SAN DIEGO — A Hall of Fame cycle that seems poised to bring good news for one former Cardinal and Cooperstown hopeful in Scott Rolen has presented some bad news for another, if you read between the glaring lines.
Cardinals Hall of Famer Mark McGwire was not in the eight-candidate pool considered by the inaugural Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee before Sunday night's announcement of Fred McGriff as a unanimous selection, but the performance-enhancing message sent by that group was heard loud and clear.
McGriff, a five-time All-Star and six-time top-10 MVP finisher whose Cooperstown case gained popularity among those who wanted to see him rewarded for playing clean in a steroid-tainted era, was selected by 16 of 16 committee members. This comes after the 59-year-old never received more than 39.8% of the vote during his time on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.
