McGuire Admits Steroid Use

The Cardinal's former slugger, Mark McGuire, who hit 70 home runs in 1998 to break the single season home run record, a record held by Roger Maris at 61 since the 1960s, admitted he was under the influence of performance enhancing steroids at the time.

Really? Just because McGuire came from relative obscurity with the Oakland As to the height of Baseball fame as his yearly home run totals grew right along with his arms and legs is no reason to suspect he didn't do it on his own. Just because others in baseball were admitting using steroids at the same time and some suggested he was part of this, is no reason to doubt him when he said he wasn't part of this blemish on baseball.

If you look at photos of Mark McGuire as an A and as a Cardinal you can see the dramatic change. When the story of steroids in baseball originally broke about 10 years ago we all thought McGuire was among it's most frequent users, but he denied it.

When baseball players were asked by congress about steroids in baseball Mark McGuire adamantly denied using them. Of course he had retired by the time they got around to him so there was no ability to force his cooperation and sanction him if he was found to be lying.

The really sad thing is that this is all about timing. Jose Canseco was the first to publicly announce his use of steroids in baseball and he wrote a book about who he saw using steroids. For his efforts he was ostracized from baseball and now struggles with the effects of unregulated use of a controlled substance, addiction and side effects. In an hour long news program about him I learned Canseco is broke and has lost his long term girlfriend because he can't get a handle on these issues.

Mark McGuire weathered the storm, at least publicly, because he refused to come clean. Now he is enjoying the financial benefits of being a top baseball producer and we assume if he is suffering with the effects of his steroid use, at least he has some funds to pay for this recovery.

You may ask why would Mark McGuire say anything about this now. It turns out he wants a job in baseball as the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. How convenient for him. He is now willing to say something because he wants a job, not just to tell the truth as Jose Conseco did.

This just doesn't seem fair. Of course I have been told fair is where a pig gets a blue ribbon, but I don't think McGuire should be rewarded for not telling the truth until it is to his benefit.