Should Mark McGwire Be in the Hall of Fame?

Sportswriter and talk radio host Joe McDonnell is no great fan of Mark McGwire. Which makes it all the more surprising that McDonnell agues McGwire should be in the Hall of Fame. He argues that there is no evidence that McGwire ever did steroids. McDonnell also argues that even if McGwire did that wouldn't make him a better hitter.

Bottom line with steroid use is this – and experts in the field will back me up –'roids don't help you hit the ball. They may add a few feet to the homers and may facilitate recovery from injury. But steroids don't do much – if anything – for hand-eye coordination. If you or I took two pounds of steroids a day, we couldn't hit 500 home runs. Or 49 or 70 in a season. You still have to be a HOF-caliber player to accomplish what McGwire did. And if the writers hold unproven claims against McGwire, Sosa and Barry Bonds, then they'd better rethink their votes for many players coming up for election over the next 20 years, because of baseball's dirty little secret – amphetamine use.

McDonnell brings up the interesting subject of how uppers have been used in baseball for years. My guess is that no one made a big deal about amphetamine use because it has never been linked to home runs.

I personally found McGwire likable. Certainly, much more than Barry Bonds. But then who doesn't. I'm on the fence about McGwire getting into the Hall of fame. I may not be if more dirty laundry comes out.

	Should Mark McGwire be in the Hall of Fame?
	Yes: McGwire should be in.
	No: McGwire is unworthy of the Hall
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