An outspoken Paul Blair, a former major league outfielder who won eight Gold Gloves and four World Series rings during a solid 16-year career, was the guest of the Baseball Hall of Fame Saturday morning for a Legends series event.

Blair was not shy about giving his opinion on a variety of issues, including steroids and the Hall of Fame chances of Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro.

Blair said McGwire, who hit well over 500 career home runs, including a then record 70 in 1998, will likely not get elected to the Hall when he becomes eligible next year along with the star studded class which includes Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn.

"He really hurt himself at the congressional hearings," Blair said. "He should have just acted like Sammy Sosa and pretended he couldn't speak English. Anything would have been better than what he did."

During the congressional hearings on steroids last year, McGwire continually refused to answer questions, and stated over and over he "wasn't there to talk about the past."

Palmeiro, who last year became a member of the 3,000 hit club and also has over 500 home runs, tested positive for steroids during the season and was suspended. During the congressional hearings he vehemently denied ever taking steroids.

"Raffy has pretty much destroyed himself and I don't think he'll ever get into the Hall of Fame," Blair said. "All of these guys should have just admitted it right away, said it was a mistake and moved on. Now they've just lied and continue to lie when they have obviously taken steroids."

Blair was not a Hall of Fame caliber player, but he did play with a number of future Hall of Famers during his career, and played for Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver in Baltimore.

It was 40 years ago, in October of 1966, that Blair helped the Orioles sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. In game three of that Series, Blair hit a seventh inning home run and robbed a potential game-tying home run in the ninth inning of a 1-0 Baltimore victory.

"I had a fantasy life in baseball," Blair told the standing room only audience in the Hall's Bullpen Theater. "I was very fortunate to play in the era I did and with the players I played with."

Blair played with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson from 1966-71, and the Orioles played in four World Series in those six years, winning in 1966 and '70, and losing in 1969 and '71.

"Frank led, and we followed," Blair explained. "There's no doubt he was the key. We played the "Oriole Way" which meant team came first over personal goals. It was all about winning games and playing the right way."

Blair also discussed the fiery Weaver's managerial style.

"He knew each players strengths and weaknesses, and he got the best out of everyone on the team," he said. "He could yell and scream at times, but he made the game fun."

Blair told a humorous story about former teammate Pat Kelly, a very religious person who went on to become an evangelist after his playing days.

"Pat was up with runners on first and third and one out, and popped up to the third baseman," Blair said. "So Earl was cussing in the dugout, and nearly every word out of his mouth was a curse word during games. Pat walked by him and said 'Earl, you should learn to walk with the Lord.'

"To which Earl replied, 'Pat, you should learn to walk with the bases loaded."'

After playing 13 years with the Orioles, Blair was traded to the New York Yankees in 1977, and promply joined what was known as the "Bronx Zoo."

"I went form the calm, serene clubhouse of the orioles to the Yankees, where there was a fight everyday," Blair said. "Yankee Manger) Billy Martin pulled me aside and asked me to be sort of an ambassador in the locker room. And Reggie (Jackson) should have been glad I was there, or else he would have been in a fight everyday."

Blair did find himself in the middle of a Jackson fight later that summer, when Martin sent him out to replace Jackson in right field after Martin felt he loafed after a fly ball during a game in Boston.

"You hardly ever replace a guy in the middle of an inning, so Reggie was mad when he got back to the dugout," Blair said. "He asked Billy how he could embarrass him like that in front of a national television audience and that got Billy even madder. Reggie wasn't mad he got taken out, just that a national T.V. audience was watching."

Blair said the difference between Weaver and Martin was Marting "held grudges."

Even with all the chaos, the Yankees did manage to win back-to-back World Series titles in 1977 and '78, giving Blair his third and fourth rings.

During his 13 years in Baltimore, Blair was known as one of the best, ifg not the best, centerfielders in the game. The Hall of Fame's Jeff Arnett, who moderated Saturday's program, said Blair is one of the best defensive outfielders in the history of the game.

"My thing was I liked to play shallow and take away singles," Blair explained. "A lot of guys in today's game like to play deep and rob home runs, but I felt like taking away singles was my job. It gave our pitchers confidence they could let batters hit the ball, and I'd be right there to catch it."

Blair answered questions from audience members and gave his opinion on a variety of baseball-related topics.

On the state of baseball today: "I think ESPN and the money players make has caused the demise of team baseball. Players would rather hit a home run and get the glory than move a player to third with less than two out. And the money just makes them care less about winning. The me, me, I,I attitude has hurt baseball as much as anything."

On Hall of Fame teammate and pitcher Jim Palmer: "Jim Palmer owes his career to Earl Weaver. Before Earl came, Palmer would take himself out of any game when he didn't have his best fastball with some mysterious ailment. But when Earl came, he told Palmer 'You're pitching all nine innings.' That forced Jim to make adjustaments and learn to pitch when he didn't have his best stuff."

On his regrets, if any: "The only thing that bothers me is losing the 1969 World Series to the New York Mets. I honestly believe if we played them 100 times we'd beat them 90.

They got the breaks and we didn't, but we were the better team and it still bothers me to this day that we lost that Series."

On the state of the Baltimore Orioles today: "They've made the 'Oriole Way' seem like a curse word. We used to have a great minor league system and players would learn how to play winning baseball from the first day of the minor leagues right up to the major leagues. The Orioles have very few players today who know how to play winning baseball.