Mark McGwire admits to using steroids in 1998

[Johnny_Cakes]

Originally Posted by ShaunHillFTW49

Lies no A's player juiced dammit.

Don't say that man, Giants fans are going to hound us

 

[shaunhillftw49]

It's okay. Maybe Michael Inoa will overshadow Lincecum someday

 

[Johnny_Cakes]

Inoa will overshadow the American League with a 0.01 ERA

 

[diesel j]

Originally Posted by FRANCHISE 55

I respect dude even less after today. Steroids didn't enhance your performance? Ducktales.

exactly

 

[-Red-]

Originally Posted by 23ska909red02

Mark just gained a LOT of respect from me.

As much respect as someone who never used in the first place? Obviously not.

More respect than someone who used and then came clean without ever being dishonest? No.

More respect than someone who used and lied and is still lying/deflecting the topic? YES.

Nahhhh....

Originally Posted by Diesel J

Originally Posted by FRANCHISE 55

I respect dude even less after today. Steroids didn't enhance your performance? Ducktales.

exactly

Pretty much. I mean, he's still lying about the situation... but now it's even worse cause it's under the guise of "comingclean." And once again, no one believes him. Also, it's more than apparent that the only reason he came out with this information was the fact thatthe media was going to have a field day with him as a member of the Cardinals' coaching staff... so it's not like he had an "honorable"reason for going public...

So he went public for (at least mostly) selfish reasons and then denies that his cheating in any way enhanced his performance (yet he continued to take themfor a decade).

 

[parada45]

Originally Posted by dyyhard

Originally Posted by Uptown Roamer

"I'm not here to talk about the past..."

Ever since then I knew

so why are we all here to talk about the past?

Exactly

 

[al3xis]

lost even more respect for him, what a clown.

 

[RyGuy45]

He's a sideshow - just another Canseco. People on ESPN are somewhat implying that he is somehow now vindicated. In his interview, all I saw was him acting like he was a victim. Tons of pressure on him (that none of us could possibly understand), wear and tear on his body (like nobody else goes through that), yet somehow it didn't help him hit homeruns!!! He actually had the audacity to claim that he could have hit 70 homeruns without the use of steroids.

Like I said, just a total clown.

I think I agree.

Now that I've had a day to take this in, I'm going to see if I've got this straight.

1. Mainly (or only) did it to come back from injuries "to help my team and teammates."
2. Drugs did nothing in aiding the power numbers or his overall performance.
3. He didn't even know what he was taking (a personal favorite of mine from these guys)
4. Wishes he "never played in the steroid era."


You take all that in plus the fact that he only is granting an interview and copping to anything because he has to (his new role with St Louis), not because hewants to....he claims Canseco's book is all lies (possible, but unlikely)......it was "breaking his heart" not to be able to say anything on thestand back then....it was strictly his natural talent that led him to the numbers he got.....and it's been five years since Capitol Hill and McGwire wassecond only to Bin Laden in hiding in a bunker.

....And what we have here is yet another player going through the motions and not completely owning up to everything. Which, again, tells us exactly what weneed to know about MLB's drug culture.....they all know how bad it is because no one tells the truth. Whatthe public has gotten from Day 1 has been cupcake interviews, half-truths, "I only took it once to come back from injury" or "I only did it tohelp my team," and P.R. people holding hands.

If you believe these clowns, none of them did it for the numbers, the fame, and the money that came with it. And they hated themselves for having to do it.

Go back into hiding until you can stop insulting our intelligence.

 

[CP1708]

I can't even imagine how hard it musta been to admit it to the Maris family.

 

[lazyj10]

Originally Posted by CP1708

I can't even imagine how hard it musta been to admit it to the Maris family.

Word..and I cannot imagine being the family of Maris and having to hear that admission.
He'd gain my ultimate respect if he demanded his name be removed from any record, etc during his tenure in MLB.

 

[jch3]

This article is the best one to date that I have read. It's not from a famous journalist but it speaks the truth.

[h1]I'm Here To Talk About The Past[/h1]
Tim McKernan posted on January 12, 2010 00:00
It was a throwaway part of the story buried in the vivid description of the you've-got-to-kidding-me Mark McGwire testimony.

