Case for the Hall: Mark McGwire

Player Stats

Why Yea?
In 1998, McGwire and Sammy Sosa riveted the nation, as both chased and would eventually pass Roger Maris for the single season home run record. McGwire won the battle with Sosa and the record with 70 on the season (though he lost the MVP battle to Sosa). In 1999 McGwire would pass Maris again, with 65 home runs. His career ended after a 29-HR campaign a mere two years later, in 2001, leaving him with a career total of 583 home runs, which ranked fifth all time upon his retirement. He also ended his career with 1,414 RBI's, including 7 seasons with 100 or more. On the home run front he would have 4 seasons (all consecutive, from 1996-1999) with 50 or more and 6 with 40 or more. His home run total, and record setting season, is definitely deserving of the Hall, and his RBI totals are difficult to overlook. Also impressive are his 12 appearances in the All-Star game.

Why Nea?
Beyond the HR and RBI numbers, McGwire's stats are underwhelming. He ended his career with 1,626 base hits. When you consider, then, that over one third of his hits were home runs, he seems like a very hit-or-miss batter. His 1,596 career strikeouts and .263 career average lend more credence to this thought. McGwire, of course, also offered no extra dimension on the basepaths--his double totals are low, let alone triples. Nor was he of much use in the field. Also, if one is to give McGwire major credit for 1998, his final season can only be regarded as an embarrassment: he batted .187 and struck out 118 times on 299 at-bats. And his hit distribution looked very odd: 23 singles, 4 doubles, 0 triples, and 29 home runs.

Summary
Sure, his HR numbers are great and his RBI numbers are impressive. But there are far more unimpressive numbers. The statistic that sticks out most as a sore thumb is the 1,626 hits. Among first basemen in the Hall, only Frank Chance has a lower number. It is difficult to reject the 583 home runs but easy to reject the rest of his numbers (in some ways, it is even easy to reject the home run numbers). And when just one statistic is impressive enough for Hall of Fame consideration, there should be doubts about the rest of a candidate's credentials.

Verdict: No