More than eleven years ago I was among those who took great pride in St. Louis Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire surpassing Roger Maris' all time home run record. It was a happy moment and many people believe it brought baseball back from disgrace after the strike of 1994. I still carry the vision of the ball sailing over the left field fence on that early September evening in my memories.
But, flash forward to today and that feeling of pride no longer exists. Like many others I suspected McGwire was doing steroids at the time. But, I secretly hoped he wasn't and that it was all God given talent. Now, that McGwire has formally admitted he used the performance enhancing drugs (PED) it leaves a bitter-sweet taste in my mouth.
I feel bad for the man, and it was obvious in his interview with Bob Costas Monday night on the MLB network that he was hurting badly about what he had done and then his cover-up. I know everyone makes mistakes and I have no problem in forgiving him as a baseball fan. I also hope that it brings him some peace of mind and lets him get on with his life and new role as the Cardinals' hitting coach.
I only wish McGwire had gone a step further and admitted the steroids gave him an unfair advantage over the pitchers he faced. Granted McGwire was a powerful and gifted athlete, but I have to believe the PEDs gave him additional strength and allowed him to play through injuries he might not have otherwise. During the interview Costas asked "Big Mac" several time if steroids had helped him achieve the then single season home run record. On each occaison McGwire responded by saying he had a gift of hand-eye coordination and had always been a power hitter and the only reason for PEDs was to get past injuries.
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