McGwire admits steroid use

[Shag]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4816607

NEW YORK -- Mark McGwire finally came clean Monday, admitting he used steroids when he broke baseball's home run record in 1998.

McGwire said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Monday that he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade.

"I wish I had never touched steroids," McGwire said in a statement. "It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era."

McGwire also used human growth hormone, a person close to McGwire said, speaking on condition of anonymity because McGwire didn't include that detail in his statement.

McGwire's decision to admit using steroids was prompted by his decision to become hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, his final big league team. Tony La Russa, McGwire's manager in Oakland and St. Louis, has been among McGwire's biggest supporters and thinks returning to the field can restore the former slugger's reputation.

"I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come," McGwire said. "It's time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected."

He became the second major baseball star in less than a year to admit using illegal steroids, following the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez last February.

Others have been tainted but have denied knowingly using illegal drugs, including Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and David Ortiz.

Bonds has been indicted on charges he made false statements to a federal grand jury and obstructed justice. Clemens is under investigation by a federal grand jury trying to determine whether he lied to a congressional committee.

"I'm sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids," McGwire said. "I had good years when I didn't take any, and I had bad years when I didn't take any. I had good years when I took steroids, and I had bad years when I took steroids. But no matter what, I shouldn't have done it and for that I'm truly sorry."

Big Mac's reputation has been in tatters since March 17, 2005, when he refused to answer questions at a Congressional hearing. Instead, he repeatedly said "I'm not here to talk about the past" when asked whether he took illegal steroids when he hit a then-record 70 home runs in 1998 or at any other time.

"After all this time, I want to come clean," he said. "I was not in a position to do that five years ago in my congressional testimony, but now I feel an obligation to discuss this and to answer questions about it. I'll do that, and then I just want to help my team."

The person close to McGwire said McGwire made the decision not to answer questions at that hearing on the advice of his lawyers.

McGwire disappeared from the public eye following his retirement as a player following the 2001 season. When the Cardinals hired the 47-year-old as coach on Oct. 26, they said he would address questions before spring training, and Monday's statement broke his silence.

"I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989/1990 offseason and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again," McGwire said in his statement. "I used them on occasion throughout the '90s, including during the 1998 season."

McGwire said he took steroids to get back on the field, sounding much like the Yankees' Andy Pettitte two years ago when he admitted using HGH.

"During the mid-'90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years," McGwire said in the statement. "I experienced a lot of injuries, including a ribcage strain, a torn left heel muscle, a stress fracture of the left heel, and a torn right heel muscle. It was definitely a miserable bunch of years, and I told myself that steroids could help me recover faster. I thought they would help me heal and prevent injuries, too."

Since the congressional hearing, baseball owners and players toughened their drug program twice, increasing the penalty for a first steroids offense from 10 days to 50 games in November 2005 and strengthening the power of the independent administrator in April 2008, following the publication of the Mitchell Report.

"Baseball is really different now -- it's been cleaned up," McGwire said. "The commissioner and the players' association implemented testing and they cracked down, and I'm glad they did."

[wild1]

Who gives a rip how many times someone appeared in the All-Star game? Why should that be part of their hall of fame resume? Because McGwire was a one-dimensional player?

[Demonpenz]

Hall Of Fame ....Fame meaning people reconize you all star balloting is by fans...

[wild1]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

Hall Of Fame ....Fame meaning people reconize you all star balloting is by fans...

Every year deserving players are left out of the all star game. A star player can be hurt most of the year and still go... some people on the downside of their careers get selected just on name... it's not some measure of ability.

[pr_capone]

Originally Posted by Royal Fanatic

FAIL.

Every time I hear this I want to puke. NOBODY says that you turn a bad hitter into a good one by putting him on the juice. But you CAN take a good hitter and turn him into GODZILLA by putting him on the juice.

Barry Bonds was a very good hitter before he started using steroids. For the first 14 years of his career he averaged 31 home runs per year and hit .287. Those are nice numbers, but they're nothing compared to the numbers Bonds put up after he became a steroid user. After he went on the juice, he began one of the most remarkable runs in baseball history. For the next 5 years he averaged 51 home runs per year and hit .341, and he hit that ridiculous total of 73 home runs in 2001. 73 home runs is almost as ridiculous as averaging 51 home runs over a 5-year period when the MOST he ever hit in a season prior to that was 49. And he started this incredible run when he was 36 years old, just about the age when most hitters seriously decline.

You want to talk just about Mark McGwire? OK. For the first 6 full years of his career he hit an average of 36 home runs with a batting average of .247. That includes his phenomenal rookie season when he hit 49 home runs. Then he was injured so often the next 3 years that he contemplated retirement. Then he went on the juice, and for the next 6 years he hit an average of 50 home runs with a batting average of .283.

There's a helluva difference between an average of 36 home runs and an average of 50. 36 home runs is a nice year. 50 home runs used to be an all-time great year until the steroid era screwed up the home run stats forever.

The numbers don't lie. Steroids turn good hitters into all-time great hitters.

Yes, hand-eye coordination is a prerequisite to good hitting. But steroids make a huge ****ing difference. Anyone who doesn't understand that doesn't understand baseball.

