Any thoughts?

I'm glad he finally spoke out: there's something to the statement that "It takes a big man to admit he's wrong."

Of course; he'd been more of a man not to have used them at all....

I think baseball is at last on the road to getting 'roids under control; it was slow enough getting started, I thought.

I think more regular testing might be the next step(definately; some manner of testing for all players in the playoffs might be wise, if possible)
I'm not sure the players union will be all for that, though.

I for one will never forget the feeling of watching Mark and Sammy chase the record.
Most people forget that after the 94/95 strike baseball was dead or dying.
They brought the sport back to life.

I feel sorry for Roger Maris.

At the time, baseball had no policy on them. The guy decided to take them to gain an advantage in performance in his profession which was his livlihood. Anyone who thinks these substances are not freely used in the university, olympic or professional ranks is not in the real world. I have no problem with his personal decision to use them, but I feel he should have 'manned up' and admitted it right away when asked. The fact is that in todays world many athletic accomplishments are achieved through better chemistry.

Day two of the comeing out party.....the press says he has two stikes on him.....I suppose it's not the appology they wanted. He needs to say more thay say.

Timing is everything, sometimes and to many it looks like Mcgwire did this to further his hitting instructer venture and/or hall of fame entry.

Every professional athlete must be tempted to use them, and huge numbers of them undoubtedly have.
Maris, Mantle, Mays, and Aaron were possibly clean just because it was not widely available--but even then they could have had access.
Dianabol had became available as early as 1956, and the use of amphetamine was becoming widespread even in the 60's.

McGwire(through teary eyes): "I only took them to recover and get healthy......they didn't have anything to do with 70 moon shots over 500'......it was a gift I was given.....and besides I only did the light steroids."

Hahahahaha.....really Mark? Jeez, I though Ari Fleischer was savvier than this. What an absolute disaster of a reconciliatory tour.

I have no problem with the admission, though I'm glad he did. No different than Willie Mays admitting to using "Red Juice" or Bob Gibson admitting to using muscle relaxors to "liven up" his arm.

Certainly, there was less intent to damage the "game or pasttime" of baseball than Cobb's antics. Or the drug bust that Fergie Jenkins suffered (even though it was a suitcase full, he's in the Hall).

Let's face it, after the 80's, MLB was in dire straits,it was players like McGwire and Sosa that brought the game back from consolidation to record setting attendance records.

If I had a vote, McGwire would be in the Hall. I would recognize he admitted to using banned substances, but so did Jenkins, Mays, and other players....

The word Steroids is way too general. There is a difference in what Mark & the boys did vs. the anabolic steroids of the 70's/80's. I'm not condoning their use...but I do like seeing homeruns. In fact, I wish the NL would go to the DH. I don't drive 2 hours to the ball park to watch pitchers hit 8 times during the game!

I don't understand why the press is comming down so hard on McGuire. He never said he did not use them to congress, just that he was not there to talk about the past. One of the few players that did not out right lie to congress. But Mark, if they make you bigger and stronger and keep you from the little nagging injuries, then yes they helped you hit homeruns. It will be interesting to see when A Rod retires and is elgible for hall of fame induction, if he will get in. No different than todays roid users. This is just the roid era od baseball. All the owners act so surprised than players got huge and used steroids. They damn wel knew the players were taking the juice, so did Bud Selieg, but... it saved baseball and put it back on the map. The 2 most perfect examples were Bonds and Sosa. Both were thin fast playes and both came in as wide as a house for the season. At least Mc Guire was a homerun hitter from his rookie season 49 fist season. McGuire has apologized enough. If the writers keep out all the roid boys, they can join Rose in NOT being in the Hall. With out the hits leader, homerun leader and the pitcher with the most CY Youngs ( Clemmens), the hall doesn't mean much anyway.

I've never bought the line that that largely overblown homerun derby between Mcgroid and Sosa saved baseball. I was following baseball before that media-show.

I always wondered how hard baseball was trying to create a event, rather then let it play out by itself. Mcgwire would give interviews full of 'gosh, shucks' stuff....that was for general consumpion: baseball did all it could to be certain that was got out. However; whenever a non- big media decided not to play ball and actually enquire below the surface, Mac came off as whinny, complaining and so uninteresting. He was a made-for-tv product and dreadfully boring. It's not surprising he avoided the media as his numbers piled up: he wasn't the news, his homeruns were.
As for Sammy, everytime he did his 'Baseball been berry, berry good to me." routine, I just remembered it'd been done years before on Saturday night live.

I remember someone basically expressing my same thoughts back then at work, and someone else was stunned. "Don't you care one or the other is going to break the record?" "They're both going to break the record and by good margins. There's no drama." "No drama? Racing neck to neck like that?" "So what? They'll just be back next year and do it again. Are either one of them going to be in the playoffs?"

amen....

Unbelievable...........one question to those of you who see no difference between anabolic steroids/HGH and greenies or caffeine drinks or cocaine:

Would anyone have hit 70+ HRs in a season without them(meaning steroids/HGH)?

OK, two:

Did Rose's or Jenkins' infractions topple hallowed all-time records in America's game?

OK, three:

Any difference between stealing a pack of candy and stealing someone's wallet at gunpoint?

Babe Ruth hit all of his home runs either hung over or still drunk....think what he could have been.

Sure he did

And Lou Gehrig owes his homeruns to milk and cookies.
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Living in SW Idaho, I just wish someone would get some to the Mariners. We get 80+ games of theirs a year, and it is just short of dismal.

Rich
DRSS
Go Cards!!!!!!!!!!

I remain shocked by the indifference to cheaters in this thread. Wonder if it's a reflection of your own personal ethics and how you go about daily life.

Superhuman feats are ONLY accomplished via the use of PEDs. Or are you HR lovers above going to tell me that athletes have devolved in the last 10 years and that's why no one is hitting 60+ HRs on a regular basis?

Red Bull and uppers the same as PEDs? No way.

Norton, you are spot on that HR production is way-way down in this era....

All in all, I have quit rooting for the Yankees due to A-roid, the Giants due to Baroid Bonds, for anyone who was juiced. I refuse to root for Tiger Woods due to his cheating on his wife and likely use steroids as well.

I refuse to accept them as athletes the same as I do not accept woman with inflatable breasts as anything other than a man-magnet - none are beauties in my eyes.

I do not get it - physical enhancements with chemicals cannot be justified for vanity or for money.

I root for the Ivy League sports and for the Division II basketball teams.