Tim's Two Cents-January 12

Mark McGwire Admits to Having Used Steroids.  What a shocker...not!  Unless you've been living under a rock over the last few years, you knew this was going to come out.  It's good that it is coming out now, although I find it hard to believe that McGwire wanted to admit his use of steroids a few years ago but couldn't because he wasn't granted immunity.  If that was really the case, then why didn't we hear from him sooner than we did?  It all comes down to one reason.  He's going to be the new hitting coach for St. Louis in 2010 and doesn't want to cause a "distraction."  I would argue that if McGwire wasn't going to be the Cardinals hitting coach this season, there would still be no steroid admission on McGwire's part.

As McGwire becomes the latest baseball icon to admit past steroid use, it has become increasingly evident that we should not be surprised when more names come out over time.  I wasn't shocked that Manny Ramirez tested positive last year and Alex Rodriguez admitted using steroids as well too.  It's safe to say that most of the big name baseball stars at the time were using as well.  It seemed to be the culture at the time and I don't condone using steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in any way.

The other aspect to look at is whether or not guys like McGwire that have been linked to steroids, should be voted into the Hall of Fame.  There is no doubt that McGwire has the numbers to qualify, but the voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America has turned out a low voting percentage the last few years.  If I had a vote, I would vote for McGwire and all the others who have been linked to steroids because they were all doing it whether it was right or wrong.  It would be difficult to keep them out of the hall because of that.  I don't think McGwire and others will get into the Hall however since McGwire's voting totals have remained very low each year he's been eligible for election.

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