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McGwire admits he used steroids
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By Ronald Blum The Associated Press 3:12 p.m. EST, January 11, 2010
<!-- sphereit start -->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."
McGwire'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." <!-- sphereit end -->
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>textSize()</SCRIPT>Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
<!-- sphereit start -->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."
McGwire'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." <!-- sphereit end -->
<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>textSize()</SCRIPT>Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
- Mar 19, 2006
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- Mar 19, 2006
- 38,288
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st. louis report
http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/co...updates/2010/01/mark-mcgwire-i-used-steroids/
Mark McGwire: ?I used steroids?
By Derrick Goold
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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ST. LOUIS ? Mark McGwire acknowledged it was ?time for me to talk about the past? and admit he used steroids during his playing career in a statement from the former slugger released today by the St. Louis Cardinals.
?I used steroids during my playing career and I apologize,? McGwire said in the statement released by the Cardinals to media outlets around the country. ?I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989/1990 off season and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again. I used them on occasion throughout the nineties, including during the 1998 season. I wish I had never touched steroids. 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 conducted a 20-minute telephone interview with Associated Press after the statement was released. AP reported that McGwire?s voice repeatedly cracked with emotion as he recounted telling his wife, parents and son that he had used steroids.
His voice breaking, McGwire said, ?It?s the first time they?ve ever heard me, you know, talk about this. I hid it from everybody.?
McGwire also said he called commissioner Bud Selig and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa earlier in the day to personally apologize.
In 1998, while with the Cardinals, McGwire broke the single-season home run record held by Roger Maris. McGwire hit 70 that season, a record that stood until Barry Bonds broke it in 2002.
The reason McGwire acknowledge the use in a statement today, he said in the release, was because of imminent return to the game as the Cardinals hitting coach. Manager Tony La Russa announced in November that McGwire would be joining the coaching staff. Promises by the organization then to make McGwire available ?sooner rather than later? did not manifest as attempts to put McGwire before the media were unsuccessful, due to scheduling or other reasons. In the release, he says his return to baseball is a reason for him to ?come clean? on subjects he couldn?t five years ago in front of Congress.
Called before Congress in 2005, McGwire refused to talk about whether he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. Pressed on the matter by representatives, McGwire deflected the questions with a phrase that hooked onto his career: He refused to ?talk about the past.?
McGwire said he was sorry for using steroids in the statement today.
?During the mid-90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years,? McGwire said in the statement sent to media organizations, including the Post-Dispatch. ?I experienced a lot of injuries, including a rib cage 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.
?I?m sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids,? he continued. ?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.?
McGwire has been eligible for the Hall of Fame in the previous four votes, and each time he?s hovered around the 23-percent mark. That keeps him on the ballot, but he needs 75 percent for enshrinement.
McGwire retired after the 2001 season with 583 career home runs.
McGwire has already started some of his responsibilities as Cardinals hitting coach. He has requested video of the hitters he?ll be working with. He also worked personally with Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan this winter. Schumaker and Matt Holliday have also worked with McGwire during recent offseasons.
?I?m grateful to the Cardinals for bringing me back to baseball,? McGwire concludes in his statement. ?I want to say thank you to Cardinals owner Mr. DeWitt, to my GM, John Mozeliak, and to my manager, Tony La Russa. I can?t wait to put the uniform on again and to be back on the field in front of the great fans in Saint Louis. I?ve always appreciated their support and I intend to earn it again, this time as hitting coach. I?m going to pour myself into this job and do everything I can to help the Cardinals hitters become the best players for years to come.
?After all this time, I want to come clean. 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.?
-30-
http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/co...updates/2010/01/mark-mcgwire-i-used-steroids/
Mark McGwire: ?I used steroids?
By Derrick Goold
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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Stumble It! ST. LOUIS ? Mark McGwire acknowledged it was ?time for me to talk about the past? and admit he used steroids during his playing career in a statement from the former slugger released today by the St. Louis Cardinals.
?I used steroids during my playing career and I apologize,? McGwire said in the statement released by the Cardinals to media outlets around the country. ?I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989/1990 off season and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again. I used them on occasion throughout the nineties, including during the 1998 season. I wish I had never touched steroids. 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 conducted a 20-minute telephone interview with Associated Press after the statement was released. AP reported that McGwire?s voice repeatedly cracked with emotion as he recounted telling his wife, parents and son that he had used steroids.
His voice breaking, McGwire said, ?It?s the first time they?ve ever heard me, you know, talk about this. I hid it from everybody.?
McGwire also said he called commissioner Bud Selig and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa earlier in the day to personally apologize.
In 1998, while with the Cardinals, McGwire broke the single-season home run record held by Roger Maris. McGwire hit 70 that season, a record that stood until Barry Bonds broke it in 2002.
The reason McGwire acknowledge the use in a statement today, he said in the release, was because of imminent return to the game as the Cardinals hitting coach. Manager Tony La Russa announced in November that McGwire would be joining the coaching staff. Promises by the organization then to make McGwire available ?sooner rather than later? did not manifest as attempts to put McGwire before the media were unsuccessful, due to scheduling or other reasons. In the release, he says his return to baseball is a reason for him to ?come clean? on subjects he couldn?t five years ago in front of Congress.
Called before Congress in 2005, McGwire refused to talk about whether he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. Pressed on the matter by representatives, McGwire deflected the questions with a phrase that hooked onto his career: He refused to ?talk about the past.?
McGwire said he was sorry for using steroids in the statement today.
?During the mid-90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years,? McGwire said in the statement sent to media organizations, including the Post-Dispatch. ?I experienced a lot of injuries, including a rib cage 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.
