Sandberg: No place in Hall of Fame for McGwire

Ryne Sandberg thinks Mark McGwire can forget about the Hall of Fame.

The previous vote totals would already be a clue that McGwire has no shot, but Sandberg doesn't think Monday's steroid admission will do anything to help McGwire get more votes.

"The Hall of Fame is about the numbers, and about character and integrity, so I'd say that's three strikes and you're out,'' Sandberg said Tuesday from Des Moines, Iowa. "It hurts to hear it now especially since he and Sammy Sosa were the entire show in 1998 and got so much credit for their home run race.

"It just taints the whole thing and it's not been a good thing for baseball. Steroids and the suspicion of so many others has really hurt the game. A lot of careers have been tainted.''

If he were voting, Sandberg said it's an easy call on those who have been linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

"I think anyone who cheated the game doesn't belong in the Hall of Fame, and the Hall of Famers I talk to agree with that," Sandberg said. "Anyone who has numbers that were inflated because they cheated doesn't belong.''

On Monday, Sandberg was formally introduced in Iowa, where he'll manage the Triple-A Cubs after two years in Peoria (A) and a year in Tennessee (AA).

And while there's been much speculation about his taking over the big league club in 2011, Sandberg says his focus is elsewhere.

"I want to manage in the big leagues someday and that's why I went to the minor leagues to learn the job,'' Sandberg said. "But my job right now is to develop players and get them ready for the big leagues. That's what I'm here to do, and the rest of it will take care of itself.

"I feel like I've come a long way in a three years and I'll be ready for what's next whenever or wherever that happens.

"But right now my job is to manage the players here and help the Cubs organization get players ready to play in Chicago.''