St. Louis Cardinals legend Mark McGwire opened up about PED use in 2010: "I wish I was never a part of it"
Mark McGwire famously spilled the beans about his involvement in the baseball steroids scandal in an interview with the Associated Press in 2010. The scandal sent shockwaves through the MLB.
The former Major League slugger admitted to using steroids for about a decade during his playing career. This included in 1998, when he set a single-season home run record.
"I wish I was never a part of it," McGwire said. "Just get rid of it. If it's better to have bigger suspensions, then they're going to have to change it."
Clearly emotional during the interview, McGwire also stated that he never spoke about it earlier because he wanted to protect his family, although he did want to come clean as early as 2005.
"It's very emotional. It's telling family members, friends and coaches, you know, it's former teammates to try to get a hold of, you know, that I'm coming clean and being honest," he said. "It's the first time they've ever heard me, you know, talk about this. I hid it from everybody."
McGwire, former coach of the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Padres, said he has always talked to players over the years about the harm that performance-enhancing drugs cause.
"It's not worth it at all," McGwire said.
McGwire plied his trade in the MLB for 16 long seasons and earned a reputation as one of the most prolific home-run hitters in baseball history. He amassed a total of 583 homers during his playing days, which ranked fifth-most in MLB history at the time of his retirement, and currently ranks 11th.
24 years ago today, Mark McGwire hits homerun no. 62 - breaking Roger Maris’ single season record.
https://t.co/ChtO0YFXZT
"24 years ago today, Mark McGwire hits homerun no. 62 - breaking Roger Maris’ single season record." - TodayInSports, Twitter
McGwire also famously broke the single-season home-run record set by Roger Mas in 1961 during his 1998 season with the Cardinals. He finished with 70 homers, a record that was surpassed by Barry Bonds three years later.
Mark McGwire has made peace with MLB barring him from the Hall of Fame
McGwire, who amassed a mind-boggling 583 home runs and 1,626 hits during his 16-year career, seems at peace with his snub from the Hall of Fame, knowing his performance-enhancing drugs scandal would prevent him from ever getting into the prestigious club.
Or Mark McGwire for that matter. In what world is Palmeiro more deserving than McGwire? twitter.com/JonHeyman/stat…
"Unfortunately, I don't believe there will be a day that I will be in there," McGwire said. "That's OK. That's the way things are. I've dealt with it. I'm OK with it."