What a great interview of a difficult subject. I love how candid and comfortable Mark became as it went along. PED's or not, McGwire is one of the best pure home run hitters the game has ever had.
What Mark said about bringing people back to baseball is absolutely true. After 94, I swore I would never watch another baseball game. Then the chase happened. I was on my honeymoon when he hit 62. He made a mistake taking PEDs, but I'll be forever grateful to him for bringing the game back to me.
Pure class. Really should be in the HOF. He made a mistake, owned up to it and moved on. Juiced or not, he drew the attention of the Nation. He certainly got my attention and I'm in England.
I give everyone pre 2004 a pass. You can judge players by a standard that didn't exsist at the time. No one, and I mean no gave a shit about steroids in terms of "integrity" back then....Hell they didn't even test for it, and fans and media never said a word.
Big Mac juicing in the 90s is like ur grandfather being racist in the 30s.....it was wrong but cultural norms were much different back then, that you understand the behavior.
For all the memories people have or what has come to light since the undeniable fact is that 1998 and big Mac's pursuit of the record made baseball fun to watch again. Baseball was FUN again!
Same man I was a kid and it was so exciting to follow along. Today I can't help but look back and it's just not the special moment it should have been knowing they were juicing, most players were but it still changes it a bit for me unfortunately. McGwire was my idol
Of all the steroid users, I think Big Mac deserves the most forgiveness and love. He not only fessed up, but he’s always acted like such a class act. And this is from a lifelong Cubs fanatic who worshiped Sammy Sosa as a kid(who has acted as poorly as Mac has acted humble in the years since)
Interesting that you'd say something like that after he swears in the interview that he would've done it anyway without the PEDs. Doesn't matter how he and Sosa differ in the way that they handled the aftermath. They handled the, "Hey, you wanna do steroids," thing the same way, and that's all that matters. Also a Cubs fan here. Both guys are cheaters. End of discussion.
None of them owe any1 an apology for anything. There was no testing, no stigma no oversight and no one cared back then. You aren't supposed to judge people by standards that's didn't exist at the time.
@@craxypackets there was no testing, no oversight, no stigma and fans and media didn't say anything or care back then......How is he breaking a "rule" if said rule is totally unenforced, no one cares, and it doesn't even damage your reputation at the time? All this shit was retroactively thrown in their face.....no one cared in the 90s until suddenly one day they cared after Balco in 2004, and everyone pretended that they secretly cared in 1998 too....But I guess no one heard them mention it back then? Or they just kept it to themselves? No, they are just hysterical drama queens blathering about "integrity" when their fat uncoordinated asses can even get off the couch. All the 90s steroid guys get a pass in my book. A rule isn't a rule if it's completely & utterly unenforced in every way possible including officially or by social sanction. The only person who actually was against steroids back then was Frank Thomas, bc he was naturally the size of a dump truck.
My childhood hero right here. I was disappointed when I found out about the roids but, how he handled the situation and class and admired that what he did was wrong ment more to me than anything he did on the diamond.
Mark McGwire is a legend. Humble man. He never let his career define his life. He broke the home run record on his own. Barry Bonds surpassed them all. What matters is that he worked for it and earned it. He belongs in Cooperstown, and I’d love to see him managing the Houston Astros.
This guy belongs in the HOF but the people who counseled him did a very bad job. Instead of that idiocy of 'I'm not here to talk about the past' he said in Congress he should have redirected the blame to MLB who had done nothing because they didn't think there was a problem with such substances then. McGwire should have addressed the fact that those steroids and supplements he was using were not banned, and that while everybody in MLB was profiting from the riches Sosa and him were producing nobody gave a damn about it. Once those substances were declared illegal and testing started it became a different situation but you are not supposed to be punished retroactively for someting that was not unlawful then.
He should have but that is hind sight. He had reason to believe he faced the possibility of going to jail for either lying about it, or even, admitting to it. From a PR standpoint, terrible decision. From a legal standpoint, it made sense.
@@jaredhitchcock5609 It aged fine. I'm just not naive about steroids in professional sports. They are everywhere, and have been for decades. People are still doing them. Nobody but him and Bonds hit 70. Steroids didn't get 70 home runs for Nelson Cruz, but there is no witchhunt for him.
