Hey Rich, JJM, and baseball Cornerites everywhere, let’s finally get to the important issues.

Over at the excellent Tiger Hawk, the always interesting blogger Cardinal Park is arguing that the steroids angle on Mark McGwire’s failure to be elected to the Hall of Fame is a diversion. The real reason the A’s/Cardinals slugger shouldn’t be in, he says, is that he just wasn’t good enough.

I think he’s probably right. McGwire’s career stats are here. (Hat tip: The Baseball Page.) But for the eye-popping 583 career home runs, his numbers are mediocre. Even parsing individual seasons — which highlights his astounding (and now suspect) 70 and 65 home runs in consecutive years, 1998 and 1999 – doesn’t help him all that much; after all, in three consecutive seasons, 1989-91, over about 1500 at-bats (i.e., the years were not significantly shortened by injury) he batted an appalling .231, .235 and .201.

The magic 500 home runs achievement has always gotten players into the Hall of Fame who were not particularly good fielders or otherwise good statistically. Harmon Killebrew, a lifetime .256 hitter comes to mind. (I personally would not put Reggie Jackson in this category because, though a poor fielder and not a real statistical standout, he was a truly great player in the clutch, especially in the post-season. And even as a fielder — Met fans will remember with chagrin a great game-saving catch he made in the 1973 World Series won by the A’s, 4 games to 3.) But would McGwire have hit 500 home runs absent the suspected steroid use? And does 500 home runs have the same cachet as it used to given not only the steroid scandal but smaller ballparks and livelier ball?

In any event, the best thing McGwire has going for him, other than the home run total, is that his ‘98 home run chase with Sammy Sosa captivated the country and brought baseball back into the public’s good graces after the suicidal 1994 strike season. But if that whole theater turns out to have been chemically enhanced, it loses a lot of its luster.

I think Cardinal Park is probably right, though. McGwire doesn’t belong because he was not a great player.