And while we're at it, I think Dick Vitale made a great point this morning on ESPN. Mark McGwire is probably more to blame for the steroid era than anyone else. After his success, EVERYBODY started doing it, because they saw what it did for him. Barry Bonds' girlfriend was quoted in The Book of Shadows as saying that Bonds was pissed about all of the love McGwire was getting, and that's why he decided to go on the juice.

It would be a travesty if Mark McGwire is ever elected to the Hall of Fame.

Originally Posted by penchief

You mean other than the obvious visual evidence? Mattingly was a small guy. He was 5'8" and wieghed less than 170 lbs when he first came into the league and probably wieghed about 180 lbs when he retired.

Mattingly was not a HR hitter in the Dave Kingman sense, ala McGwire. Mattingly was a pure hitter who hit the ball hard to all fields and for average. When he was healthy there was probably not a better pure hitter in the game.

As far as defense goes, Mattingly didn't just win 9 gold gloves. He was a spectacular defensive first baseman. Easily the best in the game.

My point is that if steroids not only ballooned McGwires offensive numbers but helped keep him on the field what could they have done for Mattingly's numbers by keeping him healthy and increasing his power numbers? All things being equal, Mattingly was a much better baseball player all-around.

When considering people for the hall of fame, steroid use should be a negative. Because not only are the numbers not authentic but it is unfair to the players that did not take steroids in order to pad their numbers via both increased strength and greater longevity, ala McGwire.

QFMFT

[Demonpenz]

Originally Posted by wild1

Every year deserving players are left out of the all star game. A star player can be hurt most of the year and still go... some people on the downside of their careers get selected just on name... it's not some measure of ability.

cool, just explaining why they take account how many all star gams

[Royal Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Consistent1

I could say a lot about this topic again. I am just going to leave it short this time....some of you guys should stop watching the NFL if your problem with this stuff is so huge. And YES, losing teams take part also...

Obviously a fan who doesn't understand baseball.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by penchief

You mean other than the obvious visual evidence? Mattingly was a small guy. He was 5'8" and wieghed less than 170 lbs when he first came into the league and probably wieghed about 180 lbs when he retired.

What the hell does "visual evidence" mean? Are you saying the small guys can't have taken steroids? You might want to look up some of the players that have actually been caught over the years. It's really just a myth that there is a body type for a steroid user.

Mattingly played in the same era that hundreds of other players used steroids, why are we supposed to believe he was one of the few "natural" ones?

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Royal Fanatic

The numbers don't lie. Steroids turn good hitters into all-time great hitters.

Yes, hand-eye coordination is a prerequisite to good hitting. But steroids make a huge ****ing difference. Anyone who doesn't understand that doesn't understand baseball.

Actually, it really all depends how much work you put into it. The hardest workers get the most out of steroids. For most players, steroids didn't have much of an effect at all. But for guys that worked out as strictly as Bonds and McGwire, they got a lot out of them.

And while we're at it, I think Dick Vitale made a great point this morning on ESPN. Mark McGwire is probably more to blame for the steroid era than anyone else. After his success, EVERYBODY started doing it, because they saw what it did for him.

It's amazing how much ignorance there is about this topic. Steroids have been used in baseball since the early 70s (at the latest). And their peak use in baseball was in the mid 90s before McGwire's epic year. Of course...they are still being used by many players right now...just undetectably.

Barry Bonds' girlfriend was quoted in The Book of Shadows as saying that Bonds was pissed about all of the love McGwire was getting, and that's why he decided to go on the juice.

The first true thing you've written. Bonds' jealousy and need to get more attention than his peers led him to steroid use.

It would be a travesty if Mark McGwire is ever elected to the Hall of Fame.

I would consider it a travesty if he wasn't. And the same goes for Bonds, Clemens, Rodriguez, Ramirez, and Sosa.

Without those guys (some of the best players of all time), it's not like you have much of a Hall of Fame anyway.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Royal Fanatic

Obviously a fan who doesn't understand baseball.

Obviously a fan who doesn't understand the history of baseball. Why is steroid use worse than amphetamine use?

[penchief]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

What the hell does "visual evidence" mean? Are you saying the small guys can't have taken steroids? You might want to look up some of the players that have actually been caught over the years. It's really just a myth that there is a body type for a steroid user.

Mattingly played in the same era that hundreds of other players used steroids, why are we supposed to believe he was one of the few "natural" ones?

Mattingly's health was already declining by the time McGwire first started juicing. Why do you presume that Mattingly would not have received the same benifits that Mcgwire received. As his health declined so did his stats. The exact opposite is true for McGwire. Not only did he start breaking records once he started juicing he turned into the incredible hulk. The minimal weight gain that Mattingly expierenced over the length of his career (10 lbs?) Is easily explained by the natural filling out that takes place with men of that age.

It amazes me that so many are willing to point the finger at anyone and everyone in order to condone the poor conduct of someone they support.