Regardless of the ped use, u can't take an average guy put him on gear and expect the results like we all loved and enjoyed during the most excitable years of baseball
McGwire and Sosa belong in the Hall Of Fame as does Bonds. I got to go to the game where he hit his 62nd homerun. Bud Selig encouraged the use of steroids. He got a free pass though. Baseball needs to get off its high horse and put them in. Baseball hypocritically refuses to put them in but dragged their feet on putting the "best of the rest" like Larry Walker in.
I love mark class act, I don't blame mark at all MLB new the peds were going on all's they wanted were people in the stands, like mark said they were coming off a strike, I totally agree with him 💯 %
I will always look back with fondness on 98....I don't care about PEDs. We all knew. So did baseball. And I believe him. He could have broke the record without the andro.
The writers encouraged it as much as anyone. And likely knew as much as anyone. They blame the players for doing what the owners and commisioner wanted.
Yeah, with or without juice, he could hit. The problem is that it changed baseball from a sport into entertainment. I get why they did it--I might in their shoes--but it's just not sporting. Maybe that concept is just gone
He might think he was able to break the homerun record clean. But he wouldn't have most likely. It's not about the power it's about the other things that steroids do. Quick recovery time when you're playing 162 games a year is huge.
The Reason that few suspected McGwire of Steroid use that season in particular is that he had so many great years with the A's in the 80's and 90's. This man as a rookie hit 49 HR and hit 40 HR + in every 2 seasons he played from 87-98 (5 times in 10 yrs). From his numbers, I personally believe that McGwire took Steroids beginning in 1994-95. The reason I think this is that in 1993-94 Mac was hurt and played in few games, thus the steroids were a way to get him back to his pre-injury levels and beyond. I think he started abusing them in 1996-97 with back to back 50+ HR seasons. Without the roids I'd put McGwire on the same level as Cecil Fielder as a hitter. good, but not great.
POMONA LAVERNE AFFLERBAUGH CAMP WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR CAMP GRASS BIG MAC 1983-2023 BOOT CAMP CAMP PAIGE AFFLERBAUGH TIMOTHY MAC DONALD MILK FLORENCE FLUID IN MILK CS CLAIMS 1990s I LIVED IN LAVERNE 1984c ON THEMOUNTAIN USC I THOT HE WENT TO USC :
Just coz it wasn’t illegal doesn’t make it right. What about the people who didn’t take it? They played the correct way and they screwed coz of these guys. Even if it wasn’t illegal don’t mean they weren’t cheating. Glad him Sosa Bonds Palmeiro(sp?) ARod etc haven’t made the hall of fame because they shouldn’t be in it. And hopefully they never make it in.
I hate to say it but i think Mcgwire is full of shit. He was an incredible athlete but to say something like “I felt Maris’s body float inside me” c’mon dude...when i saw McGwire up at bat he had intense focus and aggression...like he was daring the pitcher to throw him the ball...but that type of focus and aggression is generated by one thing...androgens. Look at Mark Mcgwire’s face during the 98 homerun derby...it’s terrifying. He was juiced to the gills. I know the look bc i’ve been on the juice myself.. If Canseco was the heel then McGwire was the babyface...but in life the while point of babyfaces is that they are supposed to play by the rules. When McGwire got caught he immediately turned heel...whether he liked it or not. He should have embraced this and became a heel but I suppose it’s just not his personality. He comes off very disengenuous to me. *shrug
So funny watching back now Sammy and Mac were just complete frauds. Everyone loved it and enjoyed the ride but today it looks like a complete joke. All the pomp and ceremony, having the Maris family there and then 3 years later Bonds hits 73. 😂😂🤡🤡💉💉💉💉💉💉💪🏻💪🏽💪🏿
@@jaywalter5491 Barry Bonds también fue un tramposo para ganar el liderato de jonrones para pasar a Hank Aroond que el es para mí el rey de los jonrones y Sadahara uff el de Japón ellos son los reyes de los jonrones pero Barry Bonds no se lo merece por jugar sucio juntos a todos los peloteros gringos como latinos también mancharon su reputación ellos tampoco se lo merecen
Mark McGuire IS a Hall of Fame player without question! If they are going to leave out a great player like McGuire , then the entire Hall of Fame is bogus! It's a shame people who never swung a bat in a baseball game , unless you are counting voters to stopped playing at age 7 in little league , are the ones voting players in , and keeping great ones out. McGuire probably will never be in the Hall. , atleast in my lifetime (63)years old , and his , is a crying shame. You people be a shamed!