Many Hall of Fame voters are likely to vote against certain players because they are tainted by performance-enhancing drugs. I don’t know if and to what extent PEDs inflated batting numbers. However, if one believes that the home run totals of McGwire, Bonds, Palmeiro and A-Rod are all tainted, where does that leave McGriff? McGriff has never been linked to PEDs; many of his peers have been so linked, as have many pitchers who opposed him.
Looking at the career home run list, there are 10 contemporaries of McGriff ahead of him – Gary Sheffield, Frank Thomas, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds. Most of these players have directly tested positive or have been otherwise implicated in PED use.
Again, I don’t claim to know the effects of PED use. However, if a voter wishes to punish those who are tainted with PEDs and keep those players out of the Hall of Fame, how better to drive the point home than to recognize the achievements of a great hitter who is not so tainted? Vote for Fred McGriff for the Hall of Fame!