Mark McGwire admits steroid use

He refused to discuss it under oath but is now coming clean. The silver lining of the story, it's sort of refreshing to see even the slightest of honesty in this teeming pool of lies that we call the steroid era.

[Edit by Jim] This quote from Tim Brown in Yahoo! was posted in the comments section by unnameddbacksfan, but really deserves to be part of the main story.

Since we’re all in the mood for looking back, let’s consider this, Mark: You were the steroid era. Still are. You and every guy who made the same terrible, weak decisions, over and over. We’ve become so comfortable blaming Bud Selig and Don Fehr, we forget the real villains in this. They’re McGwire, Canseco, A-Rod, Palmeiro, Bonds, every man in the Mitchell Report, every player who put a needle in his body and made the next player choose between that and pumping gas for a living, everyone too cowardly to compete straight up.

over 2 years ago Marc Fournier 23 comments 0 recs |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I suspect

This is a few years too late to make much of a difference, Mac.

"I can just see it: Post 'Intervention? Why would I need an intervention?' And then he'd +1 himself."

by kishi on Jan 11, 2010 4:36 PM EST reply actions

Agreed. Better than never… but not by much.

"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too. " ~Greg, age 8

by njjohn on Jan 11, 2010 4:45 PM EST up reply actions

Since we're coming clean

I wrote that WAR article while on HGH.

by paqs on Jan 11, 2010 4:53 PM EST reply actions

Well

My comment count has been vastly inflated by caffeine. Looking back, I wish I’d never posted in the modern era. People might have judged my accomplishments differently if I’d made my posts by telegraph in the late 1800s.

"I can just see it: Post 'Intervention? Why would I need an intervention?' And then he'd +1 himself."

by kishi on Jan 11, 2010 5:01 PM EST up reply actions

I took college finals while on

cold medicine. I sure hope those A’s hold up!

Things ’Skins has in common with foulpole for 400, please. -- soco

by snakecharmer on Jan 11, 2010 6:21 PM EST up reply actions

In other breaking news

Fire is, indeed, still hot.

by SenSurround on Jan 11, 2010 5:20 PM EST reply actions

The sun rises in the East, too, did ya hear??

Things ’Skins has in common with foulpole for 400, please. -- soco

by snakecharmer on Jan 11, 2010 6:22 PM EST up reply actions

Not surprised.

we're like a borg ship; resistance is futile-- soco via twitter.

by katers on Jan 11, 2010 5:24 PM EST reply actions

Not surprised either...

Now if only Bonds and Clemens would confess…ssshhhhyeahhhhh, rightttttt, and monkeys might fly out of my butt!

"AUGIE AUGIE AUGIE...OY OY OY!"

by Rockkstarr12 on Jan 11, 2010 6:52 PM EST reply actions

Eh

An early departure? What are the chances of that? If this was a movie, there wouldn't be an early departure.

by soco on Jan 11, 2010 7:53 PM EST reply actions

numb to it anymore, but this sums it up for me

For one, we have a man so used to hiding and lying that, years after cheating a nation of baseball fans, he feels sorry for … himself.

"Looking back," he wrote, "I wish I had never played during the steroid era."

Really.

Since we’re all in the mood for looking back, let’s consider this, Mark: You were the steroid era.

Still are. You and every guy who made the same terrible, weak decisions, over and over. We’ve become so comfortable blaming Bud Selig and Don Fehr, we forget the real villains in this. They’re McGwire, Canseco, A-Rod, Palmeiro, Bonds, every man in the Mitchell Report, every player who put a needle in his body and made the next player choose between that and pumping gas for a living, everyone too cowardly to compete straight up.

Tim Brown an Yahoo
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-mcgwire011109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

"I've been around long enough to know how ignorant I am. I don't assume the universe obeys my preconceptions. Huh! But I know a frelling fact when it hits me in the face!"

by unnamedDBacksfan on Jan 11, 2010 9:03 PM EST reply actions

Love that he feels sorry for himself

cuz, yeah, that was the damage — he hurt his own feelings. And I also liked Tim Brown’s comments then MM said now that he’s the hitting coach for the Cardinals, he is able to make this admission. Really? What was holding you back before, you cheater?

Nobody on the road Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air The summer's out of reach

by 4 Corners Fan on Jan 11, 2010 11:52 PM EST up reply actions

Were steroids even banned back then?

by paqs on Jan 12, 2010 10:13 AM EST reply actions

At the federal level

Yep. Let me see if I can drag up the appropriate verbiage later this morning.

"Win, or die" -- Marquise de Merteuil

by Jim McLennan on Jan 12, 2010 10:38 AM EST up reply actions

To steal from Wikipedia:

Nevertheless, anabolic steroids were added to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act in the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990.

Possession of a Schedule III drug without a prescription can be punished by up to a year in prison for the first offense. So while Mac wasn’t necessarily violating MLB policy, he was breaking federal law.

"I can just see it: Post 'Intervention? Why would I need an intervention?' And then he'd +1 himself."

by kishi on Jan 12, 2010 1:16 PM EST up reply actions

Which follows under the code of conduct policy in spirit.

"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too. " ~Greg, age 8

by njjohn on Jan 12, 2010 1:33 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks

Still, if it wasn’t in violation of MLB policy and not punishable as such, it’s really not surprising to me. And also really hard for me to blame the players.

by paqs on Jan 13, 2010 3:19 AM EST up reply actions

I don't understand this attitude

And it’s pretty common.

"I can just see it: Post 'Intervention? Why would I need an intervention?' And then he'd +1 himself."

by kishi on Jan 13, 2010 11:09 AM EST up reply actions

Q. The sky is:

a) Blue
b) Black
c) Yellow
d) Red
e) All of the above
f) Per e), I’m not here to talk about the above.

Bring back the Baltimore Chop!

by dima1109 on Jan 12, 2010 5:32 PM EST reply actions

+1
very funny

"Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too. " ~Greg, age 8

by njjohn on Jan 12, 2010 6:00 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

So,any bets on when record books have to be drastically revised?

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the darkness at Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.

by hotclaws on Jan 12, 2010 7:57 PM EST reply actions

The records wont change

I’m as angry about these guys and the next guy…. but any talk of completely over hauling statistics is crazy.

You just finished building a house. And one of the major draws of said house is this one specific pillar. A pillar which you think is the model for strength and structural integrity. One day an inspector tells you that that pillar was harvested from an clinically developed tree and is illegal. What do you do? I’ll tell ya what you don’t do… you dont go get a chainsaw or axe and get rid of it. Getting rid of it afftects the entire house.

Deleting home runs and affecting the entirety of baseball statistics is insane. The homerun(s) happened.

My imagination is greater than your nay-say.

by Jargamus Prime on Jan 13, 2010 10:06 AM EST reply actions

After posting

I realized that the post might look like I’m calling out hotclaws, which I am not. The idea was originally intended for Gambo after listening to his show yesterday and him rant and rave about just deleting the homerun from the books. I was not within arms reach of my phone to call him an idiot.

My imagination is greater than your nay-say.

by Jargamus Prime on Jan 13, 2010 10:11 AM EST up reply actions