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 telephone interview with Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch after the statement was released.
“I’ve been telling my family and friends and coaches,” McGwire said. “This is the first time they’ve ever heard me talk about it. I hid it from everybody.
“There have been built up emotions I’ve had inside me a good five years now … I want to come clean.”
For the transcript of McGwire’s interview with Strauss, click here.
McGwire also will be interviewed live by Bob Costas in a special show that begins at 6 tonight (St. Louis time) on MLB Network.
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.
Schumaker received a call from McGwire on Monday morning to tell him personally about the forthcoming admission. Schumaker described his hitting coach as “very emotional.” Ryan also spoke to McGwire this morning, as the former slugger called him to tell him personally, too.
“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-
(15 votes, average: 4.53 out of 5)
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Previous Comments
Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
It is time for someone to start a petition to be sent to the Cardinal organization that the fans don’t want a cheater and a facilitator on the team. Time for TLR and McG to go.
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Quoting Cardinals great and HOFer Bob Gibson: “rules or no rules, pitchers are going to throw spitters, it’s a matter of survival.” Should Gibson not have been elected, or should he be ejected from the HOF because he cheated?
McGwire didn’t break any MLB rules by using steroids.
Also, McGwire seemed to express that his taking of steroids equates with Ron Santo takin insulin. Purely for health reasons.
C’mon Mark, we’re not that dumb.
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Return of the roid retard.
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McGuire is a fraud and so is baseball. That said should there be his entry into the Hall of Fame with an asterisk*?
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i bet all you bashers were there cheering him on when he broke those records.
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kenw, I greatly respect your opinions, I’m sorry mine offend you so. You’re one of the few senior members of these forums that isn’t just out to complain about everything. Keep in mind, EVERY pitcher who faced McGwire had to face a juicer, so more often than not, Big Mac had the unfair advantage. I don’t recall off hand whether McGwire specifically apologized to baseball fans, either way, my statement of forgiving him was mainly directed toward other posters, many of which will not forgive him. What he did was wrong, I don’t think he deserves HOF consideration, but I am ready to move on and let him live his life- thus the “two-sided” remarks. I know it’s unusual on these forums for someone to see both sides, but I try. As for the DeWitt slight, yeah, perhaps uncalled for, I respect his tenure as one of the greatest in Cardinal history, but he has told the fans and media what they want to hear at times without seeing it through (ballpark village, payroll going up considerably with new park, 40% of payroll NOT going to just two players, when it now appears it will, just a few examples). It’s one of the few jabs I’ve ever taken at the man, plenty more have and will beat that path without my help.
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NOW that Mark McGwire has COME CLEAN about his STEROID USE,WHAT DOES THIS CHANGE?? A.ROD,Jason Giambi came clean,what did that change?? Pete Rose came clean about betting on his team to win,what did that change?? Gaylord Perry came clean about his spit balls,what did that change?? The ANSWER to all of the above>>>>>>>>>>NOTHING,it changed NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So why keep talking about it??????????? This is the SPORTS PAGE. NOT THE SOAPS PAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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This interview appeared to be staged by the Cardinals ownership and the media. OK, so now everything is forgiving and we can have the parade for this guy. I mean he’s not Barry Bonds right? I’m sure if this was Mr. Bonds we would see Blue Collared Americans ready to pull out the rope…. All the talk about Steriods in baseball and you would think the this great black player created these drugs because the media dogged him out to the point that I though he was the only person who was accused. But I know it business as usaul, destroy Bond and celebrated Big Mac…… What a total joke, but hey he’s your hero so do what you do.
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’bout time! good job, fire the black coach and bring in the white druggie!
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This is a sad day for Cardinal baseball. I believe this will be a distraction. McGwire lied and lied and lied about it. He called it a fabrication when Canseco called him out. LaRussa’s infinite defending of him is troubling. LaRussa can be a friend, and support him personally, but McGwire has violated his right to be a part of baseball again. In fact, as much as I hate to say it, I’m not sure, after 33 years being a die hard fan of the Cardinals, I can stomach supporting this team this year, one that is run by LaRussa, with McGwire as his side kick. The excuses are almost laughable. This man broke the law. What he did was criminal, regardless of baseball’s handling of it. Yet, another free pass, within the elitist fraternity known as rich professional athletes. Hi, I’m Mark McGwire, I want to take a job, and only now do I have to fess up to my wrong doings. Pathetic. Again, forgive him personally, yes. Bring him back to baseball? NO.
