I wish I was like you, easily amused

When you pick names for your kids, I imagine you want them to flow nicely with your last name. My last name, Gee, isn’t exactly the easiest to flow with, which is why I find it pretty remarkable that the names my parents chose for me and my siblings all flow so well. Wesley, Bradford, and Allison. Yeah, they all sound like names that kids at Andover or Choate should have. But hey, they flow.

It’s Cooperstown time of year and Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Gwynn are locks to be first-ballot hall of famers. Mark McGwire should be on that list too, though it isn’t likely to happen. That’s my opinion and you’re not likely to change it. Just the same, for those who think he shouldn’t be allowed in, I probably won’t be able to change your mind. But, everyone should read this article by Bill Simmons. Did he use steroids? Probably. But that’s besides the point. Remember that strike in 1994 that practically destroyed baseball? There are two reasons why baseball in America didn’t die. Cal Ripken, Jr. and 2,130. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa and 61. Those were both huge accomplishments that saved baseball.

I love Ripken who played for my hard to love Baltimore Orioles, but what McGwire and Sosa did was monumentally more important for baseball. Baseball fans were glued to the TV set each night waiting for 5th inning of Orioles games so we could see the number on the B&O Warehouse out in right field of Camden Yards increase by one until he finally passed Lou Gehrig at 2,131 and then again for the last time when the streak ended at 2,632. But all sports fans, and many nonsports fans, sat glued to the TV as McGwire and Sosa both passed Roger Maris’ 61. McGwire-Sosa kept the entire nation riveted to the point that newscasts were cutting away from normal coverage every time McGwire or Sosa came to bat just in case this was the one. We all remember the Cubs-Cards game where Sosa came running in from right field to give McGwire a hug after he slammed number 62 over the fence at Old Busch Stadium. McGwire was one of the main proponents of saving baseball, if not the main one. And for that, he deserves to have his bust in Cooperstown next to Babe and Willie and Hank and Cal.