Understandably, Sports Illustrated focused on the blood, guts, and unintentional comedy of lines like "steroids is bad" in the St. Patrick's Day Massacre of 2005 in Washington, D.C.

But, there it was. A huge detail.

A few pages in.

And, all but completely overlooked and under read by the audience, but...it was there:

McGwire was going to talk on the day that the world saw him embarrass himself. He was going to acknowledge his steroid use. But, moments before sitting down in front of Congress, his attorneys advised him to keep his mouth shut...because the committee would not grant McGwire immunity. And, with that, the plan to come clean blew up...and the farce of "I'm not here to talk about the past" began in what looked like a performance advised by attorneys with the skill of John Laroquette and Markie Post.

I recall reading that only after it was pointed out by either a caller or a co-host in passing. And, it struck me, even back then, as incredibly important...and incredibly surprising that more people weren't talking about that. It was the great "What If."

What if the committee had granted McGwire immunity from prosecution that day?

When it gets down to it, the only thing that I feel like I *know* would've been different than it is now is that McGwire would have garnered much more than 24% of the baseball writers' votes for the Hall of Fame, because, if anything, his honesty and apology would have been admired...and been the first of its kind...as opposed to what baseball fans have gotten used to, which is the "I'm sorry, but..." that we've heard from Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, and whoever else has played this public relations game over the last few years.

The fact that he was going to talk in 2005 now is up there with the first few paragraphs of stories documenting McGwire's admission yesterday, but somehow, that fact flew under the radar in 2005.

But, this isn't an "I was going to tell you, but..." revisionist history on the part of McGwire. It's documented that he was going to do it, and now, nearly five years later, it's being reiterated.

I consider that important in how I, personally, as a fan and media member, look at this carnage. Why? Because if I were in his position in 2005, I would've done the exact same thing. I would've planned to be honest and use the moment to come clean...and the minute I heard I could be prosecuted for my honesty, I would've made an !+# of myself and been elusive as well. I wouldn't have lied under oath, but I would've stumbled through questions with the tact of Admiral Stockdale's delivery in the 1992 Vice Presidential Debate...and I would've gotten the hell out of there and gone into hiding.

Just like McGwire did.

And, therefore, I can't condemn the St. Patrick's Day Massacre on McGwire's part, but I would like to know the logic of those involved in the decision to *not* grant McGwire immunity five years ago. If anything, in the isolated case of 2005, I do believe McGwire was going to do the right thing, and that, for me, is something I can take solace in. And, furthermore, I admire it.

But, that's about where the feel good portion of this stops.

Just because he appears undoubtedly remorseful now doesn't mean, for me anyway, "everything's cool," although I sense that's exactly what the Cardinals and Major League Baseball would like fans to do.

I mean...just because it's something many---if not damn near all---baseball fans had suspected for the last five years doesn't mean that it's confirmation should somehow be applauded. I don't get that. I really don't.

This admission is only being made because it *had* to be.

In other words, if McGwire wasn't coming back to the Cardinals as a hitting coach, do you really think this statement and the numerous interviews would have taken place?

I personally don't like the manner in which Bud Selig, Bill De Witt, John Mozeliak, and Tony La Russa are patting McGwire on the back for coming clean.

1998 was baseball's equivalent to the U.S. putting a man on the moon. It restored faith in something that, at the time, had been struggling, and it brought people together as millions of fans and non-fans cheered this man on. Now, we're told it was all %%%+@+*#.

If Neil Armstrong issued a statement that the moon landing was a hoax and that the whole thing was shot at some studio in Hollywood, I sure as hell wouldn't expect President Obama to pat him on the !+# for coming clean.

I don't know about you, but I feel duped. I feel like a dumb**** for buying in 12 years ago. And, if I hadn't become such a cynic based on seeing behind the curtain of professional and collegiate athletics, I'd be mad.

I don't appreciate the commissioner, owner, GM, and manager praising the perpetrator for doing something that he *had* to do without being honest themselves and saying also what I am certain they all feel, which is, "I'm disappointed in that which Mark is apologizing for." January 11th, 2010 is not a good day for baseball or the St. Louis Cardinals, and the manner in which Selig, De Witt, Mozeliak, and La Russa sounded in their statements, you would think that it is.

I think it's good for them in that it's finally over...and that's why they're happy. But, for the fan, it sucks to now know with certainty that something so many of us got caught up in was as real as the Main Event at Wrestlemania.

