Big Mac, Arnold, and the Complicit

We have now reached what will become the final chapter of the steroid era. As Mark Mcgwire becomes eligible for the MLB hall of fame, we now have a referendum of what steroids has and will mean to baseball. To me this is a clear cut decision, I will vote for Mcgwire to enter the MLB hall of fame based on his devastating numbers. We vote on his playing career, not on his refusal to answer some self-serving congressman.

There are many ways to slice and dice this topic, so this is the first step in declaring my vote for Big Mac. Did he use pharmaceutical assistance- of course he did, he admited so with the andro. Were prescription anabolic steroids used as well-hell yes!. Was all of this allowed under the then MLB rules-Yes. That's the bottom line, he used whatever was available and allowed under the then MLB rules to dominate! He was never once caught cheating like the Corky Cub.

First a basic precursor, there exist many over the counter supplements that will give you steroid like growth and power. These are referred to as pro-hormones. These were banned by the FDA in 2004. Why would one not simply take these instead of steroids? Because they are in fact more dangerous than actual steroids.

As Arnold was winning the fifth of his Mr. Olympia titles, Barbara Walters would ask him if he used steroids because of his obvious size. He would constantly respond, "yes, i do, under the supervision of a doctor". Who around MLB didn't notice the explosion in the size of players in the mid to late nineties as the number of homers took off.? Where were the public questions being asked of steroid use?

The complicity involves players, managers, owners, and worst of all the media. The same media that will vote to keep Mac out of the hall was the media that turned him into a white, apple pie, baseball God! The writers that declare that he will never enter the hall knew that he was using for years. The rumors had been there since the Bash Brothers. Players did the juice and didn't cross the line, managers turned a blind eye, and owners just continued to count the cash.

Critics always claim Arnold won because he used the gear, but everyone had access to the same juice. Mcgwire had pharmacuetical aid, no doubt, but everyone also had access. Remember, Mac was pre BALCO and its secret potions.

All this aside, the numbers speak for themselves. 583 career homers, 4yrs of 50hr or more, 49 hr as a rook, and 1 gold glove. But the number that puts him in without doubt is the 70hr breaking Maris's record! This was the most hollowed record in baseball, 60 had only been broken once in 70 years. Breaking this ensured Mcgwire's entry into the Hall of fame-or so we thought.