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The pure irony of the recent election of Atlanta Braves‘ pitching aces Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine into the MLB Baseball Hall of Fame is that over 15 years ago the chances of Mark McGwire going into the Hall of Fame before those two pitchers was really good.
Now, the chances for McGwire don’t look good based on allegations and ultimately his own admission to performance-enhancing drugs.
Most people remember the Nike ad slogan “Chicks Dig the Long Ball.” that was put on by Nike. The commercial, which aired in 1999, showed a big muscle bound McGwire in batting practice hitting monster shots while people, including celebrities such as Heather Locklear were just marveling at his amazing power and strength.
Maddox and Glavine were shown in the commercial looking envious and even contemplating what could they do to be on the same level of fame and admiration as Big Mac.
What they decided to do in the commercial was to workout and get swollen like Big Mac. After all it was legit, no steroids, right? The most memorable part of the commercial was Glavine and Maddux saying to each other, “Chicks did the Long Ball.” And now they were just right on par with the mighty slugger.
All three men put up huge numbers.
Maddux won 355 games in the majors while Glavine won 305 games.
McGwire hit 583 homers and drove in 1,414 runs.
How times have changed. Maddux and Glavine easily were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year and McGwire is just getting a few votes each winter and the number of votes keeps going down. His name will always be attached to performance-enhancing drugs. There is a good chance that the Big Mac may never enter the Hall of Fame.
The two pitching aces now are in the Hall of Fame and McGwire is nowhere near the HOF.
The passing of time can sure change the perspective on many things.
Blaine Pittman is writer for Rants Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter @BlainePittman, Or “Like” on him on Facebook.
