Integrity and Character
by Paul
By January 15th, 2007, the Baseball Writer's Association of America will have elected a new class of spectacular athletes into the Baseball Hall of Fame. According to the Hall of Fame's website, voting is based on "the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played." Out of the previously stated qualifications, the two controversial words continue to be integrity and character.
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, integrity is defined as, "adherence to a code of values." In the same dictionary, character is defined as, "moral excellence."
Though the above definitions are only clearly ambiguous, I can mention one phrase that defines neither integrity nor character:
"I am not here to talk about the past."
Mark McGwire, the former slugger for St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics, is on this year's list of possible candidates to be enshrined in Cooperstown. McGwire has fantastic career numbers. He is seventh on the career home run list with 583. He was Rookie of the Year in 1987, won the World Series in 1989, earned a Gold Glove in 1990, and played in 12 all-star games. In the magical 1998 season, McGwire set the single season home run record by passing Roger Maris on his way to 70 round-trippers. The record, later broken by Barry Bonds, is widely viewed as the greatest personal mark across all sports. McGwire, along with Sammy Sosa, saved the game of baseball from years of striking and fans tiring of players versus owners arguments. McGwire and Sosa ushered in a new era in Major League Baseball: The Home Run Era.
Mark McGwire also ushered in a more conspicuous era: The Steroid Era.
During that 1998 season, a writer for the Associated Press, Steve Wilstein, observed a bottle of Androstenedione, the dietary supplement known as Andro, on a shelf in McGwire's locker. At the time, Andro was deemed illegal by the NFL and the IOC, but was not banned in Major League Baseball. However, it was later named a banned substance in the league and banned from sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Wilstein, the reporter, found the evidence that Big Mac's mammoth physique was not all natural. Instead, McGwire used a steroid that causes impotence, atrophied testicles, and liver disease, according to the FDA website. It is especially dangerous to children as it can induce premature puberty and close the growth plates of long bones. In other words, if boys and girls take Andro like Big Mac did in order to get big, it is likely they will never reach adult stature.
On March 17, 2005, professional baseball players, including McGwire, were asked to testify in a Congressional hearing on rampant steroid use in baseball. After Jose Canseco's incendiary book Juiced was published, public outcry rang through the halls of Congress and in baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's office for changes to be made.
After Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro told the congressional panel that they did not use steroids, McGwire faced the less-than-scathing questoiners. Mark McGwire did not face the questions with the grace that Sammy did in pretending not to understand English, or the forcefulness of Palmeiro. Period. According to cnn.com, when Big Mac was asked by St. Louis congressman William Clay if he could tell fans he played "with honesty and integrity", McGwire answered, "I'm not going to go into the past or talk about my past. I'm here to make a positive influence on this." McGwire went on to echo that refrain several times and added, ""My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family and myself." While exercising his Fifth Amendment right per say, McGwire did jeopardize his chance of getting into the Hall of Fame.
Because Mark McGwire could not answer Congressman Clay's question about "honesty and integrity," Hall of Fame voters cannot select him for Cooperstown. If voting was based on solely on numbers, records, and wins, McGwire would be deserving. However, in following election criteria, McGwire's big bronze head will never be found in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
By January 15th, 2007, the Baseball Writer's Association of America will have elected a new class of spectacular athletes into the Baseball Hall of Fame. According to the Hall of Fame's website, voting is based on "the player's record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played." Out of the previously stated qualifications, the two controversial words continue to be integrity and character.
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, integrity is defined as, "adherence to a code of values." In the same dictionary, character is defined as, "moral excellence."
Though the above definitions are only clearly ambiguous, I can mention one phrase that defines neither integrity nor character:
"I am not here to talk about the past."
Mark McGwire, the former slugger for St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics, is on this year's list of possible candidates to be enshrined in Cooperstown. McGwire has fantastic career numbers. He is seventh on the career home run list with 583. He was Rookie of the Year in 1987, won the World Series in 1989, earned a Gold Glove in 1990, and played in 12 all-star games. In the magical 1998 season, McGwire set the single season home run record by passing Roger Maris on his way to 70 round-trippers. The record, later broken by Barry Bonds, is widely viewed as the greatest personal mark across all sports. McGwire, along with Sammy Sosa, saved the game of baseball from years of striking and fans tiring of players versus owners arguments. McGwire and Sosa ushered in a new era in Major League Baseball: The Home Run Era.
Mark McGwire also ushered in a more conspicuous era: The Steroid Era.
During that 1998 season, a writer for the Associated Press, Steve Wilstein, observed a bottle of Androstenedione, the dietary supplement known as Andro, on a shelf in McGwire's locker. At the time, Andro was deemed illegal by the NFL and the IOC, but was not banned in Major League Baseball. However, it was later named a banned substance in the league and banned from sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Wilstein, the reporter, found the evidence that Big Mac's mammoth physique was not all natural. Instead, McGwire used a steroid that causes impotence, atrophied testicles, and liver disease, according to the FDA website. It is especially dangerous to children as it can induce premature puberty and close the growth plates of long bones. In other words, if boys and girls take Andro like Big Mac did in order to get big, it is likely they will never reach adult stature.
On March 17, 2005, professional baseball players, including McGwire, were asked to testify in a Congressional hearing on rampant steroid use in baseball. After Jose Canseco's incendiary book Juiced was published, public outcry rang through the halls of Congress and in baseball Commissioner Bud Selig's office for changes to be made.
After Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro told the congressional panel that they did not use steroids, McGwire faced the less-than-scathing questoiners. Mark McGwire did not face the questions with the grace that Sammy did in pretending not to understand English, or the forcefulness of Palmeiro. Period. According to cnn.com, when Big Mac was asked by St. Louis congressman William Clay if he could tell fans he played "with honesty and integrity", McGwire answered, "I'm not going to go into the past or talk about my past. I'm here to make a positive influence on this." McGwire went on to echo that refrain several times and added, ""My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family and myself." While exercising his Fifth Amendment right per say, McGwire did jeopardize his chance of getting into the Hall of Fame.
Because Mark McGwire could not answer Congressman Clay's question about "honesty and integrity," Hall of Fame voters cannot select him for Cooperstown. If voting was based on solely on numbers, records, and wins, McGwire would be deserving. However, in following election criteria, McGwire's big bronze head will never be found in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
posted by sportzdudes at 9:43 PM
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