Big Mac is back. Since hitting coaches don’t do that much, there won’t be much to say about his impact on the 2010 Cardinals. This story, ironically enough given the figure involved, is all about the past. Let’s delve into it, shall we?
I’m often critical of the uneven way in which players associated with steroids are treated by the media and the public at large. Some, like Barry Bonds and Rogers Clemens, become pariahs. Others, like last night’s heroes Andy Pettitte and now even Alex Rodriguez of all people, more or less go on with their lives and careers, their legends somewhat tarnished but mostly intact. The key — apart from the avoidance of really stupid litigation – seems to be whether or not the steroid guy in question is able to carry on with the baseball portion of his career. Pettitte and Rodriguez have given us something new to talk about since their names popped up on the PED lists. Our last memory of Mark McGwire, however, was of his awkward congressional testimony and his exhortation that we not dwell on the past. A past which, in his case, almost certainly involved the copious use of performance enhancing drugs. As a result of that day in 2005, McGwire has been in the wilderness. A Hall of Fame afterthought. One of the heads on the steroids Mount Rushmore.
But unlike a lot of the PED guys — whom you all know by now I tend to sympathize with more than your average pundit — I don’t lose a lot of sleep over the way McGwire has been treated. His performance in front of Congress was not undeservedly mocked. But more than being merely ridiculous, his testimony that day represented a truly missed opportunity. An opportunity if taken could have spared baseball so much of the steroid sturm und drang it has suffered these past four years.
Unlike Rafael Palmiero, Sammy Sosa, Jose Canseco, Curt Schilling or any of the others called before the committee that day, Mark McGwire stood alone as someone with both the freedom to speak about steroids without fear of retribution — he was out of the game by then — and the integrity and popularity required to bring reason and thoughtfulness to bear on the issue of performance enhancing drugs. Barry Bonds was hated before steroids, and to a large extent so was Roger Clemens. Jose Canseco is a joke of a human being and Ken Caminiti was a tragedy. Mark McGwire was different. He was about as close a thing baseball had to a hero at the time of his retirement, and he was thus uniquely positioned to do something good, yet failed.
What would the past four years have looked like if, on that fateful day before Congress, Mark McGwire had said “Yes, I took steroids. Here’s why. This was my cost-benefit analysis. I’m not thrilled with myself, but the choices I made were not unreasonable given the incentives and disincentives in place. I’ll happily answer any questions you have”?
Initially, of course, it would have caused a firestorm. But that happened anyway. In the long run, however, the national conversation about performance enhancing drugs would have been elevated a bit, as we all would have had to deal with the fact that a guy all of America looked up to was taking them and being honest about them. Sure, some would have still called him a cheater and continued to beat the drum they’re still beating today. But others might have thought twice and realized that Major League Baseball, the media, the fans and everyone else involved contributed some to the environment in which baseball found itself, and I believe that moment — had it been effectively seized by McGwire — would have led to a lot more thinking, reason, perspective, and compassion and a lot less bloviating when it comes to steroids.
Of course McGwire didn’t do that, and he’s been in self-imposed exile ever since, his reputation in tatters, and his Hall of Fame chances virtually non-existent. I haven’t shed many tears for McGwire over this because he, perhaps more than anyone, could have prevented all of this madness.
But it has been more than four years now, and based on the accounts of McGwire I’ve read, they haven’t been easy ones. I don’t believe the death sentence — even a self-imposed one — is appropriate punishment for McGwire’s sins, and I’m happy to see that he is coming back to the game.
I don’t want or expect an apology or a public statement about McGwire’s PED use at this point. There’s not much for us to learn or him to say, to be honest. I also don’t really care what this means for McGwire’s Hall of Fame case. Sure, McGwire’s normalization of relations with the baseball world might help, but the Hall of Fame has become such a complicated institution anymore that we’re silly to wait for it and its voters to weigh in. And we’re just as silly to care.
No, this is more about something smaller, yet more important. Redemption. No, not in the form of some maudlin media mea culpa or figurative group hug, but personal redemption. Redemption gained by McGwire’s getting back to basics. By passing along his knowledge of hitting — the single greatest gift he was ever given — to the next generation. By returning to the healing ho-hum day-to-day existence of baseball. By offering, one hopes, some wisdom and perspective earned through his own experiences, both good and bad. It’s my hope that through this process, he can maybe come to realize the opportunity he had and let pass before Congress in 2005.
It is also my hope that McGwire’s is welcomed back. Not with open arms by one and all — that’s probably too much to ask — but at least with some degree of wary acceptance. That a man who was once erroneously thought to be one of baseball’s saviors, and then erroneously thought to be one of its villains, finally be allowed to be seen for what he truly is: a supremely gifted, yet supremely flawed man.
