Mark McGwire Interview Demonstrates He's Missing the Mark

(Above: We now know it was more than milk that powered Big Mac to his prodigious home run totals)

In the late-1980s, I set up tables at a lot of baseball card shows and, as a result, I met a lot of major league ballplayers—guys who were being paid to sign autographs at the shows. I also ran card shows to raise money for the Haverhill (Mass.) Lions Club to raise money for eyesight research.

I met a lot of players I didn’t really care for: Jose Canseco was snarky...Ken Griffey Jr. was aloof…Pete Rose was arrogant—and downright rude.

But there were also players who I enjoyed meeting: Bernie Carbo kept me in stitches…Mike Greenwell was engaging…Luis Tiant had more personality than just about any ballplayer you will ever meet.

And Mark McGwire was an absolute gentleman.

It would be accurate to say that I liked him from the instant I was introduced to him. “Big Mac” was friendly and polite, though he possessed a very quiet demeanor. I delighted at most of his exploits—at least those that were not accomplished against my beloved Red Sox.

I was thrilled when he broke Roger Maris’ home run record…and more thrilled by the manner in which he conducted himself in the immediate aftermath of the achievement. Major League Baseball was still recovering from the strike season, and McGwire and Sosa had breathed life back into the game I love throughout the latter half of the season.

Like most baseball fans, I suspected he might be using PEDs—specifically steroids, though we were starting to become aware of HGH. He had exploded physically, his power had increased exponentially and (respectfully) there was the issue of the "acne". I hoped he was using the androstenedione that he suspiciously left conspicuously-evident in his locker, though I accepted the possibility that it was likely placed there to divert the suspicions of the American baseball public.

He who doth protest too much…

I was probably more pained than most fans by the tragic nature of his testimony before Congress in 2005. His performance contained elements of a Shakespearean tragedy. Hamlet had nothing on Mac that day.

I knew today would come, and I firmly believed his performance on this day would be better than it was on that dismal day in D.C. Surely, his advisors would ensure he would express boundless remorse and accept full responsibility for his actions.

Sadly, in tonight's interview with Bob Costas on the MLB Network, he swung and missed. The Mighty Mac struck out.

Now, you must understand that I believe him when he says it was the worst day of his life. I believe his remorse was abundant and genuine, but I didn’t believe certain aspects of his "testimony", and in other respects I believe he just doesn’t "get it".

First, let’s start with just a couple of the elements of his remarks that I do not believe:

1). He said he doesn’t know which steroids he used; 2).He said he used them in very small dosages; 3). He said they were used intermittently; and 4). He said he only tried HGH on one or two occasions and never used it again. No, no, no and no!

With today’s admission we now know for certain that he used steroids in the late-90s. and so we can safely deduce that the proclamations of Curtis Wenzlaff are accurate.

“Who’s Wenzlaff?”, you ask. He is the steroid pusher who used to frequent the same gymnasium as McGwire and Canseco back in the day and who used to sit in the box of the Oakland A’s owner back when both sluggers played in the Bay Area. He’s the guy who told the world that he supplied Mac with anabolic steroids (ie, Winstrol V and Equipoise) and testosterone.

These are not substances you forget the name of, nor are the kind of substances that are taken in small dosages or intermittently.

And then there are the assertions of ESPN investigative reporter T.J. Quinn, which include allegations that Mac told other players he used HGH throughout the 1998 season and that he recommended they give it a try. Players reportedly told Quinn of claims McGwire made with respect to specific benefits of using HGH — some of which were inaccurate (ie, strengthening of tendons and connective tissues).

And as it was in the wake of Alex Rodriguez’ "confession" a year ago, we are left to speculate that McGwire is not telling us the whole truth.

But that wasn’t the only problem with today’s performance—just as disturbing was Mac’s complete disconnect from reality with respect to the benefits he enjoyed as a result of his use of PEDs.

He seemed completely incapable of connecting the dots with respect to those benefits, and like Andy Dufresne in “The Shawshank Redemption” I am left to ask whether McGwire is inherently obtuse or whether he just cannot bring himself to admit publicly what the rest of us know to be a fact—that steroids greatly enhanced his stats!

For those of you who are apologists for the steroid users, I understand the drugs do NOT improve a player’s hand-eye coordination or his approach at the plate. But it is undeniable that the substances increase his strength, quicken his physical recovery and (it is alleged) even help to improve his sight.

McGwire attributes his accomplishments to hard work (in both the weight room and batting cage), his hand-eye coordination, his studiousness, and the evolution/progression of his swing.

From all of the anecdotal testimony of his coaches and teammates, we have learned that few ballplayers possessed the work ethic of McGwire, who was often the first guy at the park and the last one to leave. But even assuming he is correct about all of the above, he refuses to acknowledge that the PEDs had two significant benefits that helped him succeed:

1). They added strength, and 2). they helped him physically.

If steroids added 10 percent (a conservative estimate) to his strength, then there were certainly a significant number of 350-foot flyouts that became 385-foot home runs during his career (or 385-foot warning track flies that became 420-foot dingers).

Steroids are proven to aid in physical recovery, which can then be discussed both in terms of: a). his ability to stay in the lineup, and b). how he felt once he was on the field.

In terms of staying in the lineup, McGwire lost HUGE portions of 1993 and 1994 to injury—specifically, to plantar fasciitis. In fact, it was his inability to stay healthy that he says was his reason for using steroids (at least initially). After compiling a total of 279 plate appearances in those two seasons COMBINED, he never again had fewer than 400 PAs in a season until his last two seasons.

And then there are the benefits he enjoyed when he WAS able to suit up—the days he showed up at the ballpark when he wasn’t dinged-up, or exhausted, or sore, or just too darned tired to do the extra soft-toss or tee work. These are the days that he was able to get into the lineup rather than take a day off… the days he performed with normal energy levels instead of being tired and lethargic.

THOSE are the days that allowed him to hit home runs at the most prodigious rate in baseball history, even moreso than Babe Ruth.

[NOTE: From 1996-99, the years he acknowledges he used steroids, Mac hit 245 HR (first in ML), had a .704 slugging percentage (first in ML), compiled a 1.142 OPS (first in ML) and hit a home run once in every 8.1 at-bats (first in ML)]

I have no problem acknowledging/agreeing with many of the slugger’s assertions. Steroids did not augment his work ethic, or enhance his hand-eye coordination, or increase his mental capacity.

But THAT is where our agreement stops.

Steroids DID add to his strength… they DID help keep him on the field… they DID help him feel better when he was on the field… and they may have enhanced his eyesight. Steroids added to his career and seasonal power/production totals. These are facts.

Hey Mark, how can you be so obtuse?