The Case for Mark McGwire

NEW YORK--After failing in his first two years of eligibility, Mark McGwire will appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the third time. After retiring, McGwire seemed to be a lock for a first ballot entry into the Hall. He was the single season record holder for home runs in a season, was eighth all-time in career homers, and amassed a 162 OPS+ across sixteen storied seasons.

All of that changed when the steroid rumors hit full tilt in 2004. Writers began openly questioning the merits of McGwire's candidacy, linking him to performance enhancing drugs and renowned users, including former team-mate and Oakland Bash-Brother Jose Canseco. In spite of McGwire's adamant demands that he never juiced, there is little doubt that he did in fact use PED's during his career--a fact made all the more apparent by his embarrassing testimony in front of the Senate Committee.

Many feel McGwire should never be let in for his alleged use of steroids. However, if one were to look at the circumstances of the time it becomes much harder to say he truly doesn't belong. Baseball's ban of steroids and subsequent testing policies were not ex post facto law. That is: those who used before were not subject to penalties if they were clean afterward. Since baseball didn't implement proper testing until after McGwire's years, it seems to reason that his using is inconsequential. Furthermore, the substance McGwire is most commonly linked to--Andro--was not formally banned by the controlled substance act until 2005, meaning his use was absolutely legal.

To put this in context, suppose that in 2015 baseball and/or the government were to ban creatine and advanced protein supplements. One couldn't possibly deny an entire generation of baseball players entrance to the Hall based on a law put in act years after they left. Yet that is what is happening today. According to Canseco and numerous other players, more than half of the players in the 90's juiced, casting a shadow over the whole generation. While some players certainly used after the ban (I'm looking at you, Damian Moss), the fact that so many players used then-legal supplements during this so-called steroids era should level the playing field in the eyes of voters (especially when numbers suggest that more pitchers juiced than position players).

On the basis of his counting and rate stats alone McGwire deserves to grace Cooperstown. 583 homers, an unreal .392 OBP, a career .982 OPS, a 162 OPS+, and (for what it's worth, if 2008 shows you anything) numerous All-Star appearances, Silver Sluggers, and massive MVP consideration year after year speak on McGwire's behalf. Hopefully the writers will man up and realize that not having one of the most dominant players in the 90's in the Hall of Fame is a travesty to baseball and to his generation.