?I?m sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids,? he continued. ?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.?
McGwire has been eligible for the Hall of Fame in the previous four votes, and each time he?s hovered around the 23-percent mark. That keeps him on the ballot, but he needs 75 percent for enshrinement.
McGwire retired after the 2001 season with 583 career home runs.
McGwire has already started some of his responsibilities as Cardinals hitting coach. He has requested video of the hitters he?ll be working with. He also worked personally with Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan this winter. Schumaker and Matt Holliday have also worked with McGwire during recent offseasons.
?I?m grateful to the Cardinals for bringing me back to baseball,? McGwire concludes in his statement. ?I want to say thank you to Cardinals owner Mr. DeWitt, to my GM, John Mozeliak, and to my manager, Tony La Russa. I can?t wait to put the uniform on again and to be back on the field in front of the great fans in Saint Louis. I?ve always appreciated their support and I intend to earn it again, this time as hitting coach. I?m going to pour myself into this job and do everything I can to help the Cardinals hitters become the best players for years to come.
?After all this time, I want to come clean. 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.?
-30-
McGwire only admitted anything because the Cardinals pressured him and wants to keep his cushy job with the organization. He says he regrets it and it was a mistake. ....Right, a mistake that he repeatedly made and was rewarded for over a decade.
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just about the only reason either would..
I think they are both pathological liars
Don't think Bonds can because of the Balco Hearings.
...
Perjurer himself
This is wrong on so many levels. It was wrong for the league to ignore it when the home run race was on. They had to have something to get baseball back in the limelight after the strike.
It is obvous just looking at him he was on HGH and steroids. And Sosa and Bonds are no better and liars to the hilt.
He should not be rewarded for coming out with his crying now. He should never be considered for any job in the majors forever. Pull a Pete Rose on his ass.
Take away his record home run season and throw it the fawk in the trash.
What is this teaching our kids. Its pathetic.
and Tiger was on them also. All I had to do is look at his shoulders. Even a thin guy like him can bulk up with these illegal substances. There is no testing in golf yet ? how many of them are doing it?
its cheating the sports and the dedicated fans that go to the games.
wtf :shrug:
But Will Alleged Steroid Use Keep Him Out of Coopertown?
With Bruce Sutter having become only the fourth reliever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, thoughts turn to 2007, when guess who becomes eligible for the first time?
Some guy named Mark McGwire. Remember him? It's hard to believe that soon it will be five years since "Big Mac" retired from the St. Louis Cardinals. McGwire is the first big-name player in the steroid era eligible for the Hall.
Are McGwire's accomplishments - he ranks seventh on the all-time home run list with 583 - worthy of induction or should he be excluded because of his alleged steroid use?
The baseball writers will make the call - nobody else - and this should be an interesting story to follow next winter because it marks the first time that kind of moral dilemma enters the equation. The same will be true for other players down the road - Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and eventually Barry Bonds. A player needs 75 percent of the vote to get in.
Hopefully, the controversy surrounding McGwire won't become too much of a distraction because two more worthy candidates also are eligible for the first time - Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn. Ripken, who broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak, is a lock to get in, and Gwynn probably as well.
Last March, the Associated Press conducted an informal survey, asking some writers how they would vote. The results were not good for McGwire. Of the 155 voters queried, only 65 said they would definitely vote for McGwire. Some of that obviously was a visceral reaction to McGwire's hideous performance at the congressional hearings on steroids. McGwire did more tap dancing than Fred Astaire ("I'm not here to talk about the past") and many saw the stonewalling as an obvious sign of his guilt, though in fairness McGwire has been proven guilty of nothing.
When the Hall of Fame class of 2007 is announced, two years will have passed since those Congressional hearings. Maybe some of the anger toward McGwire will have lessened or maybe not. Maybe the writers will still hold McGwire's pathetic performance on Capital Hill against him.
..............................................................
the dirty rat bastid
With Bruce Sutter having become only the fourth reliever inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, thoughts turn to 2007, when guess who becomes eligible for the first time?
Some guy named Mark McGwire. Remember him? It's hard to believe that soon it will be five years since "Big Mac" retired from the St. Louis Cardinals. McGwire is the first big-name player in the steroid era eligible for the Hall.
Are McGwire's accomplishments - he ranks seventh on the all-time home run list with 583 - worthy of induction or should he be excluded because of his alleged steroid use?
The baseball writers will make the call - nobody else - and this should be an interesting story to follow next winter because it marks the first time that kind of moral dilemma enters the equation. The same will be true for other players down the road - Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and eventually Barry Bonds. A player needs 75 percent of the vote to get in.
Hopefully, the controversy surrounding McGwire won't become too much of a distraction because two more worthy candidates also are eligible for the first time - Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn. Ripken, who broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games played streak, is a lock to get in, and Gwynn probably as well.
Last March, the Associated Press conducted an informal survey, asking some writers how they would vote. The results were not good for McGwire. Of the 155 voters queried, only 65 said they would definitely vote for McGwire. Some of that obviously was a visceral reaction to McGwire's hideous performance at the congressional hearings on steroids. McGwire did more tap dancing than Fred Astaire ("I'm not here to talk about the past") and many saw the stonewalling as an obvious sign of his guilt, though in fairness McGwire has been proven guilty of nothing.
When the Hall of Fame class of 2007 is announced, two years will have passed since those Congressional hearings. Maybe some of the anger toward McGwire will have lessened or maybe not. Maybe the writers will still hold McGwire's pathetic performance on Capital Hill against him.
..............................................................
the dirty rat bastid
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