Mark McGwire sloeg de meeste van zijn 583 homeruns niet naturel (Bron: Rdikeman-Wikimedia)
Mark McGwire heeft vanavond toegegeven wat iedereen eigenlijk al wist: hij heeft steroïden gebruikt. De oud-speler van de Oakland Athletics en de St. Louis Cardinals gebruikte ook toen hij in 1998 70 homeruns sloeg.
Komend seizoen is McGwire de hitting-coach van de Cardinals en dat is ook de reden waarom hij met dit nieuws naar buiten komt.
Jaren ’90
Hij geeft toe meerdere malen gedurende de jaren ’90 te hebben gebruikt: “I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989-1990 offseason and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again. I used them on occasion throughout the ’90s, 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.”
Hall of Fame
De kans dat McGwire in de Hall of Fame komt is nu waarschijnlijk nihil, omdat de mensen die twijfelde aan zijn schuld nog voor hem stemden. Dat aantal zal waarschijnlijk flink afnemen. Dit jaar had hij 23.7% van de stemmen, terwijl hij 75% nodig had.
Het hele persbericht van Mark McGwire:
“Now that I have become the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, I have the chance to do something that I wish I was able to do five years ago.
“I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come. It’s time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected. I used steroids during my playing career, and I apologize. 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.
“During the mid-90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years. 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. 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.
“Baseball is really different now — it’s been cleaned up. The Commissioner and the Players Association implemented testing and they cracked down, and I’m glad they did.
“I’m grateful to the Cardinals for bringing me back to baseball. 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.”
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