McGwire Out but Bonds in Hall of Fame???

[BetteDavisEyes]

AP Exclusive: McGwire falling short, Bonds getting by with Hall voters, survey shows
By RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writer
March 25, 2005

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mark McGwire could be shut out from the Hall of Fame because of baseball's swirling steroids scandal, heightened by the slugger's refusal to answer specific questions about performance-enhancing drugs before Congress, an Associated Press survey showed.

Barry Bonds appears to have enough support to get in, but he's far from a shoo-in, according to the sentiments of 155 Hall of Fame voters who responded to the survey. They are among the roughly 500 members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America who will be eligible to vote when McGwire is on the ballot in two years.

Of the 155 who responded, 65 said they would vote for McGwire or were leaning that way; 52 said they would not or were leaning that way. The remaining 38 were undecided.

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Players must be approved on 75 percent of ballots cast to make the Hall.

Among the voters surveyed who expressed an inclination, only 55.6 percent said they supported McGwire's induction.

``I will not vote for Mark McGwire,'' Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times said. ``It's obvious from his own statements he used some form of performance-enhancing drugs and it's obvious from his statistics he did not become a Hall of Fame-type player until he did so.''

Bonds won 80.8 percent approval among yes-or-no voters, with 105 votes for election and 25 against. The remaining 25 were undecided.

Based on their career numbers alone, Bonds and McGwire would seem undeniable candidates for Hall of Fame induction. McGwire ranks sixth on the home runs list with 583, but will be best remembered for his heroic 1998 season, when he hit 70 home runs to shatter Roger Maris' decades-old record of 61.

Bonds eclipsed McGwire's mark in 2001 by slugging 73 home runs. But he is now within reach of an even bigger prize: His 703 career home runs are just 52 shy of Hank Aaron's career record, and he needs just 11 to pass Babe Ruth.

Among the 20 players to hit 500 homers, all who have appeared on the ballot are in the Hall. The steroid scandal, however, seems to be weighing on the minds of many voters who could help break that streak.

``Right now I'm sort of sitting on the fence, but leaning toward not voting for McGwire or Bonds because they cheated,'' said Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, himself a member of the Hall's writers' wing.

``McGwire had the opportunity to say something, but didn't. To me, that's sort of like pleading the Fifth Amendment and not denying he did it,'' he said.

Dan Le Batard of The Miami Herald said he would vote for both.

``Barry Bonds is the greatest player of our lifetime, with or without steroids. He won three MVPs as a stick figure,'' he said. ``I don't think they were cheating. Something has to be against the rules for you to be cheating. Despite their size, these guys climbed through a loophole.''

Baseball did not ban steroids until 2002.

Subpoenaed by a congressional committee to testify last week, McGwire repeatedly refused to discuss whether he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs, saying he would not talk about the past.

The slugger was roundly criticized by fans, media and politicians -- even in Missouri, the state where he broke Maris' season home-run record while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.

``He had a chance to help himself, help his sport, a chance to help kids and the parents sitting behind him and he just whiffed,'' said Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times. ``It might as well be a guilt admission.''

Leading up to his testimony before the congressional panel, McGwire had repeatedly denied using steroids. As had Bonds, who was not asked to appear before Congress. But Bonds, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, testified to a grand jury in 2003 that he used a clear substance and a cream given to him by a trainer who was indicted in a steroid-distribution ring, saying he didn't know if they were steroids.

In any case, Henry Schulman, who covers the Giants for the Chronicle, plans to vote for both.

``The Hall of Fame is not a museum for saints. It's filled with racists, philanderers, players who used cork bats and spitters and everything at their disposal to their advantage,'' he said. ``It's hard for me to single McGwire out. Unless he commits a crime, he's on my ballot.''

As for Bonds, Schulman said: ``I think he was a Hall of Famer before he had those monster home run seasons. ... Even if he were convicted of a crime, I would probably give him my vote to be consistent within myself. I've always felt Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame. I'd have to get some damning evidence confirmed on Barry before I would knock him off my first ballot.''

There's no telling when members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America will be asked to decide on Bonds -- players must be retired for five years before going on the ballot.

The AP contacted members of the BBWAA who are eligible to vote or will be by 2007 and asked whether they would support Bonds and/or McGwire for the Hall. Seventeen of those were AP sports writers.

This year, 516 votes were cast for the Hall by BBWAA voters, who must be members of the organization for 10 consecutive years or more to be eligible. The total of eligible voters is likely to increase slightly by the time McGwire and Bonds appear on the ballot.

The following AP Sports Writers contributed to this report: Nancy Armour, Bob Baum, Dave Campbell, R.B. Fallstrom, Rick Gano, Fred Goodall, Stephen Hawkins, Joe Kay, Tim Korte, Larry Lage, Rob Maaddi, Janie McCauley, John Nadel, Alan Robinson, Arnie Stapleton, Doug Tucker, Howard Ulman, Joseph White, Bernie Wilson, Steven Wine and Tom Withers.

Any thoughts to this? I found it amazing but am still undecided over McGwire & his testimony.