Why Is Mark Mcgwire Not Being Considered For The Hall Of Fame?
Mark Mcgwire was the stuff of legend. A big, burly, hulking power hitter that could actually contact the ball with amazing regularity. He was one of the most exciting players of all time, and yet, he is left out of Hall of Fame discussions almost without thinking. Why exactly is that? For that matter, why are a number of players left out of Hall of Fame discussions? Barry Bonds, Pete Rose, and others that have had scandals and allegations leveled their way have every right to be considered for the Hall of Fame. It is the only fair way to do things after all.
Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and many other older ball players through the years were far from being angels. Among many Hall of Famers, you will find drunkards, gamblers, fighters, and worse. Still, they are absently accepted out of hand, and celebrated as exactly what they were. The heroes of that day on the baseball diamond. Mark Mcgwire, Barry Bonds, Pete Rose and others that are treated unfairly were the heroes of my day. They too, were not perfect and made their mistakes. They did not do everything perfectly to be sure, but neither did their predecessors. Is it not a double standard to play that card now?
I have always been a baseball fan, and for as long as I can remember, there have been scandals and players that were known as being less than perfect. Somehow, they always seemed to find their way through the problems and continue to play ball at a high level. To this end, I always admired their ability to sit in that spotlight and continue to perform. I wonder how many of our lives would hold up under the same standard with a similar light shining down on it? I would bet that many would be short of the standard that we give our ball players.
Do not get me wrong. If a ball player breaks the law, or even breaks a law of baseball, then they should be punished. But they should not essentially have their career accomplishments erased simply because they made mistakes. If that is the standard, then they need to trim the Hall of Fame down to a very select few players. The history of baseball is rife with all types of standards being broken, and yet, they celebrate it in film and print. MLB needs to rethink this whole standard of the Hall of Fame. If they do not, then the very people that pay to watch their game may not want to join in the hypocrisy any longer.
