Mark McGwire Admits Using Steroids

Far from election to the Hall of Fame in four chances and about to re-enter baseball after a long absence, Mark McGwire on Monday admitted to using steroids.

McGwire -- who set a single-season record with 70 home runs in 1998, a feat that is credited with helping baseball rebound from the 1994 players' strike -- said he used steroids in the 1989-90 offseason, 1993 and "on occasion throughout the nineties, including during the 1998 season" in a statement released by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Part of the statement reads:

I'm sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids. I had good years when I didn't take any and I had bad years when I didn't take any. I had good years when I took steroids and I had bad years when I took steroids. But no matter what, I shouldn't have done it and for that I'm truly sorry.

The team, for whom McGwire played in '98, had hired McGwire as hitting coach in October but had yet to face the media. His reputation took a major hit -- and the suspicion that he used steroids multiplied -- when in a 2005 hearing before a House of Representatives committee he declined to address the matter, saying only, "I'm not going to go into the past or talk about my past. I'm here to make a positive influence on this," and "My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family and myself."

Now he has answered the questions.

McGwire followed up his statement and Associated Press interview by sitting down with Bob Costas of the MLB Network for nearly an hour on live television.

During that interview, McGwire argued that the substances he used did not enhance his performance, insisting that he used them only to stay healthy.

"I was given a gift to hit home runs," he said. "I believe I was given this gift. The only reason I took steroids was for health purposes.

"A pill or injection will not hit a baseball."

"I am pleased that Mark McGwire has confronted his use of performance-enhancing substances as a player," said commissioner Bud Selig in a statement. "This statement of contrition, I believe, will make Mark's reentry into the game much smoother and easier.

"The so-called Steroid Era -- a reference that is resented by the many players who played in that era and never touched the substances -- is clearly a thing of the past, and Mark's admission today is another step in the right direction."

McGwire ranks eighth all-time with 583 home runs, including 245 in a four-season span (1996-99). But in four appearances on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot, he has appeared on 23.5, 23.6, 21.9 and 23.7 percent of the ballots -- with 75 percent required for induction.

Much like Alex Rodriguez, who admitted to steroids use last year, McGwire blamed the culture of the time:

I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era.

The first public accusation of McGwire regarding steroids use came in 2005, by former Oakland "Bash Brothers" partner and admitted user Jose Canseco. In his book Juiced, Canseco said he personally injected McGwire "more times than I can remember."

In a phone interview with the AP, McGwire said he called commissioner Bud Selig and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa on Monday to personally apologize.

La Russa praised McGwire for his admission of guilt.

"No one on the teams I managed worked harder or better than Mark. And now, his willingness to admit mistakes, express his regret, and explain the circumstances that led him to use steroids add to my respect for him," the St. Louis manager said in a statement. "I've defended Mark because I observed him develop his unique power hitting skill through a rigorous physical and fundamental work out program."

Both team chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and general manager John Mozeliak offered words of encouragement for their new hitting coach.

Mark is going to make an outstanding hitting coach," Mozeliak said. "He's a smart student of the game and he has a lot of valuable lessons he can teach our ballplayers. I'm glad Mark has gotten this off his chest and he can proudly begin the next chapter of his life."

"No one condones what Mark did more than 10 years ago," DeWitt said, "but we hired him as our hitting coach because we know there are many contributions that Mark can and will make to our team and to this game."

The statement in full:

Now that I have become the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, I have the chance to do something that I wish I was able to do five years ago.

I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come. It's time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected. I used steroids during my playing career and I apologize. I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989/1990 offseason and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again. I used them on occasion throughout the nineties, including during the 1998 season.

I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era.

During the mid-'90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years. I experienced a lot of injuries, including a rib cage strain, a torn left heel muscle, a stress fracture of the left heel, and a torn right heel muscle. It was definitely a miserable bunch of years and I told myself that steroids could help me recover faster. I thought they would help me heal and prevent injuries too.

I'm sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids. I had good years when I didn't take any and I had bad years when I didn't take any. I had good years when I took steroids and I had bad years when I took steroids. But no matter what, I shouldn't have done it and for that I'm truly sorry.

Baseball is really different now -- it's been cleaned up. The Commissioner and the Players Association implemented testing and they cracked down, and I'm glad they did.

I'm grateful to the Cardinals for bringing me back to baseball. I want to say thank you to Cardinals owner Mr. DeWitt, to my GM, John Mozeliak, and to my manager, Tony La Russa. I can't wait to put the uniform on again and to be back on the field in front of the great fans in Saint Louis. I've always appreciated their support and I intend to earn it again, this time as hitting coach. I'm going to pour myself into this job and do everything I can to help the Cardinals hitters become the best players for years to come.

After all this time, I want to come clean. I was not in a position to do that five years ago in my Congressional testimony, but now I feel an obligation to discuss this and to answer questions about it. I'll do that, and then I just want to help my team.