Posted by Tim Grabeal
on 1/6/2011, 16:26:49
There is a legitimate reason to vote for McGwire, and (when he becomes eligible, assuming he's never declared permanently ineligible, and I doubt that will happen) A-Rod, but not Bonds, Palmeiro and Clemens. How legitimate it is, I suppose, is up to each individual fan, including those actually doing the voting.
A-Rod confessed, right after it was revealed that he was caught. McGwire, however belatedly, also confessed. Bonds, Palmeiro and Clemens all denied it in very public ways. It's not so much that Mac and A-Rod confessed, that they seemed to understand that they had disappointed people, and showed remorse.
Bonds and Palmeiro, it has been publicly revealed, failed tests, and still maintain their innocence in spite of public proof. If there is a positive test on Clemens, it has still not been revealed, but he has done himself no favors by taking the same public stands that Bonds and Palmeiro still take.
They, and (if proven guilty) Clemens, have truly disgraced the game, in ways that McGwire and A-Rod have not. That's the key: If you're willing to say, "Well, the steroids didn't help THAT much," or, "Well, the guys they were facing were juicing, too" -- then it might come down whether they did the right thing afterward, which should also keep Manny Ramirez out. Or whether they would have made it anyway, which WILL also keep David Ortiz out.
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