Sitting on the floor in my office at home among a bunch of other things, there's a framed picture of the moment on September 8, 1998 that McGwire hit #62. It's a beautiful picture that I bought at Busch Stadium in 1999. I had it framed and hung it up in the living room of the hell hole that I lived in when working in Little Rock TV 10 years ago.

I hung it right over my couch, because it reminded me of a great moment in my hometown, and I could always look at it and feel good about what that moment meant.

I don't think I could hang it up now.

It doesn't mean the same anymore. And, if anything, I think people who'd see it would find it to be, perhaps, a bit of joke that it'd even be hanging on my walls if I were to put it up.

And, that's sad.

But, that was 12 years ago and McGwire doing what hundreds of others in the game did doesn't mean he should suffer some lifetime banishment or some faux condemnation from some self-appointed moral highground from clowns like me just because I've been lucky enough to have a podium from which to speak. If the public is willing to forgive so many other ballplayers, I have no problem with McGwire being granted the same second chance even if his apology is only all over TV, the radio, and the Internet today because of his new job. However, I do believe the sincerity level of his remorse is much higher than many of the other culprits from the Steroid Era. After all, he did plan to come clean in 2005...again, because he had to...but still...it's more than anyone else had done.

It's my belief McGwire is a good man who's absurdly shy. It's simple, I think: He loves the game of baseball, but he hates the %%%+@+*# that comes with it.

I guess you could say that about many of us, huh?

But, McGwire put much of this %%%+@+*# on himself. And, for that, I can't go into pat-on-the-!+# mode.

I guess I'll have to finally, officially let September 8th, 1998 go now.

But, I'll hold on to the intent behind March 17th, 2005.

And, I'll hope good comes from January 11th, 2010.
http://www.insidestl.com/...Talk-About-The-Past.aspx

 

[jch3]

^ And best response to this article was this:

First of all, Big Mac coming clean on steroids, is the equivalent of
Ellen DeGeneres coming out and announcing she's gay.

 

[DownByLaw]

Originally Posted by JCH3

^ And best response to this article was this:

First of all, Big Mac coming clean on steroids, is the equivalent of
Ellen DeGeneres coming out and announcing she's gay.

You know it was a Cubs fan that wrote that too

 

[fac3 tak30v312]

Originally Posted by Diesel J

Originally Posted by FRANCHISE 55

I respect dude even less after today. Steroids didn't enhance your performance? Ducktales.

exactly

From what I know in a way it doesn't do so directly .. what it enhances is your recovery time (regeneration of muscle) .. which in turn thenenhances your performance .. and enables you to have better use of your talents .. ie Barry Bonds .. I remember when it was looking like he could've hit a100 hrs that season

I'm more interested in how this got so widespread in baseball and sports altogether in the first place, and I'm not talking about your taking a trip toMexico steroid users (A-Rod) but the whole Balco highly advanced cream and the clear steroids .. I haven't really heard much of these scientists connectionto government or any of the private military complex .. This probably will sound a bit paranoid but if I'm looking to push the boundaries in humanabilities what better place to conduct my experiments out in the open than having some the greatests athletes civilization can provide willing become my testsubjects

 

[drop knee 101]

my list.....am i missing anything or toally off ?

Rank Player (2009 HRs) HR
1 Barry Bonds 762
2 Hank Aaron 755
3 Babe Ruth 714
4 Willie Mays 660
5 Ken Griffey, Jr. (19) 630
6 Sammy Sosa 609
7 Frank Robinson 586
8 Mark McGwire 583
9 Alex Rodriguez (30) 583
10 Harmon Killebrew 573
11 Rafael Palmeiro 569
12 Jim Thome (23) 564 `---?
13 Reggie Jackson 563
14 Mike Schmidt 548
15 Manny Ramírez (19) 546
16 Mickey Mantle 536
17 Jimmie Foxx 534
18 Willie McCovey 521
19 Frank Thomas 521
20 Ted Williams 521
21 Ernie Banks 512
22 Eddie Mathews 512
23 Mel Ott 511
24 Gary Sheffield (10) 509 ---?
25 Eddie Murray 504
26 Lou Gehrig 493
27 Fred McGriff 493
28 Stan Musial 475
29 Willie Stargell 475
30 Carlos Delgado (4) 473 ---?
31 Dave Winfield 465
32 José Canseco 462
33 Carl Yastrzemski 452
34 Jeff Bagwell 449 ---?
35 Dave Kingman 442
36 Andre Dawson 438
37 Juan González 434
38 Cal Ripken, Jr. 431
39 Mike Piazza 427
40 Chipper Jones (1 426
41 Billy Williams 426
42 Darrell Evans 414
43 Jason Giambi (13) 409
44 Vladimir Guerrero (15) 407
45 Duke Snider 407
46 Andrés Galarraga 399 ----?
47 Al Kaline 399
48 Dale Murphy 398
49 Joe Carter 396
50 Graig Nettles 390
51 Johnny Bench 389

