Does Mark McGwire belong in the Hall of Fame?

Next year Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr., and Mark McGwire all become eligible for the baseball Hall of Fame. Gwynn, and Ripken are locks to be voted in, and I would go so far as to say I think Ripken has a shot to be the first person to ever get 100% of the vote. Both he and Gwynn were tremendous assets to the game both on and off the field and will continue to be great ambassadors for baseball.

McGwire used to be baseball's biggest asset. But he can hardly be called that anymore, not after the performance in front of congress about steroids in baseball. It's sad that his star has fallen so far that many now question whether he should be voted into the Hall. I'll be the first to say that I think McGwire is the most overrated player in the history of the game. He was a bad first baseman with no range and a weak arm. He only hit .300 in a season where he had more than 400 at bats once. He only had 252 doubles in his career, a strangely low number for a guy with his power. And he struck out in 25% of the time. But he was also the greatest home run hitter of the 90's and helped save baseball after the strike. 583 careers should get him into the hall automatically. But will it?

I made a case yesterday for Andre Dawson being in the Hall. He was a much better all around player than McGwire and had more career RBI's. What could he have done on steroids? What would McGwire have done without 'roids? Questions like that are part of the legacy McGwire leaves behind and must live with.

I ultimately think he will get in, but voters are going to punish him and make him wait a while. He did hit 49 homers as a rookie and probably would have come close to the magic 500 career mark without steroids. He also wasn't the only guy in the league taking steroids and I don't think you can leave out an entire generation of players. If I were a voter I would vote for him. I still think he belongs in Cooperstown.