D12: Maris family forgives McGwire, but won't let go of record - Big League Stew - MLB Blog - Yahoo! Sports
The world was "shocked" when Mark McGwire finally admitted to steriod use yesterday. In 1998 he broke Roger Maris's single season home-run record of 61 hits. When Maris broke the record in 1961, the baseball commissioner found it necessary to notate the record with a *, because it took Maris 162 games, and Babe Ruth, the previous record holder with 60, fewer (See the wonderful movie 61*. Maris retired from baseball, and was NEVER elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, mostly because of his poor relationship with the baseball sportwriters. I find that Major League Baseball's treatment of Roger Maris crappy. This quite man from North Dakota broke a record, and then never received any respect for it because he wasn't as popular as Mickey Mantle. I think it is time for MLB to teach its players that CHARACTER and INTEGRITY matter by stripping the record from Bonds, McGuire, and Sosa (the three players currently ahead of Maris on the single-season HR list), and restoring it to Maris. If not, I think that his candidacy for the Hall-of-Fame should be taken up by all the teams he played for (hello Yankee AND Cardinals!)
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