Cooperstown Choices: Mark McGwire
With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2012, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.
There are twenty seven men on the ballot this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2012 menu at the top of the page.
Tune in Saturday, January 7, 2012 as I-70 Baseball Radio will host a panel of writers discussing the Hall Of Fame Ballot in a 2-hour special.
In this article, we take a look at Mark McGwire
Mark McGwire
Big Mac was the single season home run king for a period of time during his sixteen year career. The power hitting first baseman made his big league debut in 1986 with the Oakland A’s and eventually retired after the 2001 season that he spent with the St. Louis Cardinals. This will be McGwire’s fifth run on the Cooperstown ballot.
| Year | Tm | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | OAK | 18 | 53 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 18 | .189 | .259 | .377 | .636 | 77 |
| 1987 | OAK | 151 | 557 | 97 | 161 | 28 | 4 | 49 | 118 | 1 | 71 | 131 | .289 | .370 | .618 | .987 | 164 |
| 1988 | OAK | 155 | 550 | 87 | 143 | 22 | 1 | 32 | 99 | 0 | 76 | 117 | .260 | .352 | .478 | .830 | 134 |
| 1989 | OAK | 143 | 490 | 74 | 113 | 17 | 0 | 33 | 95 | 1 | 83 | 94 | .231 | .339 | .467 | .806 | 129 |
| 1990 | OAK | 156 | 523 | 87 | 123 | 16 | 0 | 39 | 108 | 2 | 110 | 116 | .235 | .370 | .489 | .859 | 143 |
| 1991 | OAK | 154 | 483 | 62 | 97 | 22 | 0 | 22 | 75 | 2 | 93 | 116 | .201 | .330 | .383 | .714 | 103 |
| 1992 | OAK | 139 | 467 | 87 | 125 | 22 | 0 | 42 | 104 | 0 | 90 | 105 | .268 | .385 | .585 | .970 | 176 |
| 1993 | OAK | 27 | 84 | 16 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 24 | 0 | 21 | 19 | .333 | .467 | .726 | 1.193 | 225 |
| 1994 | OAK | 47 | 135 | 26 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 25 | 0 | 37 | 40 | .252 | .413 | .474 | .887 | 138 |
| 1995 | OAK | 104 | 317 | 75 | 87 | 13 | 0 | 39 | 90 | 1 | 88 | 77 | .274 | .441 | .685 | 1.125 | 200 |
| 1996 | OAK | 130 | 423 | 104 | 132 | 21 | 0 | 52 | 113 | 0 | 116 | 112 | .312 | .467 | .730 | 1.198 | 196 |
| 1997 | TOT | 156 | 540 | 86 | 148 | 27 | 0 | 58 | 123 | 3 | 101 | 159 | .274 | .393 | .646 | 1.039 | 170 |
| 1997 | OAK | 105 | 366 | 48 | 104 | 24 | 0 | 34 | 81 | 1 | 58 | 98 | .284 | .383 | .628 | 1.012 | 164 |
| 1997 | STL | 51 | 174 | 38 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 42 | 2 | 43 | 61 | .253 | .411 | .684 | 1.095 | 182 |
| 1998 | STL | 155 | 509 | 130 | 152 | 21 | 0 | 70 | 147 | 1 | 162 | 155 | .299 | .470 | .752 | 1.222 | 216 |
| 1999 | STL | 153 | 521 | 118 | 145 | 21 | 1 | 65 | 147 | 0 | 133 | 141 | .278 | .424 | .697 | 1.120 | 176 |
| 2000 | STL | 89 | 236 | 60 | 72 | 8 | 0 | 32 | 73 | 1 | 76 | 78 | .305 | .483 | .746 | 1.229 | 202 |
| 2001 | STL | 97 | 299 | 48 | 56 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 64 | 0 | 56 | 118 | .187 | .316 | .492 | .808 | 105 |
| 16 Seasons | 1874 | 6187 | 1167 | 1626 | 252 | 6 | 583 | 1414 | 12 | 1317 | 1596 | .263 | .394 | .588 | .982 | 162 | |
| 162 Game Avg. | 162 | 535 | 101 | 141 | 22 | 1 | 50 | 122 | 1 | 114 | 138 | .263 | .394 | .588 | .982 | 162 | |
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||||||
| OAK (12 yrs) | 1329 | 4448 | 773 | 1157 | 195 | 5 | 363 | 941 | 8 | 847 | 1043 | .260 | .380 | .551 | .931 | 155 | |
| STL (5 yrs) | 545 | 1739 | 394 | 469 | 57 | 1 | 220 | 473 | 4 | 470 | 553 | .270 | .427 | .683 | 1.111 | 180 | |
| AL (12 yrs) | 1329 | 4448 | 773 | 1157 | 195 | 5 | 363 | 941 | 8 | 847 | 1043 | .260 | .380 | .551 | .931 | 155 | |
| NL (5 yrs) | 545 | 1739 | 394 | 469 | 57 | 1 | 220 | 473 | 4 | 470 | 553 | .270 | .427 | .683 | 1.111 | 180 | |
Why He Should Get In
From his Rookie Of The Year campaign in 1987 to his record setting 1998 season, McGwire simply hit and hit hard. His 49 home runs in 1987 set a rookie record. He led the league in home runs four times, made 12 All Star appearances, finished in the top 10 of the Most Valuable Player Award voting five times, won a Gold Glove and three silver slugger awards. His career numbers in home runs (583), runs batted in (1414), walks (1317) and slugging percentage (.588) suggest a shoe-in for Cooperstown.
Why He Should Not Get In
Only one thing keeps McGwire out of Cooperstown: his decision to do steroids. No one can tell when it began or how much it influenced his numbers. It will consistently tarnish his career and keep him from entering Cooperstown until the voters can come to terms with who can and cannot get in from one of the most controversial eras of baseball.
Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
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