April 5, 2011
by Mark Healey

This week on I-70 Baseball Radio, we will take a break from talking Cardinals and Royals and talk about baseball as a whole. More specifically, we will talk about the upcoming elections to the Baseball Hall Of Fame.

The folks in Cooperstown will announce the results of the Baseball Writers Association of America’s vote for the official inductees for 2011. The Baseball Bloggers Alliance held their unofficial vote, and voted for Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar to be enshrined.

A panel of sportswriters will join us for the show at 10 pm CST, which can be found by clicking here. Members of that panel are:

Kary Booher, Springfield Cardinals beat writer for the Springfield News Leader.
Shawn Anderson, who has been breaking down the candidates on his site The Hall Of Very Good.
Michael Lynch, who runs an amazing baseball site known as Seamheads.
Mark Healey, the online editor for I-70 Baseball’s parent site, Baseball Digest.

These gentlemen will join myself and Matt Kelsey to break down the 33 names on the Hall Of Fame ballot and help us determine who deserves to go, who deserves to be left in the cold, and who could go either way.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

Cooperstown.

That is all it takes. In baseball, it does not take much more than that one word to start an argument, inspire awe, or draw some attention. This year, there are 33 names on the ballot for admission into the hallowed halls. On January 5th, the Baseball Writers Association will announce the results of their voting for the next legends to become immortalized with a brass plaque hanging in the Hall of Legends.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance announced their choices for Hall Of Fame enshrinement. Read the press release right here on I-70.

In just a few days, on I-70 Baseball Radio, we will feature a panel discussion with respected writers from around the country as we break down the 33 man ballot and voice our opinions on who gets in and who gets left out in the cold. We will be joined by Shawn Anderson from HallOfVeryGood.com, Michael Lynch from Seamheads.com, Kary Booher from the Springfield News Leader, and Mark Healey from BaseballDigest.com. This panel of writers will help Matt Kelsey and I break down everyone on the ballot and come to our own conclusions as to who we think belongs in the Hall Of Fame in 2011. You can listen live on Monday, January 3rd at 10 p.m. CST by clicking here.

I will gladly wait and discuss 32 names on that radio show, but one will be discussed right here today. Mark McGwire belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

Yes, you heard me correctly. Yes, I know he rocked the ‘roids. Yes, I am aware that this act is cheating. Yes, I am aware he has confessed this ballgame sin and found his way back into baseball.

I take a very simple stance on this subject. The man was good for baseball, put up seriously good numbers for a long period of time, and he played the game during a time frame where everyone turned a blind eye to what was being done behind the scenes. The “Steroid Era” left a lot of rubble behind in the time frame it existed. The tainting of the sport during that era was as far reaching as to extend to members of the press, coaches, players and fans alike.

The Hall Of Fame is full of players who, in one way or another, cheated the game. It is full of liars, gamblers and thieves (no, I am not referring to Rickey Henderson or Lou Brock). The character of the man has never before prevented a player from being enshrined for his (or her) contributions to the game.

Like it or not, baseball was in shambles in 1997. The game could not recover from the players strike earlier in the decade. Fans did not want to be part of the game. They felt disconnected. They felt like the game was not for them anymore. The home run chase began and people flocked back to the gates to see the ball fly out of parks at a rapid pace. People rumbled even then about the size of the players and the medication they were taking. No one cared. Baseball was back. It was okay to love the game again.

But one season does not make a Hall Of Fame career. McGwire started his assault on record books in 1987 when he hit 49 home runs as a rookie first baseman for the Oakland Athletics. He worked hard over his entire career to achieve a better batting average and take more prolific at bats. He took as much pride, if not more, in hitting .300 then he did in any of his home run totals. He was at the park hours before anyone else and left later than most. The game consumed his life while he played it, dominating his time and his mind for many years.

McGwire would walk away from a guaranteed contract and leave the game he loved behind. His body, his mind, and maybe even his soul had been tarnished by the same game that had consumed him since childhood. He lied when asked about his steroid use. He lied to his fans, his country, and his game. He disappointed everyone.

Ultimately, he saved the game. He did what fans, owners, writers and players expected him and others to do. He brought the fans back to the National Pastime. He brought baseball back to the people. He put thousands of expectations on his broad shoulders and carried them to the nation as a whole. Over his career he performed at legendary levels consistently.

For those reasons, writers need to step down from their own soapboxes and give the man the plaque he so rightly deserves. It is time that everyone take a look inward and honestly evaluate what was felt when he played. If you suspected, as many of us did, yet cheered right along with the rest of us, why do you hold the man back now?

Allow the legends to embrace one of their own in Cooperstown. Take a stand for baseball above your own opinion.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

“A star works at being a star … that’s how you tell a star in baseball. He shows up night after night and takes pride in how brightly he shines. He’s Wilie Mays running so hard his hat keeps falling off; Ty Cobb sliding to stretch a single into a double; Lou Gehrig, after being fooled in his first two at-bats, belting the next pitch off the light tower because he’s taken the time to study the pitcher. Stars never take themselves for granted. That’s why they’re stars.” – Jim Murray

Jim Murray was one of the greatest sportswriters who ever lived, and his excellence earned him a Pulitzer Prize as well as enshrinement in the Baseball Hall Of Fame. One of the great things about the Internet and social media is that I have found there are thousands of budding Jim Murrays out there.

If you’re one of these once and future baseball scribes, you can show off your writing chop by entering to win the BaseballDigest.com BASEBALL Essay Contest!

Entering is easy, just go to the Baseball Digest Facebook page, sign up, and post what your essay is going to be about*. Then, send your essay (no more than 500 words) to Baseball Digest Online Editor Mark Healey (mhealey@baseballdigest.com).

If your essay is chosen as a winner, it will be published on BaseballDigest.com and you’ll be entered to win the Grand Prize of a copy of “BASEBALL” The 2010 DVD Boxed Set (which includes The Tenth Inning).

*Only entries by certified Baseball Digest Facebook followers are eligible to be selected for the Grand Prize drawing.