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perfect timing, instead of doing this after he got the coaching job (about 6 weeks before HOF voting), he waited until the week after. now he has a whole year for all this to settle back down and before his name is back on the ballot. and just to second tom’s comment yes he broke the law, anabolic steroids have been illegal in this country for decades, whether or not MLB allows them is irrelavent
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Yes we can for give Big Mac, we can say hey he finally came clean, lets move on, or he is a cheated, lied, or did what his lawyer told him and got bad advice, but the fact remains he did knowingly took a banned substance, he violated a rule, but also he cheated, yes he claimed that he took low doses because of medical reasons (to heal quicker) but that still is an advantage over those who DIDNT take anything illegally and recovered at a slower rate. I can forgive MMG, I hope that the words that he has given in his interviews are genuine and sincere, and the guilt and burden were the only reason why he finally came clean, to help deter others to follow his destructive choices. No matter what the reason is, I feel baseball and the purity of the game will always prevail. He also has to look his fellow players in the eye knowing he did cheat, and violated a unwritten code, of playing fair, he had to look at his own flesh and blood, his children and tell them how and why he did what he had to do……….hard, emotional, but part of the process of paying for poor decisions in life…its called tough love my friends. And knowing that he also lied to those great Hall of Fame he had come to cherish and interact with, such as Ted Williams, Stan Musial, the the widow of Roger Maris……….He can be forgiven, I hope he does find the time to teach what NOT to do, and how if you follow his path the emotional,and physical shame that comes with breaking the law.
But I cannot willingly, or consciously (if I had a vote) ever vote him in to the Hall of Fame, why? Because he cheated, my fiends, the effects of his cheating gave him a distinct advantage, in his words NOT mine, how with his injuries he wanted to recover faster, and return to playing in the quickest time possible………thats why, no matter what equation, or speculation you try to imagine, you cannot accurately calculate what his true numbers would be………thats why when MMG decided to cross the line on that spring day in 1996 and inject himself with whatever steroid he decided to use, he forfeited his opportunity, NOT right (that needs to be earned)in the hallowed halls of Cooperstown………..rest each Hall of Famers your souls and memories will NOT be tarnished……….I forgive you MMG, but I cannot morally lobby for your entry into the Hall of Greatness……….
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“Hey bluesfn95, you fit right in with the other morons. Mark McGwire didn’t break any laws. Look it up. Geez!!! They’re com’n outta the woodwork from all places.”
He didn’t. Don’t we have laws regarding use of controlled substances without a prescription? Or did take these on doctors orders?
And as for the writer who accepts his apology for all of St. Louis: Please speak for yourself. As far as I’m concerned, Mark can go crawl back back under whatever rock he’s been living under for the last few years. While suspicion was always there, his farce of a testimony in front of congress totally disgraced himself and all of baseball.
TLR is an idiot for hiring him as the hitting coach, but then all of you fans put TLR on some pedastal, and treat him like a god. Tony only cares about St Louis as long he’s getting paid. He can’t even bring himself to live there year round.
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Plenty of clever talkers out there . See where that and a quarter get ya?
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Hey bluesfn95, you fit right in with the other morons. Mark McGwire didn’t break any laws. Look it up. Geez!!! They’re com’n outta the woodwork from all places.
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While we’re at it, why don’t we let Mike Danton run pro orientation classes for the Blues’ rookies? He too is sorry. Maybe Marion Jones can coach track at the next summer olympics. She looked really remorseful after being found guilty of juicing. Oh wait, maybe that’s not a good analogy. Those 2 actually served time for breaking laws.
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When 325 lb lineman do battle in football we never stop to think about the whole sreriod issue . Thse 2 lineman ruled each other out…HELLO . I also do believe steriods did allow players to heal much faster . How hard is it to connect dots on justification? Yes , we all do it at some level . Move on .
