Please Don't Prosecute McGwire...
March 17, 2005. I remember exactly where I was. Sitting on my buddy J and CK’s futon, drinking a beer (it was St. Patty’s day after all) and watching the beginning of the congressional hearings on steroids. Unfortunately, since this was the first day of the NCAA tournament and I had plans to meet people at a certain time. I had to leave by the time Jose Canseco, Raphael Palmeiro, Frank Thomas, Sammy Sosa and Curt Schilling were questioned. My buddy Burger told me about it, and then ESPN replayed the hearings. I got to see for myself.
I believed Palmeiro when he pointed his finger emphatically at the Congressmen, saying he never once took steroids. I watched as Sosa all of a sudden could not speak a lick of English. I watched as Canseco stumble over his words. Not because he was lying, but more because he is pretty much illiterate and uneducated, well, except in the area of anabolic steroids. Then there was my hero, Mark McGwire. It saddens me to say that he did indeed hide behind the bad legal advice his lawyer provided to him. He refused to talk about the past, which means, in the court of public opinion, they found him guilty.
But what has McGwire admitted to? Has he admitted to taking androstinedeone? Yes, and at the time he was taking Andro, it was not on MLB’s banned substance list. Has McGwire admitted to taking or injecting himself with steroids? No. The next question that comes up is; has he said he hasn’t taken any form of steroid? The answer to that is also no.
McGwire denied frequently about the use of steroids. Once Canseco’s book Juiced hit the shelves at book stores, he named names. Accused players of using steroids, and said that he showed then and taught them about steroids. Even after Canseco’s book came out, McGwire’s statement was that everything in the book was false. McGwire even had his former manager Tony LaRussa stand beside him, where even LaRussa, a well respected man in the baseball family, categorically denied McGwire’s use of steroids. Then came the hearings. McGwire did not deny or admit to any use of steroids. He left it in limbo.
In 1 year, McGwire’s name will be on the ballot for the Hall of Fame. Before any of the steroid allegations, McGwire was a sure fire first ballot Hall-of-Famer with Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn. McGwire, like Gwynn and Ripken, were all well respected, beloved sports figures who could do no wrong. Gwynn played his entire career with one organization, always smiling and refusing to leave for greener pastures during troubled times. Ripken, as everyone knows, broke Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games played with 2,632, and was known for playing the game the “Ripken” way.
As for McGwire, he was a giant, a superhero of sorts in St. Louis. The city of St. Louis embraced McGwire like they embraced Stan Musial. They waited decades for another immortal being to come to that beloved baseball city. They wanted someone to look up to, to be proud of. And when Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris’ single season homerun record on September 8, 1998, and 8:18 EST, he did the improbable. And not only that, he did the unimaginable. He gave his due respect to the Maris family. McGwire was a man of character, of dignity, of integrity.
Mr. McGwire’s character, dignity and integrity are now in question, just like his 583 career homeruns are in question. But do you punish a man for not admitting to something that he may not have done? We are almost certain he did indeed take some sort of enhancement. But we do not know for certain. Keeping McGwire out of the Hall of Fame would be outrageous. The analogy would almost be as if sending someone to prison, or worse, to death on a lack of evidence and all hearsay. McGwire deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
Would it be better for McGwire to come out and admit his wrong doing, if in fact, he did take steroids. I can’t prosecute McGwire for doing steroids, even though, I, like everyone else, have major suspicions after his testimony. I think it would only be fair for McGwire to come out of the dark and to speak up about the issue. Weather he took steroids or not, baseball fans, members of the baseball community, but more importantly, members of the Baseball Hall of Fame deserve to know. They have the right to know.
But McGwire is a quiet man, trying to lead a quiet life with his new wife and his three children. We can not force him to come and speak out. I believe he eventually will. But even if he doesn’t, do not hold him out of the Hall. He deserves to be in. No one knows for certain if he took steroids. And if he did, no one knows when he started or when he stopped. With no factual evidence, we can not prosecute McGwire.
Growing up I was the absolute biggest Mark McGwire fan. This is before he was breaking records. I was a true McGwire fan from the beginning. I was there when he had a tough time staying over the Mendoza line and batting just .201 in ’91. I stuck by him and still considered him my hero when he played in a total of 74 games in ’93 and ’94 due to an injured heel. I was at his final series in an A’s uniform in ’97, with signs begging the A’s organization to not trade him, and for him to not accept a trade. But it was inevitable. He was finally traded in ’97 to the Cards. And then that is when everyone caught McGwire fever. He hit 58 HRs in ’97 in 156 games combined with the A’s and Cards. That is when everyone started to fall in love with the big red head.
