I’m voting for Mark McGwire this time for the Hall of Fame, but I’ll get back to that in a minute.

 

I’m voting for two others and that’s it: It’s Bert Blyleven’s 12th year on the ballot and he deserves entry because he was terrific. So I’m voting for him.

 

Rickey Henderson — slam dunk, no discussion needed.

 

The third and last one I’m voting for is McGwire because he deserves it. I didn’t vote for him the previous two times because I’m pretty sure he used performance enhancing drugs and that bothers me. But I realize so many players of his generation did and if they’re on the ballot it’s not up to me to be judge and jury. Heck, I’m going to vote for Barry Bonds — a better player than McGwire — and I believe he was the poster child for drug cheating.

 

Another thing. Reggie Jackson is in the Hall and McGwire’s numbers compare favorably with Jackson’s.

 

Batting average: McGwire .263, Jackson .262.

 

Home runs: McGwire 583, Jackson 563.

 

McGwire was a better fielder than Jackson and he held the one-season home run record for a minute. He deserves entry on performance, and I’ve come to think that’s the only criterion that counts.

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