The truth is that McGwire is a fraud who has no business anywhere near the HOF. Anyone with an analytic mind and a pair of eyes can see that he put up those record stats and gained 50lbs after he started juicing. That is evidence. No such comparison can be made to Mattingly. If so, where is the evidence?
Posted via Mobile Device

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by penchief

Mattingly's health was already declining by the time McGwire first started juicing. Why do you presume that Mattingly would not have received the same benifits that Mcgwire received.

Not everybody receives the same benefit from them as others. They aren't some magic drug that suddenly makes a person stronger....you need to put the work in.

As his health declined so did his stats. The exact opposite is true for McGwire. Not only did he start breaking records once he started juicing he turned into the incredible hulk. The minimal weight gain that Mattingly expierenced over the length of his career (10 lbs?) Is easily explained by the natural filling out that takes place with men of that age.

You can't get more inexact than speculation based on how somebody "looks." Countless "skinny" players have been caught over the last few years....even a lot of "speed" guys.

It amazes me that so many are willing to point the finger at anyone and everyone in order to condone the poor conduct of someone they support.

I'm not a fan of McGwire, nor do I support his use of steroids. I'm merely realistic about the use of steroids in baseball (and in all of sports for that matter). Stop being naive and realize that the majority of players were using...and many of them still are.

The truth is that McGwire is a fraud who has no business anywhere near the HOF. Anyone with an analytic mind and a pair of eyes can see that he put up those record stats and gained 50lbs after he started juicing. That is evidence. No such comparison can be made to Mattingly. If so, where is the evidence?
Posted via Mobile Device

If McGwire doesn't make the HOF, then you have to pull out guys like Hank Aaron and Willie Mays for amphetamines, do you not? What's the difference?

And don't you then also have to investigate everybody who ever made the HOF to see if they ever did something illegal, and also take them out too?

[penchief]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Not everybody receives the same benefit from them as others. They aren't some magic drug that suddenly makes a person stronger....you need to put the work in.


You can't get more inexact than speculation based on how somebody "looks." Countless "skinny" players have been caught over the last few years....even a lot of "speed" guys.


I'm not a fan of McGwire, nor do I support his use of steroids. I'm merely realistic about the use of steroids in baseball (and in all of sports for that matter). Stop being naive and realize that the majority of players were using...and many of them still are.



If McGwire doesn't make the HOF, then you have to pull out guys like Hank Aaron and Willie Mays for amphetamines, do you not? What's the difference?

And don't you then also have to investigate everybody who ever made the HOF to see if they ever did something illegal, and also take them out too?

The real tragedy is that clean players not only had their legitimate stats cheapened by those who cheated but also that they have to suffer insult to injury by being painted with the same brush as those who cheated.

The other false premise being peddled is the notion that steroids are no different than uppers. The impact steroids has had on the record books is devastating and irreversable. To compare the two is nothing more than a talking point for apologists of those who used steroids to enhance their performance.
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[TigerPig]

If the real HR king Roger Maris isn't even in the HOF, then why should these juicing clownshoes be?

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by penchief

The real tragedy is that clean players not only had their legitimate stats cheapened by those who cheated but also that they have to suffer insult to injury by being painted with the same brush as those who cheated.

That's a shame, but it's the world we live in. If 80% of the people in the sport are "cheating," does it remain "cheating?" It sucks for the 20%, I suppose...but what are you going to do...ban the 80% and destroy the product on the field? Not likely.

The other false premise being peddled is the notion that steroids are no different than uppers. The impact steroids has had on the record books is devastating and irreversable. To compare the two is nothing more than a talking point for apologists of those who used steroids to enhance their performance.
Posted via Mobile Device

Amphetamines allowed baseball players (and still do allow baseball players) to play the game every single day. Without them, we wouldn't have seen many guys put up the numbers they did or play as long as they did. Actually, I can't think of any drug that would have more of an impact than those things...that's why they were used even more frequently than steroids.

Edit: Both were illegal drugs that players used to enhance their performance, btw. What am I missing here?

[penchief]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

That's a shame, but it's the world we live in. If 80% of the people in the sport are "cheating," does it remain "cheating?" It sucks for the 20%, I suppose...but what are you going to do...ban the 80% and destroy the product on the field? Not likely.



Amphetamines allowed baseball players (and still do allow baseball players) to play the game every single day. Without them, we wouldn't have seen many guys put up the numbers they did or play as long as they did. Actually, I can't think of any drug that would have more of an impact than those things...that's why they were used even more frequently than steroids.

Edit: Both were illegal drugs that players used to enhance their performance, btw. What am I missing here?

If uppers had increased a player's strength to the point of hitting homers every six or seven times at bat I suppose you might have a valid point. But steroids didn't just help McGwire stay on the field. They made him into an unnatural freak who was able to turn pop flies into home runs.

That's a big difference. And it's a big enough difference to deem his numbers as not authentic and his playing career not worthy of the HOF. And his numbers should not be compared to those who didn't juice. Had he not juiced he would never have come close to HOF consideration.

By the way, I think your 80% figure is considerably high. The "everybody does it" excuse won't diminish the fact that McGwire's numbers are fraudulent. The fact that his numbers spike unnaturally during the time he was juicing should be evidence enough to the objective mind.