 

[RyGuy45]

Yup, assuming Manny hits 18 or more HRs this year then 6 of the top 12all time HR hitters will have been busted.

 

[JD617]

You missed Sheffield and Piazza too.

 

[inine5]

him saying steroids didn;t help his performance is like saying he smoked pot not to get high.... liar!!!

 

[kingjay718]

Piazza didn't do steroids...

Its funny how Buster Olney said players like Wally Joyner would likely be angry at MM for his steroid abuse, when Wally Word himself admitted past steroiduse...

 

[JD617]

Piazza didn't do steroids...

According to Jeff Pearlman's new book about Roger Clemens, The Rocket That Fell To Earth, former MLB catcher and Clemens foe, Mike Piazza, used steroids and admitted it to at least one unnamed reporter. The book traces Clemens life from being born in Dayton, Ohio, to becoming a Major League superstar and prominent player in the steroid era.

The portions about Piazza have received the most press leading up to the book's release, March 24. Deadspin first published excerpts about Piazza.

As the hundreds of major league ballplayers who turned to performance-enhancing drugs throughout the 1990s did their absolute best to keep the media at arm's length, Piazza took the opposite approach. According to several sources, when the subject of performance enhancing was broached with reporters he especially trusted, Piazza fessed up. "Sure, I use," he told one. "But in limited doses, and not all that often." (Piazza has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, but there has always been speculation.) Whether or not it was Piazza's intent, the tactic was brilliant: By letting the media know, of the record, Piazza made the information that much harder to report. Writers saw his bulging muscles, his acne-covered back. They certainly heard the under-the-breath comments from other major league players, some who considered Piazza's success to be 100 percent chemically delivered.

At least two former Major League players, one being Reggie Jefferson (another was not named), were quoted as saying they were sure that Piazza used steroids.

"He's a guy who did it, and everybody knows it," says Reggie Jefferson, the longtime major league first baseman. "It's amazing how all these names, like Roger Clemens, are brought up, yet Mike Piazza goes untouched."

"There was nothing more obvious than Mike on steroids," says another major league veteran who played against Piazza for years. "Everyone talked about it, everyone knew it. Guys on my team, guys on the Mets. A lot of us came up playing against Mike, so we knew what he looked like back in the day. Frankly, he sucked on the field. Just sucked. After his body changed, he was entirely different. 'Power from nowhere,' we called it."

When asked, on a scale of 1 to 10, to grade the odds that Piazza had used performance enhancers, the player doesn't pause.

"A 12," he says. "Maybe a 13."

The media chatter about Piazza's supposed steroid use started weeks ago.

On February 26, The New York Posts' Joel Sherman wrote about how Piazza had always been suspected of steroid use. Sherman noted that at the time, people were "talking about certain physical quirks that raised suspicion, notably a back full of acne."

On March 4, former New York Times reporter, Murray Chass, noting Sherman's article, wrote on his blog that he was also suspicious of Piazza. Chass said that he had even written a story about Piazza's back acne but the Times wouldn't publish it.

When steroids became a daily subject in newspaper articles I wanted to write about Piazza's acne-covered back. I was prepared to describe it in disgusting living color. But two or three times my editors at The New York Times would not allow it. Piazza, they said, had never been accused of using steroids so I couldn't write about it.

Chass claims that Piazza's back acne had cleared up by 2004, the first year that MLB had a drug testing program that could lead to a suspension.

I don't know if Sherman noticed Piazza's back after the 2003 season. But it was clear in 2004 and '05, his last two seasons with the Mets, and it was clear when I talked to him during the last week of the 2007.