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Captain Hero, you sound like a bigger fool that you tend to call McGwire. You are welcome to your opinion such as it is. However,you might remember with all your BS about hand-eye cordination that any hitter taking steroids also had to face a lot of pitchers taking steroids. You are a little loose with your liar accuations in smearing De Witt and your two sided remarks about McGwire. A final thought, McGwire did nothing to me, I don’t need to forgive him for anyting and I’m sure he doesn’t really need yours.
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Let’s conclude the MM story with ‘God works in mysterious ways’ Who among us wish to stand in judgement of why Mark decided why this was the time . We really don’t know the demons others wrestle unless we walk in their shoes . My gut has always said Mr McGuire is a good heart who fell into a snare and the best of us know ..that is life . We move on and learn from failure . I ,and I believe most, admire him greatly . I have no pause in his goodness or in our human failures . God bless you Mark McGuire . Now take a moment to remember him picking up his boy at home plate.
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Let’s make a joke out of our Birds on the Bat some more. Big Mac as hitting coach? Check. Stupid comment from Skipper (joking or not) about putting the 47-year-old steroid cheat/hitting coach in our postseason lineup? Check. Self-serving apology? Check. Here’s a guy who wouldn’t even attend an STL press conference anouncing his retirement. He only came back to Busch Stadium years later to promote the Hardee’s thickburger. What about speaking to the kids about the dangers of steroids? I guess Hardee’s wouldn’t sponsor that. This guy’s actions are aimed at helping one person-himself. He has shown no loyalty the the city or the team unless he needs something. Hopefully Cards fans are too smart to buy in.
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I don’t want the man’s head on a stake, I simply want the record set back to where it belongs. “Cheaters never prosper”.
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Vusi-Very true . It’s the ‘perfect world’ you speak of ..and very wonderful when it happens . Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others is the true story of a righteous life . It never happens on our clock as we’d wish – but as we are forgiven – we forgive….much easier to say than to live .
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LOL
I’ll bet Tony didn’t know about it either…..
wink wink.
Come on Albert!!! We’re waiting!!!
— Hector G Homberto
2:51 pm January 11th, 2010
Hector there is probably a better way to compensate for your small manhood then posting your stupid rants.
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I’m so cynical about so-called apologies. It seems calculated to get it out of the way before the season and before HOF voting begins for McGwire. I doubt he would have apologized if he hadn’t been hired to coach. Anyone who has done wrong (and who hasn’t?) knows that the apology is only a genuine apology if you give it uncoerced.
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Stories like this make all self righteous hypocrites feel important . Card fans will admire him and root for him and be impressed with his work ethic . He always had it . We wish you the very best Mark .
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I believe McGwire is truly regretful….but my question is,….would he have come clean if he wasn’t hired as a hitting coach ??….let’s put that behind us and get some pitching and bench strength to bring us to the World Series again
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First, Hector G. whatever, you are a moron.
If any of you believe that Albert is on the juice, you need to do some research. With the testing policies in place today, it is nearly impossible to get away with using PEDs. Also, after watching Albert it is clear that he has an amazing natural ability that cannot be obtained with PEDs. He centers almost every ball he hits, and that is something that does NOT have to do with brute strength. All of you making accusations against albert have obviously no aprreciation for the natural ability that it takes to hit a baseball like albert does. What albert does has not been aided by PEDs PERIOD.
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Thanks Mark. Apology accepted. Welcome home.
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“Chester you got it all wrong….that is if your name is really Chester.”
It’s not. He posts garbage all over the Internet, usually political blogs. Unknowledgeable pansy.
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Come on people… what did any of you think? He never said he “never” did them. All the finger pointing and whining that he ruined the game is all a bunch of self-righteous nonsense. It’s over. It’s time to move on. Regardless of everyones opinions McGwire is one of the great players of the game. Do your history, go check out the lives of many of some of the greatest players in the Hall. You’ll find cheats, liars, drunks, racists, abusers… the scrutiny that these guys have gone through and the pressure would have crushed anyone. After all, they are all ordinary men playing a “game”. If El Hombre is as clean as we all believe him to be, he is an exception to the rule and to be honored for his integrity alone. The competition and stress these guys go under is mind boggling, to say the least. I know, my son is climbing that ladder himself. So… I celebrate Mark’s return and end of the need to hide anymore. So should all the rest.
