for Big Mac until his appearance before Congress. I wish he handled that better. But as far as comparing him to Bonds. There is no comparison. I don’t think Mac was using other than andro as a Card. He most likely did do more with the A’s.

Mac said he was using because it helped him with his back and knee problems, and once he stopped his injuries flared up. Remember he had a contract extenstion in is desk draw unsigned. He walked away from the game. I think Mac has class.

because the dust is still settling from the PED scandals … there are no doubt lists yet to be brought to light, tests to be failed, more suspensions and insinuations, pundits weighing in with phony authority, and wringing of collective hands. Meanwhile, McGuire is off on some uncharted island right now, in exile from the game. His vanishing act has been rather complete; as shy and reclusive as Bonds is brazen and bold. To that I would add, as likable as Bonds is surly and despicable.
I confess that I don’t think about him much. It makes me a little melancholy to ponder all that late 90’s glee over his power displays that has since turned to ashes for me. I suspect many Cub fans have a similar disconnect with the Sammy Sosa era.
And it’s pointless for any of us to speculate on what McGuire, or any player, used, or didn’t use, for what alleged purpose. We simply don’t know – and probably will never know. That’s why I get a little crazy when talking heads profess that certain players “played the game the right way,” as if they alone are judge and jury, when in fact they know virtually nothing. For that reason, the game will have to paint this era with a broad brush – give the barrel-chested, inflated-bicep sluggers their laurel wreaths of greatness and send them to Valhalla – because, while it’s hard to definitively prove guilt, it’s conversely hard to prove innocence. All that’s really left are the numbers.

“Innocent until proven guilty” doesn’t seem to apply in The Court Of Public Opinion; while “andro” was not only legal (according to US law) during Mac’s career, it was available without a prescription as a “food supplement” at the time!

Whether McGwire used illegal steroids or not, his Congressional testimony made it appear that he had something to hide. I believe the BBWAA will keep McGwire out of the Hall of Fame, using him as an “example”, while ignoring other players who might have been using PEDs. I always wonder how many pitchers were using PEDs during the same time period; the only Hall-worthy hurler I can think of off the top of my head linked to steroids is Roger Clemens. (Roger’s got all sorts of legal problems right now, while the reclusive McGwire faces no legal charges.)

The ‘98 home-run race put fans back in the seats across MLB; from a Cardinal-centric perspective, the additional attendance helped lead to team success in this decade. Bud Selig and his minions didn’t want to know anything about steroids back then.

Bonds was a jerk long before he bulked up; I didn’t like him back then, and haven’t changed my opinion since. But I bet Bonds does get into the Hall of Fame… “juice” or no.

I was pretty agnostic about him at the time. I invited ridicule from my friends with the desire to shop him in exchange for Maddux/Martinez/Johnson or someone like that (I didn’t really think about no-trade clauses back then). I had a feeling that McGwire was ehaded for a fall, and that the team was not going to be able to hang with Manny Aybar in the rotation and Ricky Bottallico closing out games.

I still have really mixed feelings about the guy. I was surprised to see a Big Mac land installed in new Busch, and was pretty disenheartened by his Congressional testimony. Though it’s funny that he was able to escape the srcuitiny that Bonds went through

they brought the game back in 98, and yes they probably used peds

in my opinion, barry wanted to use to get to the level of mcgwire and sosa

should any of the three not make the hall?

what about palmeiro?

the numbers these guys put up make it awful hard to keep them out

as with clemens, how many pitchers were using? how did that affect the hitters?

i am not backing the pitchers or the hitters

i just think the writers should be consistent one way or the other

is that in the Mitchell witchhunt none of the trainers teamates etc verified Cansecos claims about Mac. However Several claims by macnamee(sp) have been verified by the actual athletes. This got very little press in helping Macs case at all.

Yes his appearence gave us some great audio bites but who knows what legal counsel said we can only specualte.

Oh, Mark McGwire…
As a fairly young fan (just turned 24 in May) McGwire is an essential part of my Cardinals experience. I grew up idolizing Ozzie like many kids, though his most relevant years were either before I was born or when I was way too young to appreciate baseball; I remember the excitement of ‘96 and the heart-breaking loss to the Braves, and imagined Ozzie must have been sad to go out on a note like that. I loved Lankford and Willie as well, and fondly remember the day when Geronimo Pena hit a homerun and started a fight on the mound sometime in the 90s ( I swear I went to a game when this happened…) So when we got this Superman of a slugger named McGwire I thought he was the coolest thing ever. Ironically, in the post-McGwire era I followed baseball less and less, and only after the 2004 world series did I start reading blogs, learning about statistics, and starting to become a more enlightened fan.
Anyway, McGwire always seemed like such a good guy. He seemed to love playing in St. Louis, and if I recall correctly, stated that if baseball stupidly went on strike again as was rumored for a while, he would just retire (am I making this up? Please correct me if needed, I’d rather get the facts right if I am romanticizing the man).
And if he juiced? Well, I’ve gotten to the point where I can forgive an awful lot about the steroid era because of what a circus it has become. I don’t even really hate Barry Bonds since there’s no way for him to really be treated rationally in the court of public opinion anymore. But McGwire still kind of hurts, because he seems like a good man who made a mistake and put himself into exile because of it. That’s how it appears to me anyway.
And nice Pravda reference too!