Making a case for Big Mac in the Hall of Fame

Earlier today, I read an ESPN story on Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, discussing how to push all things other than numbers aside in their cases for Hall of Fame enshrinement.

But I think that the numbers are the point on why they aren't in the Hall. The numbers are the visual reference of the cheat. Paying only attention to the numbers is paying only attention to the cheat.

So instead, I have a different pitch for the enshrinement of McGwire. And yes McGwire only.

I have my opinions on the other two, but neither is really a case for them.

For Bonds, a guy who "allegedly" cheated at a time when the watchdogs were on high alert, he disrespected the sport on higher levels. Bonds had a chance to be a guy....or even THE GUY to take a stand against the use of PEDs when he was at the highest point of his popularity. He chose not to. Barry Bonds did more damage to the sport with his "alleged" PED use than any of the rest. It does not make any of the other PED users right, it does not make them better either. It does however, in my humble opinion, make Bonds worse.

And for Roger Clemens, it is simple. He was acquitted by a jury of lying about using PEDs. Therefore, by saying he didn't lie when he said he didn't use PEDs, they basically said he didn't use PEDs. So let him in if he deserves it, why not?

But for Big Mac, it isn't so cut and dry.

Mark McGwire, with all else aside...the cheating, the numbers, the asterisk, the argument...still remains how he revitalized baseball.

When Mark McGwire broke the single season home run record in 1998, it wasn't just that someone actually chased down Maris' mark of 61, it was the attention that he and Sammy Sosa captured with their back and forth chase of breaking and then eventually setting the single season record.

Before you can really re-appreciate that chase, remember how dead baseball was? The strike of 1994-1995 killed the sport. There has been plenty of greed, lockouts and generally douchebaggery in sports since then and there was even plenty before that. But that strike, it made people not care about Major League Baseball. People who were sports fans didn't care. People who were baseball fans didn't care. I'm pretty sure a fine percentage of owners, managers, coaches and fans of the sport also didn't care.

Baseball was dead.

And then McGwire and Sosa gave it CPR. When McGwire tied that record of 61, it was awe inspiring. When he broke it one evening with a home run over the left field wall, it was bone chilling. Mark McGwire saved baseball. Sosa was there too, but let's all face the fact that he was Robin to McGwire's Batman. It captured the attention of America in a way that baseball has not captured attention in my life span, nor will it probably ever capture attention like that fateful year again as long as I live. The fact is that Major League Baseball was not going away. But where would we be today without the McGwire/Sosa chase? Would it be the major money sports and league that it is today? My guess is no.

For me, Mark McGwire belongs in the Hall of Fame because what would the modern Hall of Fame be without him. He is the face of a rejuvenated league, an era that is all too forgotten.

Mark McGwire's status, his reputation and his numbers will always be tainted. 70* is how that year will stand on paper, in numerical form. But nothing can taint that feeling that Big Mac gave the country in 1998. I just hope that some year, this or another, that the baseball writers can remember that.

Losing Ellsbury would kill the sport's greatest trio

With their game 6 win last week, the Boston Red Sox have solidified themselves as the best organization of the past decade. Titles in 2004, 2007 and 2013 have made the once cursed boys of Beantown the crown jewel of Major League Baseball.

Outside of the Yankees of the 90’s, no team has been as dominant in this era of baseball. Case in point is one of, what I consider, the most amazing stat of importance of this series: David Ortiz is the first non-Yankee to win 3 titles with the same team since Jim Palmer did so with the Baltimore Orioles’ title in 1982.

But Ortiz isn’t alone as what I consider important consistent pieces. While the names and faces with the teams have changed from 2004 to 2007 and more so to 2013, there are three name that everyone can place with Boston’s championship aura: David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Each of these teams has had their own identity, but this trio has been the constant. Ortiz is the lone Sox player from 2004 left on the roster and Pedroia and Ellsbury, both clutch hitters and exceptional fielders, were part of the 2007 team as well. Many may argue, but there is a very high likelihood that these three are the best non-pitching trio in the modern era of championship teams.

Life won't be the same without Pedroia, Ortiz and Ellsbury all together.

It is sad to me to know that the trio's era may be over. Ellsbury is the Red Sox free agent least likely to resign according to multiple sources. And his new qualifying offer from Boston is great, but I don't see it sticking.

In their 2007 championship season, a second year player in Pedroia, a rookie Ellsbury and Ortiz combined for 388 hits. This year, their second title together in sights, the trio totaled 525 hits, helping dominate the American League. When one wasn't on, the others picked up the slack. That came up big time in the World Series, when Ellsbury was mediocre and Pedroia was below average. So Ortiz simply redefined what being Mr. October was all about, swinging for the fences and making the “ace” Cardinal pitching staff look like Little League relief pitchers.