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Pearl Harbor bombed! The English are coming……. This is not much of a shock to anyone. The evidence is in performance and physical appearance. They guy is a cheater and has nothing to bring to our young hitters. Tony needs to get a clue. He can kiss the HOF goodbye.
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He “manned-up”! Play ball.
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Because I’m a perfect person in every way, I think Big Mac should have come clean years ago about steroids. I don’t understand why he was so weak and self-centered. I have never been selfish or kept secrets from anyone. So because I am perfect in every way, I will continue to pick on Big Mac at every opportunity. I will boo him when he is introduced at Busch Stadium and I will urge other perfect people I know to boo and never, ever forgive him. Aren’t you glad you finally know a perfect person, other than that Jesus guy?
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We all knew it, he cheated and his new gig prompted him to go public and face it. I’m a little embarassed that I cheered that year, but deep down we knew. I do think he can be an outstanding hitting coach and I do believe he’s capable of making our lineup even better. Go Cards.
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Chester you got it all wrong….that is if your name is really Chester.
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I am so glad he finally came out and said what he did in detail. This could have gone many other ways. He couldn’t have said more about what and when he did steroids. It was the era. Lets move on people. EVERYBODY was doing it. Look at the numbers all players were putting up during this time. .300+ 35-40hrs+ and 100+ Rbis and Runs. More than ever. Including our boys Edmonds and Rolen. You mean to tell me they were clean? Yeah right. Lets just move on though. Enough with keeping this going. Its over. EVERYBODY was doing it. hitters and pitchers. Young and old.
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He should only be allowed in the Baseball Hall of Fame by paying admission. He was a cheater. Case closed.
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Is this really a shock to anyone? Haven’t we all known this for years? Can we move on now?
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The Mark McGwire saga reminds me of the scene in “”A Few Good Men”. Baseball needed Mark in 1998, they needed him on that “”wall”". They helped create the situation of the “”Steroid Era”". The Media will always play a major role in demanding that Mark tell the truth, but will hold another opinion about making Barry Bonds come clean.
Steroids don’t make you hit the ball more, they just make you hit it farther. I’m glad he admitted it. Now let the man alone and let him do his job as hitting coach for the Best Team in Baseball in the best Baseball
Town in the world.
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Some of you who have responded could easily be classified as total morons. You are cynical, have no class, and are full of envy, and that is sad. I have had to make apologies to close friends and families, and to some of my nastiest enemies. None of them were easy, and some were actually selfish, but still needed to be made. I assume those I’ll have to make in the future, for future mistakes, will not be easy as well.
For those of you who have never cheated, congratulations. To the rest of you who have asked forgiveness and are sincere, I’m sure God has heard you and accepted. As for the rest of you, shut up already.
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I am a Cardinal fan but there are parts of the organization that instead of cheering for them, I will be as silent as I was during and shortly following the baseball strike in 1994. I will not apologize for that.
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To me, this is only an issue because it should lighten the media hooplah that was building, due to the fact this was taking so long to come around.
McGwire used steroids. Are we supposed to be surprised? The percentage of players using steroids in the 90s is, realisticly, over 50%, and I believe I\’m underestimating it. Not only that, but you had stadiums like Coors Field, which balls just flew out of. Or even Busch Stadium, which moved it\’s walls in a few feet to promote the long ball. This was happening all around the league, the home run record is not just about steroids and McGwire/Bonds. It was the league not only turning a blind eye to the steroid issue, but promoting it. Moving walls in, making the home run derby a major spectacle during the All-Star weekend, the aformentioned Coors Field.
But even then, why point the finger at the steroid user? Christy Matthewson, Babe Ruth, Lou Gherig, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Rogers Hornsby, Walter Johnson, and many, many others didn\’t play against the African Americans of their time. We saw a spike of basestealing from the late 60s to the early 80s when it was common knowledge that many players were taking amphetamines and cocaine. Major League Baseball has not been clean for a long time, and in all honesty, as much cynicism we have for the current players, I believe we may be witnessing the purest, cleanest, most equal spot of this game. I do say that, never watching the 40s through 60s, so don\’t lynch me here.
