Mark McGwire Finally Admits to Taking Steroids

Mark McGwire finally came clean Monday, admitting he used steroids when he broke baseball's home run record in 1998.

McGwire said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Monday that he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade.

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

McGwire also used human growth hormone, a person close to McGwire said, speaking on condition of anonymity because McGwire didn't include that detail in his statement.

McGwire's decision to admit using steroids was prompted by his decision to become hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, his final big league team. Tony La Russa, McGwire's manager in Oakland and St. Louis, has been among McGwire's biggest supporters and thinks returning to the field can restore the former slugger's reputation.

"I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come," McGwire said. "It's time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected."


"I'm sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids," McGwire said. "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."


"After all this time, I want to come clean, he said. "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."


"I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989/1990 offseason and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again," McGwire said in his statement. "I used them on occasion throughout the '90s, including during the 1998 season."

McGwire said he took steroids to get back on the field, sounding much like the Yankees' Andy Pettitte two years ago when he admitted using HGH.

"During the mid-'90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years," McGwire said in the statement. "I experienced a lot of injuries, including a ribcage 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."


"Baseball is really different now -- it's been cleaned up," McGwire said. "The commissioner and the players' association implemented testing and they cracked down, and I'm glad they did.''[AP]

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Who Says the NBA Doesn't Have a Steroid Problem?

Orlando Magic All-Star forward Rashard Lewis tested positive for a testosterone-producing substance, dehydroepiandrosterone, which is commonly known as DHEA, and will be suspended without pay 10 games at the beginning of the season. "I hope this unintentional mistake will not reflect poorly on our team and its great character," Lewis said in a statement. [Orlando Sentinel]

The steroid Lewis tested positive for was Dehydroepiandrosterone, commonly known as DHEA. It is found in over-the-counter supplements accross the country. It is not illegal to use. Bills brough to the House of Representatives and Senate in 2007 (thanks to Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who is the son of a lobbyist for one of the big DHEA production firms) that would have banned the substance were not passed and therefore the possession and use of DHEA are still legal.

Regardless, the NBA, NFL, NHL, both Olympic committees and bicylcing committees have listed it as a banned substance.

Yes, I missed a sport. MLB, the league with the biggest steroid problem in the world right now, allows the use of DHEA amongst its athletes.

So basically the steroid Rashard Lewis was suspended for is permitted in Major League Baseball. [NBA Fanhouse]

Ortiz, Manny Tested PED-Positive In '03

And there it is. The one we've pretty much been waiting for and pretty much have expected. According to the New York Times, Big Papi and Manny are both on the list of 104 MLB players who tested positive for steroids in 2003. Add them to Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Alex Rodriguez, all of whom have already been linked to the list over the past year.

Well, this is quite the non-surprise. And to reiterate, it does not change how I feel about Manny or Papi. It is what it is: fucking everybody has been taking steroids since Brady Anderson hit fucking 50 home runs in the mid-90s, not to mention the Bash Brothers doing it even before that. Let's get over it, and adjust the curve accordingly please. It wasn't even illegal (in MLB rules), so who the fuck cares. Let's just accept that people were using *legal* shit to make them better, faster, stronger, and now that we've banned it, let's move on. Like swimming.

[New York Times]
[ESPN.com]
[Deadspin]

BREAKING: Manny Ramirez Tests Positive; Suspended 50 Games

Official announcement from MLB will come later today.

Right from Peter Gammons's mouth right now as I watch SportsCenter: Scott Boras says -- and Gammons believes him -- that Manny had an ailment, went to his doctor in Florida who prescribed something for Manny and assured Manny that it was fine to take, turns out it wasn't okay.

The Dodgers are 21-8 (modern record 13-0 at home); Manny's batting .348 with 6 HRs and 20 RBIs. Holy shit.

Manny released the following statement to the press via the MLBPA:

Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now.

I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons. I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I'm sorry about this whole situation.

I have to say, this is awful news for baseball fans. I've always liked Manny, even to a certain extent when he was on the Sox (i.e. to the extent that they weren't beating us), him and Papi. Both nice enough guys, funny guys. I hope he's able to get through this relatively unscathed, career wise, but to do that, he's gotta definitively prove everything he said in that statement. Doctor, medication, prescription, failed test, positive tests - everything. Really pulling for him.

[LATimes.com]
[ESPN.com]

This Game Is More Realistic Than MLB '09: The Show

Addicting Games has released "Baseball: Juiced" for play online (click here to play; screenshots below). As you might have guessed, the game involves taking steroids and hitting home runs. Other than the juicing part, it plays pretty much exactly like that Orbitz pop-up ad/baseball game, "Home Run Hero" except it's easier and not as good-looking. Oh, and you get to choose from a list of six subtly-named players including "Marky McWeird" and "Berry Bombs." I guess Raphael Fallenarrow didn't make the cut? (Took me about 8 minutes to come up with that.)

Be careful about taking steroids though (I mean in the game, not in real life of course). As the instructions say, there can be "serious consequences!" which I found out about the hard way. I hit 1380 home runs in like 18 seasons with my boy A-Fraud, only to get kicked out of the Hall for taking 'roids once, in my first season.

No fair--it was part of the culture back then! I was young and stupid!

[Badjocks.com via Deadspin]