Do I still consider Mark McGwire my hero? That’s still up for debate. But something that should not be, is McGwire’s place in baseball history and what should be his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
I believed Palmeiro when he pointed his finger emphatically at the Congressmen, saying he never once took steroids. I watched as Sosa all of a sudden could not speak a lick of English. I watched as Canseco stumble over his words. Not because he was lying, but more because he is pretty much illiterate and uneducated, well, except in the area of anabolic steroids. Then there was my hero, Mark McGwire. It saddens me to say that he did indeed hide behind the bad legal advice his lawyer provided to him. He refused to talk about the past, which means, in the court of public opinion, they found him guilty.
But what has McGwire admitted to? Has he admitted to taking androstinedeone? Yes, and at the time he was taking Andro, it was not on MLB’s banned substance list. Has McGwire admitted to taking or injecting himself with steroids? No. The next question that comes up is; has he said he hasn’t taken any form of steroid? The answer to that is also no.
McGwire denied frequently about the use of steroids. Once Canseco’s book Juiced hit the shelves at book stores, he named names. Accused players of using steroids, and said that he showed then and taught them about steroids. Even after Canseco’s book came out, McGwire’s statement was that everything in the book was false. McGwire even had his former manager Tony LaRussa stand beside him, where even LaRussa, a well respected man in the baseball family, categorically denied McGwire’s use of steroids. Then came the hearings. McGwire did not deny or admit to any use of steroids. He left it in limbo.
In 1 year, McGwire’s name will be on the ballot for the Hall of Fame. Before any of the steroid allegations, McGwire was a sure fire first ballot Hall-of-Famer with Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn. McGwire, like Gwynn and Ripken, were all well respected, beloved sports figures who could do no wrong. Gwynn played his entire career with one organization, always smiling and refusing to leave for greener pastures during troubled times. Ripken, as everyone knows, broke Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 consecutive games played with 2,632, and was known for playing the game the “Ripken” way.
As for McGwire, he was a giant, a superhero of sorts in St. Louis. The city of St. Louis embraced McGwire like they embraced Stan Musial. They waited decades for another immortal being to come to that beloved baseball city. They wanted someone to look up to, to be proud of. And when Mark McGwire broke Roger Maris’ single season homerun record on September 8, 1998, and 8:18 EST, he did the improbable. And not only that, he did the unimaginable. He gave his due respect to the Maris family. McGwire was a man of character, of dignity, of integrity.
Mr. McGwire’s character, dignity and integrity are now in question, just like his 583 career homeruns are in question. But do you punish a man for not admitting to something that he may not have done? We are almost certain he did indeed take some sort of enhancement. But we do not know for certain. Keeping McGwire out of the Hall of Fame would be outrageous. The analogy would almost be as if sending someone to prison, or worse, to death on a lack of evidence and all hearsay. McGwire deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
Would it be better for McGwire to come out and admit his wrong doing, if in fact, he did take steroids. I can’t prosecute McGwire for doing steroids, even though, I, like everyone else, have major suspicions after his testimony. I think it would only be fair for McGwire to come out of the dark and to speak up about the issue. Weather he took steroids or not, baseball fans, members of the baseball community, but more importantly, members of the Baseball Hall of Fame deserve to know. They have the right to know.
But McGwire is a quiet man, trying to lead a quiet life with his new wife and his three children. We can not force him to come and speak out. I believe he eventually will. But even if he doesn’t, do not hold him out of the Hall. He deserves to be in. No one knows for certain if he took steroids. And if he did, no one knows when he started or when he stopped. With no factual evidence, we can not prosecute McGwire.
Growing up I was the absolute biggest Mark McGwire fan. This is before he was breaking records. I was a true McGwire fan from the beginning. I was there when he had a tough time staying over the Mendoza line and batting just .201 in ’91. I stuck by him and still considered him my hero when he played in a total of 74 games in ’93 and ’94 due to an injured heel. I was at his final series in an A’s uniform in ’97, with signs begging the A’s organization to not trade him, and for him to not accept a trade. But it was inevitable. He was finally traded in ’97 to the Cards. And then that is when everyone caught McGwire fever. He hit 58 HRs in ’97 in 156 games combined with the A’s and Cards. That is when everyone started to fall in love with the big red head.
Do I still consider Mark McGwire my hero? That’s still up for debate. But something that should not be, is McGwire’s place in baseball history and what should be his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
posted by Mark D. Miller at 11:22 AM
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