Mark McGwire admitting using steroids when he was breaking records is like Dr. Dre admitting he smoked bud when he made The Chronic.
And crying about it and saying he wishes he "didn't play in the steroid era"? Please. It wouldn't have been the steroid era without McGwire launching 70 home runs. That display, along with Sosa, got everybody else into PEDs, those who weren't already using them.
I'm fine with him doing this for personal reasons; to get the weight off his shoulders. But it does seem strange that it's happening right before he gets back into baseball as a Cardinals hitting coach. Why not last year? Why not in 2005 on Capitol Hill? Why at all?
His act before Congress hurt him worse than any steroid allegation or even the fact that he took steroids could.
He said how painful it was for him to reveal this to his family. If his family didn't know about his use, then they just didn't care. Everybody else knew and was asking questions.
And no one believes he used just because of injury. His PR team came up with that garbage and we're not buying it.
I do believe he's in a better place now, but it's almost like the Pete Rose admission. He finally did it on his own terms, when he needed something. Rose got paid by writing a book. McGwire hopes to get back into baseball on good terms.
Some will forgive because of this admission. I didn't need to hear it, but some did.
This isn't going away. Not until the media and fans get an admission from everybody who used something. Even then it won't stop. Speculation will continue. Some will never admit it. It's nauseating.
I wish Big Mac the best in the future. The focus will now shift to others to admit using steroids. I doubt he will get into the Hall of Fame, but I would vote for him. And this admission has nothing to do with it. That '98 season did bring the fans back.
Good call on voting for him for the HOF. Not many people will ever understand how difficult it is to hit a major league pitcher sucessfully. Not to mention hitting a major league pitcher at a rate of 1 hr/10 at-bats or so. Those are absurd numbers whether you are in the MLB or Tee-ball. Not to mention that MLB pitchers were using PED's at the time also, and they throw 93-96 mph fastballs that have a right-hand turn signal on them. I played baseball in college, D1, and I could juice for 3 yrs straignt and not be able to hit MLB pitchers. One thing everybody needs to realize is that those big homerun juicers still are GREAT hitters. I would strike out Arnold Schwarzenegger and I was a Catcher! Barry Bonds was one of the greatest baseball players of all time, if not the greatest, hands down, steroids or not, and anybody who does not agree doesn't know sh*t about baseball, pure and simple! -J
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