Posted by Paul Then it struck me that McGwire's name goes on the ballot next month where the press will buzz as the sportswriters make their cases for their vote. I want to influence the vote somehow so I may just publish a small book with my findings called "Hallworthy: Why Mark McGwire Belongs in the Hall of Fame." The only question is, will it be marketable and worth publishing? Are there enough McGwire fans who care to buy a book like this and make it profitable. The working format I am going with is this: 1) Making a case from his stats and record books alone. 2) Making a case for his entertainment value to the game and the memories he gave us as the greatest power hitter of all time. 3) Making a case from his personal life, making sure we remember how unselfish and transparent he was off the field. 4) Making a case that the steroid ban memos released in 1991 and 1997 were never enforced, there was no testing, or given strict conditions for penalties until 2002, after McGwire retired. 5) Making a case that baseball allowed a culture of steroids that was tolerated as homeruns brought fans back, that many pitchers used them for an edge, and that 50%-70% of the game was on steroids. To single out supertar players and take away their records, calling them cheaters is unfair. It is not a McGwire problem, but a problem of the game. 6) I will make a case that McGwire was on steroids most of his career given circumstantial evidence but there is no proof or confession, no way to penalize him, no way to know what he was on and when, and that it is futile to speculate and convict on these grounds. Androstenedione for all practical purpose was a legal steroid. 7) I will make the case that steroids on helps give you an edge in your workouts and doesn't do anything magically for you. You must still work out, work hard, be focused, and be a talented ballplayer. To say steroids made McGwire a hall of fame player is insane. If more than half of the game was on performance enhancers, where are their record homerun seasons? If Mac was on them since 1988 as Canseco says or 1992 when he had a dramatic weight increase, why did he not have HOF seasons until 1996? 8) We will look at McGwire's statements and evasiveness on Capitol Hill and evaluate why his lawyers coached him to answer as he did. We will look at the differnece between the McGwire marketed to us by publicists in which he tries to be a role model and the human McGwire who is as weak ans the rest of us and had real life ramifications to think about in answering how he did. 9) We will look at McGwire as an imperfect "realistic hero" and not a "superhuman" who can do no wrong and see what lessons we can learn from all of this. 10) We will look at what the hall of fame is, whether or not it is important that McGwire be inducted, and how his relationship with the media while he played will severely affect his vote. 11) We will look at how baseball made McGwire and used him for such high revenues and the restoration of the game, and now will save face by destroying his public image and making sure he takes the hit for the game. The Hall of Fame will be disrespected by its gatekeepers because it will be used simply to make a point that baseball won't tolerate cheaters like McGwire to appease the public as opposed to an honest vote. 12) The book will close with a plea for McGwire to come clean publicly. To write an autobiography while he is news the next six months, to tell us about this in his own words, make some money selling his story and appearing in the media, and to regain the hearts of his fans instead of the Hall of the sportswriters. The fans will forgive him and the Hall will soon follow. Pete Rose isn't in the hall, but baseball history and thousands of loving fans will never forget him. Bonds may dominate record books, but he will be forgotten in the hearts of many. It is important that you are imortalized by the fans who made you big, not a handfull of veterans and sportswriters. What do you think, would you guys buy or read a book like this if I published it? Paul
on 11/4/2006, 3:50:17
I have been researching a putting together a case for McGwire being inducted into the Hall and was just going to post it all in a video on youtube.
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