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- comeonman - Oct 26, 2009 at 10:28 AM
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LET THE CIRCUS BEGIN,,,,,,,,,, Mac, take you MEDICINE AND MOVE ON
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- Caroline - Oct 26, 2009 at 10:39 AM
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In the article, you mentioned that McGwire should have openly discussed the “cost benefit analysis” in his testimony to Congress – ok – so let’s discuss it. He made millions, and got his name in record books – BENEFIT. He may never get in the Hall and he no longer respected by true fans of the game – COST. Only he can decide whether it was worthwhile – but I feel no obligation to “ease his pain.”
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- lar @ wezen-ball - Oct 26, 2009 at 10:40 AM
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Good stuff, Craig. Well said.
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- PJC - Oct 26, 2009 at 10:52 AM
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Craig,
Is this your personal absolution for Mark? I hope so, because the purposeful scam he played on both baseball fans and players was more damaging I believe than 8 players throwing a series for money needed to pay rent.
Who was Mark McGwire before he bulked up on steroids? Only the most avid baseball card collecting fans might know and most of those would not have recognized him (in his steroid induced physical tansition) had it not been for his name printed on the cards. What would they remember of him before steroids? His trek from the minors to become an ok hitter for a short time?
What he played on the game, his fellow players, and especially the fans was a sad satirical joke! He didn’t remain a good hitter, no, he became an insulting aberration, hulking and overshadowing of one of the most honorable player and records held in all of baseball. What he owes to the fan base and especially to the Marris family goes well beyond tears at a senate hearing and certainly well beyond another sneaky return to baseball.
I hope when he least expects it a sports commentator jumps all over him with a direct question about what he did and expecially why he hasn’t had the hulking man guts to come clean about it.
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- AC - Oct 26, 2009 at 10:58 AM
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The reason Bonds and Clemens were made pariahs (beyond the fact that they were already hated, as you mention) was because they continued to lie absurdly in the face of significantly damning evidence. Pettitte stepped up and said “I took them and I’m sorry.” The media storm lasted all of two days, and he was forgiven. My issue with Mac (and Bonds and Clemens) is not so much whether or not he used them, but that he didn’t have the cajones to tell the truth. Who knows? Maybe those cajones were shrunken away. For now, I’ll say he could still come clean and be forgiven like Pettitte.
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- willmose - Oct 26, 2009 at 10:58 AM
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Craig, what world do you live in? If McGwire had admitted steriod use before Congress he would be in jail. Do you really think that Alberto Gonzales would have missed the chance to clamp down on illegal drug use? Did steriods actually cause the boom in homeruns? I think not. I think dry baseballs caused it. Why? Since 2006 the humidity of all baseballs has been controlled. The number of dingers has dropped dramatically. Denver is the poster child for dry baseball. But, of course, I could be wrong and all those homeruns in Denver were caused by teams juicing it up every time they came into Denver.
Also please explain to me how steriods are PED. Steriods make you bigger and stronger, but do not in themselves enhance performance. Bennies and cocaine are PED, your reflects are quick after taking them. Bennies are still used by over 10% of all MLB players (legally with a doctor’s note). Were any of the Yankees using PEDs last night?
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- CBR - Oct 26, 2009 at 10:58 AM
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I think this is a great opportunity to begin to put some closure on that era and move baseball forward. I’ve been a life long Cards fan and of course a Big Mac fan. I think he was the one that fell on his sword for every other player. It will good to see him back around the ballfield again and I think it will be good for the Cards and for baseball.
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- H25 - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:01 AM
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I think Mark McGwire should not be given a chance for redemption. For the egregious crimes he committed against humanity they should lock him up and throw away the key. Maybe even the death penalty.
(Do I sound like a baseball hall of fame voter or what?)
You know what? It was the culture of the time. Over and done with that thanks. I took them too. I’m a good person. I know other good people that took them as well.
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- Craig Calcaterra - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:03 AM
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Willmose: they never would have gone after him. Rafael Palmiero tested positive for PEDs mere weeks after telling Congress under oath that he had never taken a damn thing. If they didn’t go after him, they wouldn’t have gone after Mac.
But your point is taken that it’s not a good idea to admit to drug use before Congress. Still, McGwire knew what he was going to be asked about. If he had wanted to talk about it — which, as I said, could have been a good thing for baseball — his lawyer could have called up the committe counsel beforehand and said “Mac wants to talk freely about what he’s done and what he’s taken and why. He’s not going to out anyone else — he’s no snitch — but if you want to here some unvarnished truth about this stuff rather than have my guy take the fifth or ramble on without answering your questions, grant him limited immunity and he’ll talk.”