At 37, Ortiz doesn't have many years left in the tank, even if he does drive the ball just as well today as he did during the Red Sox first World Series run. But Pedroia and Ellsbury are only 29 each and if they stay together, with Ortiz for a few years and then whoever the great Boston front office replaces him with, they could add a few more titles easily.

Boston looked so much different in 2007 than they did in 2004, with so much turnover. And honestly, the turnover was great since that 2007 title to this year too. But losing Ellsbury, breaking up the foundation of this happy family, could be the biggest nail driven into the continuing of this legacy.

Top 5 Songs to Pump you up

Any athlete can tell you that the right song, at the right time, can put you in an athletic zone all of its own. What player, on any level, doesn't have a pair of ear buds in (or in 2013, a pair of Beats by Dre on), head bobbing just a little, before any given game or match?

It is part of the sport itself. That is why athletes are so enthralled with music and vice versa.

With that said, these are, in my opinion (isn't it all?), the best 5 songs to listen to pregame. The best pump up songs that, at the very least, get me in the right mind frame whether competing or coaching.

Honorable Mention: Hall of Fame by The Script
This song is newer than the rest, but sets very upbeat tone. Fox Sports 1 recently adopted it as it's theme music during commercial previews of the new channel. What says sport better than a Hall of Fame? On top of the upbeat nature of the song, it is also motivational in putting that vision of you one day standing atop the mountain, in the 'Hall of Fame,' whatever that means to you personally.

Honorable Mention: We Are One by 12 Stones
This is, for sure, a song for a loner. Whether it is a singles sport or just a person who is a loner on their particular team. The opening beat with the line "We walk alone, in the unknown..." can be chill worthy.

5. Forever by Drake
"Last name ever, first name greatest..."

The opening line of the first verse alone makes this a great pump up song, but even better makes it great walk out music. Walk out music sets an awesome tone if it is selected right, whether you are walking out to bat or down the aisle to a WWE ring or UFC octagon.

The cadence of Drake's raps make his words legible and flows so strongly with the beat, making this a song that gets your blood flowing. The fact that, throughout this song, you also add in unique styles of Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem, really makes you bob your head.

4. Bait & Switch by Saliva
"Back in the day, I dedicated myself to becoming a big rock and roll star...."

Saliva is known for songs often associated with sports, including their hit "Superstar," but this one stands out the most to me. To me, this song is less about lyrics and more about presentation, including the voice of then front man Josey Scott. This is a music strong song, amongst a bevy of songs that have lyrics that I think help dictate them being good pump up music.

3. Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne
"All Aboard! Ha ha ha ha ha...."

I don't know that this is the best song to have playing on your iPod to get you in the right mood to compete, but I don't know how many other songs can be considered better straight walk out music than this. I had a good friend in Virginia named Jacob Clifton who this song was often used as walk out music for. Now, I don't know if Clifton intended for it to be, but as a spectator, when I heard the opening line, I knew that someone was about to come hit the crap out of the ball. This MAY be the best baseball walk out music ever for that fact, if not others.

2. Remember the Name by Fort Minor
"This is 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will. 5% pleasure, 50% pain and 100% reason to remember the name...."

Talk about a song that sends you into an immediate competitive nature. This is the 'I'm going to beat you, and it's not going to be pretty," song of this generation. The first time I heard this song was on the previews of the then-forthcoming Friday Night Lights show. Now while I wasn't a fan of the show myself, this song immediately had me interested in it because of the lyrics and the power that Mike Shinoda delivers them with. To me, Shinoda combined with Chester Bennington has always been what has sold Linkin Park over everything, but on this Fort Minor intro song, Shinoda proves that he can do it alone.

1. I'm Shipping Up to Boston by The Dropkick Murphys

If anything can battle Crazy Train for a baseball walkout song, this one is it. In my favorite use, it was the walk up music of former Fort Wayne Tin Cap and current Oakland A, Nate Freiman. And this is another song that really has nothing to do with the lyrics, but instead the intro music and cords that really can whip you into a frenzy.

But I don't feel like this is strictly a walk up song. Play this at any game, especially of the baseball variety, at it is a mood changer. Whether you are in Boston itself, or even at a rec. league All-Star game in Vinton, Virginia, this is an amazing song for any sporting event. It never has and never will fail to get that competitive mindframe flowing.