obviously would have no problem talking about it, and if you did something wrong you would want to hide it; what a stupid strategy)
Anyway, I gained some respect for McGwire because of his apology, but what he did will never be undone and because of that I cannot see any possible way he belongs in the Hall of Fame.
-Daved