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- ed - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:05 AM
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Craig – are you upset that some ‘roiders have been villified more than the ones like Pettite and Pay-Wad who are now given heroic accolades?
McGwire lost a chance to speak openly, and has paid for it. Maybe he can reclaim some of the good-will he lost, maybe not. Seems like a crap shoot when some can say “I only did once to get better” or “I only did it for a couple seasons because the weight of expectations was too much” and get away with it, but some others can say nothing and get all the wrath of the fans on them.
I’m not saying I agree with McGwire’s non-comments – in fact I’d like to see the 2003 list published in its entirety – but when Pettite and Rodriguez get a pass when I feel they are obviously not coming 100% clean I feel there is a MAJOR DOUBLE STANDARD with a lot of fans and pundits.
Good luck to McGwire.
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- CAM - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:10 AM
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Craig, good article. I would suggest to you, though, that the reason Bonds, Clemens and McGwire became pariahs while others did not was not because they were finished with playing baseball, but because they never admitted to any wrongdoing and treated the fans like idiots. A-Rod and Pettitte and others at least made attempts to come clean, whether they were totally honest or not.
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- Joe - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:26 AM
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I have never really understood the steroid free-for-all. To be sure, I think steroids are harmful to those who use them. And I think they create the threat of harmfulness by users toward others through artificially induced psycho-belligerance that results from the overblown masculinity of testerone hyping in the human body. Moreso, I think their use is both unfair and coercive toward others to do the same, thus spreading the endangerment. The only thing they accomplish is a track record of accomplishment that says the individual doing the accomplishment is actually that good, when in fact they are just hyping on a high they can not possibly achieve or sustain naturally. In short, the user lives a lie in order to achieve the adulation they can not receive otherwise, and that they can not earn naturally – adulation that is then itself a lie. Translated, steroids are just plain wrong, and it is right to outlaw them.
But let’s get back to some semblance of reasonability. Back in the McGuire heyday, they weren’t illegal. They were used in widespread fashion in at least some professional sports. And it wasn’t considered any more wrong then by them then by so many others today over viagra or any number of other so-called enhancers that saturate the television airwaves – enhancers that are just as wrong and just as damaging even if not recognized as such. We dare to flood the airwaves with such trash, and in the process teach any number of vulnerable youth that using drugs for pleasure is good, yet we hypocritically castigate our sports “heroes” who bought into the lies at a time when the rest of us did so too.
So what’s the beef? Give the guy a break and give him some credit for having accepted what others taught as acceptible and nobody said otherwise. As for steroids, yes…let’s get them out of the system. But remember the fine line between time periods when it was acceptible and when it no longer can be given the multitude of evidence emerging over its’ dangers.
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- John - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:28 AM
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I will say this, there has never been a case of reported failed test, a trainer stating under oath, or a former team mate saying that Mac had played under the PEDs…his ‘crime’ he didn’t want to focus on the past, but should be done in the future about PEDs in baseball…hmmm If you ask me, which no one did, Mac’s treatment by MLB and sports writers does seem unfair!
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- Cubby Dave - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:36 AM
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Why do the Cards need a “high profile” hitting coach when they can observe the best natural hitter in baseball everyday in Albert?
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- Slugger - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:38 AM
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Let’s see if Barry Bonds gets the same chance at redemption. I seriously doubt it.
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- Dave - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:42 AM
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A teammate most certainly has said that McGwire used PEDs while playing. It’s in Canseco’s book.
To me, McGwire hiding for the past four years does not qualify him for any sort of absolution, much less an invitation back into MLB. Even A-Rod has shown more remorse. McGwire shows none.
He apparently believes that the public is stupid. He’s probably right.
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- Craig Calcaterra - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:43 AM
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To be fair, Bonds has a history of being a big jerk to people in general and McGwire, even in his self-imposed exile, had been helping a lot of hitters with techniques and stuff over the past few years (read the linked USA Today article from 2008).
Different people, different personalities. Even without the steroids stuff, Bonds probably didn’t want anything to do with the game after his playing days were over. And I say this as a guy who, generaly speaking, admires Bonds more than most people do.
