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McGwire Admits Steroid Use


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Mark McGwire: “I used steroids”

By: Derrick Goold

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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.”

 

 

Text of the statement Mark McGwire issued Monday, admitting he used steroids during his career:

 

"Now that I have become the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, I have the chance to do something that I wish I was able to do five years ago.

 

I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come. It's time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected. I used steroids during my playing career and I apologize. 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 '90s, 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.

 

During the mid-'90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years. 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.

 

I'm sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids. 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.

 

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

 

I'm grateful to the Cardinals for bringing me back to baseball. 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."

 

 

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