And on an ending not. Jimi Hendrix smoked pot, The Beatles did LSD, and Keith Moon took a lot of speed. All of these experiences with drugs altered their abilities, whether it was Jimi\’s desire to alter his guitar to make noises no one had heard before. The Beatles\’ desire to make music on a scale of complexity, yet subtle and musical was unlike anything we had heard before. Keith Moon played the drums faster and with more intensity than anyone we had heard before. Mark McGwire hit home runs, like we had never seen before. The difference? Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and The Who are in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame
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Just beating some diehards to the punch here: steroids not only make you stronger, but they do improve your eyesight as well as hand-eye coordination, as well as concentration levels. But don’t take my word for it, research this for yourself.
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What Mark and the other players did was very wrong. And the sports writers are letting them know, by the way they vote on the Hall of Fame ballot. But the writers, especially the one in New York had better warm up to Mc Gwire and Hall of Fame. Because in about 10 years or so one of their own will be looking for the Hall of Fame(A-ROD). And I’m sure they will try to make a case that there is a difference between Mark and Alex, but there isn’t. The only way one gets in the Hall of Fame is if they all get in.
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Allow me to gloat only to those who were still hiding behind “nothing has been proven” crap up until this inevitable admission. You had to be completely blinded by hero worship to think his actions with Congress and since were not those of a guilty man. Anyone can lie to the media (Hi, Mr. DeWitt). What he wouldn’t say in front of Congress is that he didn’t do steroids. And now, even those in utter denial know. Congratulations, Mark, you finally did the right thing. I, for one, completely forgive you. Hope you do great as our hitting coach (but stay off the field, or you will make a bigger fool of yourself in the Public Eye.) Hank Aaron is still the King!
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This is like Ellen DeGeneres making an announcement that she is gay. But I’m glad he finally came clean and was honest about it. Let’s move on and have a great season. The 98 season was still one of the greatest sports eras of my life and a lot of fun.
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It’s over. Let’s get on with it. Confession is confession regardless how it takes to come. Go Cards and Mizzou
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My feeling about McGwire is same as always with one exception. I have always said he was innocent until proven guilty. His statement today now prove’s his usage. However, he is not the only guy using steriods in an era that supported heavy usage through out the game and is no worse than those that used or the ones still not known. I have no problem with his statement in congress. Had he openly admitted usage at that time, it would have led in all probability to an “under oath” situation and required him to tell about other players and I am certain that was part of his reasoning for the stance he took. I still contend he was more of a man in his appearance than Sosa who forgot he understood english and Palmerno who lied like a dog before the world. I also still call the Media that played stupid and dumb during the steriod era only to come out after the steriod issues began to break and played God in condemming McGwire when, in fact they are as much to blame for the steriod era as the players themselves.
I have followed baseball since the mid forties and have seen a lot of different ways of cheating in the baseball from hitters, pitchers and the clubs/managers that allowed it to happen. As far as I’m concerned, the spit balls, emory balls, pine tar balls, carboned bats, stealing signs among all the other is no different that using steriods as a way of getting an edge over the other guy or team. From the beginning of baseball the acceptance of these efforts was wide spread among the fans.
I enjoyed McGwire as a Cardinal will always remember the excitement he brought to the Cardinals. I appreciated his team and organizational attitude as well as his apporach to the fan. He was a benifactor to the community and a good man. I still don’t understand why someone believes a person has to apologize publicly over an incident that didn’t affect their lives but if it will bring to a close one of the more unfair and scarlet letter incidents in the history of baseball, then I guess it worth the effort. I’m glad Big Mac is back once again as a Cardinal and wish him the best of luck as hitting instructer. Not only because of the importance to the Cardinal team but because Big Mac deserves the opportunity and any good luck that goes with it.
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I forgive Big Mac and I will never forget what he and Sammy did for baseball in 1998. They helped revitalize the game, after we lost a World Series because of a strike. That home run chase brought millions of fans back to baseball. (With that said, Maris’ 60 dingers should still be the official record)
The enhancement, while wrong, is forgivable. The hitters were juiced, but so were the pitchers and shame on the owners and players union for not stopping it sooner.
Big Mac is still top notch in my book. Welcome back.
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