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- doug culp - Oct 26, 2009 at 11:54 AM
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hitting coack, come on,,,guy couldnt hit is weight,,before and after steriods,,
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- shely - Oct 26, 2009 at 12:02 PM
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Let the guy try to make a living. If he is really a poor hitter, but was just on drugs, then he can’t possibly be help to the newer players. Even criminals out from the pen are allowed and encourged to get a job if they can. Lets see what happens to him on the job.
shely
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- Larry - Oct 26, 2009 at 12:04 PM
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No one else on the St. Louis team is a consistent hitter. Pujols is Pujols and doesn’t need a hitting coach to speak of. Others do. Matt Holiday won’t be back as the owner won’t pay the bucks. I also believe Larussa won’t be around much longer and he wants McGuire to have a normal post baseball playing days life. Mark is a wonderful man and father who did something he regrets and didn’t need too, and is sorry about. He hit 49 dingers as a 220 lb. rookie in one of the toughest HR parks, Oakland. His attorney advised him not to say anything at the Congressional hearing as there was legal exposure for 7 years. That is coming to an end soon, and then I think we will hear more about what he wrongly did. Bud Selig’s lie of saying to Congress he had no idea that baseball had a steroid problem is far worse than any player’s testimoney. He’s a flat liar or he was locked in a closet for 5 years. Baseball locker rooms looked like football locker rooms all of a sudden, and HRs were flying out in record numbers. Can a commissioner be so stupid? Not even Bud Selig.
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- Church of the Perpetually Outraged - Oct 26, 2009 at 12:06 PM
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hitting coack, come on,,,guy couldnt hit is weight,,before and after steriods,,
BA is one of the worst stats you can use to describe how good a hitter is. And again, what’s with the weird comma usage, are you that poster Steve?
@ CC, I assume even if McGwire admitted he took ‘roids during the ’98 HR chase, the statute of limitations would have run out by the time he testified before Congress? But as you mentioned, not going after Palmeiro meant they probably wouldn’t have gone after Big Mac either.
@ PJCWho was Mark McGwire before he bulked up on steroids?
This is laughable. He was a 23 year old rookie who lead the league in HR’s and won ROY. He’s been known since he came into baseball.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1987.shtml#ALroy
Oh yeah, and if there ever was an argument about people taking steroids in the ’60s or ’70s, Maris should be at the top of the list. He hits 28, 16, 39 and then 61 HR’s and never hits more than 33 in a season afterwards. Get off your high horse.
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- Mike - Oct 26, 2009 at 12:33 PM
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I think all of you who judge are a bunch of hypocrites.
This is a game – certainly not life or death.
How would you like the entire country to judge and evaluate your performance in the workplace? And don’t give me any of that “I’m a paying fan” bull. Government workers are paid using your tax dollars – does that give you the right to promote them, condemn them, and pass general judgment?
What a world that we live in – you live your lives so perfectly – and you have so much free time in your lives to worry about others transgressions.
Let these guys play ball. If you don’t agree with the way they lead their lives – then don’t watch them. Let MLB police the game. The game evolves as the players and technology evolve. It will never stop.
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- Simon DelMonte - Oct 26, 2009 at 12:33 PM
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Excellent bit of thoughtful writing, Craig. I don’t agree with all your conclusions, but you have the distinction of trying to treat both the broader issue and the case at hand with fairness and intelligence.
I would add that I think even Bonds hasn’t been as vilified. Yes, he’s a pariah, but he’s also still invoked as a great player all the time – how many times did I hear his 2002 playoff run mentioned in the past week without a trace of irony? But McGwire is relegated to the dustbin of baseball history, a one trick pony who took ‘roids, hit some dingers, and didn’t do much else. A successful stint as a batting coach could, if nothing else, show that he was more than just a home run king.
I also would note that there is a story here about Tony LaRussa. Not many men would take this sort of risk, but it’s clear LaRussa remains his own man, and also a man whose loyalty to friends transcends other concerns.
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- Mike - Oct 26, 2009 at 12:47 PM
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The Mike above me stated a lot of what I wanted to say, but I feel compelled to add…
McGwire was, and I’ll assume still is until proven otherwise, a good person. When he came to St. Louis, he took a 3 million dollar a year contract, and 1 million of that went to charity. You think at the time he couldn’t have made a lot more money somewhere else?
Was he a perfect example for people to follow? Apparently not. I’m of the opinion he should have come clean about what he did a while ago.
But to call him a horrible person and claim he only did it for the money and the fame… learn to judge a little less, please.
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- John - Oct 26, 2009 at 12:54 PM
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OK you say McGwire should have openly discussed the “cost benefit analysis” how about all you A – Hole sports writers and baseball in general that made billions on him, Sosa, Palmero, Bonds. Every one knew what they wer etaking, every one filled their pockets with th cash from their mamoth shots. You are all jokes and pathetic coninuning this witch hunt of thesesn great ball players. Taken or not taken, the roids do nothing to take away any of these players greatness. There is no hall of fame with out them in it.