The back acne implication is flimsy but it has become part of the story, and it's not the first time.

In the Jason Grimsley Affidavit, Grimsley said that Glenallen Hill, who was also named by Kirk Radomski in the Mitchell Report, "was very obvious and had the worst back acne he'd ever seen."

 

[DownByLaw]

Originally Posted by KingJay718

Piazza didn't do steroids...

Yes he did, I personally know his tailor. Apparently Mikes back looked like the Moon from cycling so much

 

[bruce waynee]

Originally Posted by RyGuy45

He's a sideshow - just another Canseco. People on ESPN are somewhat implying that he is somehow now vindicated. In his interview, all I saw was him acting like he was a victim. Tons of pressure on him (that none of us could possibly understand), wear and tear on his body (like nobody else goes through that), yet somehow it didn't help him hit homeruns!!! He actually had the audacity to claim that he could have hit 70 homeruns without the use of steroids.

Like I said, just a total clown.

I think I agree.

Now that I've had a day to take this in, I'm going to see if I've got this straight.

1. Mainly (or only) did it to come back from injuries "to help my team and teammates."
2. Drugs did nothing in aiding the power numbers or his overall performance.
3. He didn't even know what he was taking (a personal favorite of mine from these guys)
4. Wishes he "never played in the steroid era."


You take all that in plus the fact that he only is granting an interview and copping to anything because he has to (his new role with St Louis), not because he wants to....he claims Canseco's book is all lies (possible, but unlikely)......it was "breaking his heart" not to be able to say anything on the stand back then....it was strictly his natural talent that led him to the numbers he got.....and it's been five years since Capitol Hill and McGwire was second only to Bin Laden in hiding in a bunker.

....And what we have here is yet another player going through the motions and not completely owning up to everything. Which, again, tells us exactly what we need to know about MLB's drug culture.....they all know how bad it is because no one tells the truth. What the public has gotten from Day 1 has been cupcake interviews, half-truths, "I only took it once to come back from injury" or "I only did it to help my team," and P.R. people holding hands.

If you believe these clowns, none of them did it for the numbers, the fame, and the money that came with it. And they hated themselves for having to do it.

Go back into hiding until you can stop insulting our intelligence.


Co-sign with all of this. This interview only insulted me

 

[j23diego]

But damn didn't we all know this already. smh

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Originally Posted by RyGuy45

He's a sideshow - just another Canseco. People on ESPN are somewhat implying that he is somehow now vindicated. In his interview, all I saw was him acting like he was a victim. Tons of pressure on him (that none of us could possibly understand), wear and tear on his body (like nobody else goes through that), yet somehow it didn't help him hit homeruns!!! He actually had the audacity to claim that he could have hit 70 homeruns without the use of steroids.

Like I said, just a total clown.

I think I agree.

Now that I've had a day to take this in, I'm going to see if I've got this straight.

1. Mainly (or only) did it to come back from injuries "to help my team and teammates."
2. Drugs did nothing in aiding the power numbers or his overall performance.
3. He didn't even know what he was taking (a personal favorite of mine from these guys)
4. Wishes he "never played in the steroid era."


You take all that in plus the fact that he only is granting an interview and copping to anything because he has to (his new role with St Louis), not because he wants to....he claims Canseco's book is all lies (possible, but unlikely)......it was "breaking his heart" not to be able to say anything on the stand back then....it was strictly his natural talent that led him to the numbers he got.....and it's been five years since Capitol Hill and McGwire was second only to Bin Laden in hiding in a bunker.

....And what we have here is yet another player going through the motions and not completely owning up to everything. Which, again, tells us exactly what we need to know about MLB's drug culture.....they all know how bad it is because no one tells the truth. What the public has gotten from Day 1 has been cupcake interviews, half-truths, "I only took it once to come back from injury" or "I only did it to help my team," and P.R. people holding hands.

If you believe these clowns, none of them did it for the numbers, the fame, and the money that came with it. And they hated themselves for having to do it.

Go back into hiding until you can stop insulting our intelligence.

I can just imagine all the roider's in the clubhouse injecting themselves talking to their teammates like "I'm gonna hit AMAZING now

" and some of the non-users are just like "ooooooook

"

 

[physicx]

NO WAY!!!!!