Hot Rod! The Rowdy One

There are times in our lives when we have to lie. Sometimes we tell lies to protect not only ourselves, but also our loved ones from the harm our lies can cause or disappoint in some form or another. Then there are times that we lie because we don’t want anyone in our business. Sometimes you get caught in those lies, and sometimes you don’t. However, whatever the case may be for us to lie, we all have lied about something.

One of the biggest lies in professional sports was steroid usage among players in Major League Baseball. Baseball and steroids went hand-in-hand for years like peanuts and Cracker Jack’s at a baseball game. Steroid usage amongst baseball players was one of sports worst kept secrets, in a sport where your physical features are the most prevalent. There’s no padding in baseball for the exception of catchers and umpires behind first plate. Everyone else on the field is in their uniforms and that’s it. It’s hard not to look at an athlete in that type of setting and not speculate about their work-out habits and if they’re on any kind of PED. In addition, baseball had the worst steroid testing, if there was any form of testing, in the history of pro-sports. It was like taking an oral exam:

Player X: Hi, I’m here for steroid drug testing
Drug Tester: Okay, come right in.
Player X: Sooo, you want me to go into that stall and pee in this cup
Drug Tester: Sure, but before you go in, let me ask you this: are you on any form of performing enhancing drug?
Player X: Ummmmm, No! No, I’m not!
Drug Tester: Oh, well that works for me. Don’t worry about a urine sample, you’re free to go. Keep playing hard.

For years, baseball, and sports fan in general, have always speculated on which player was on some kind of performance enhancement substance or drug (PEDs). We watched athletes start their careers with the figure of the Average Joe, only to end their career looking like The Mighty Thor. We hold forums about the topic of steroids and PEDs at stadiums, arenas, sports bars and in the comfort of our own homes when we see a player with forearms that resemble Popeye’s. Our sports life, especially within the past 10-15 years, is plagued with steroids usage amongst our athletes and it has become part of our sports culture.

Therefore, it was no shock to the system that Major League Baseball’s one time home run king, Mark McGwire, admitted to using steroids and growth hormones throughout his career and during his quest to break Roger Maris’ home run record of 61 HRs in the 1998 season; the season, in my  and other people’s opinion, that saved baseball .

Why use PEDs knowing the type of physical, mental, and societal repercussions that comes with the usage? Well, there are those athletes who use prescribed steroids because of an injury of sorts and it helps them heal faster. Then there are those who use the substance to build on their physical attributes so they can perform at a higher level, stay prevalent in the waning years of their sports career, or to keep up with the Jones in terms of staying competitive with other talent.

McGwire denied the usage of steroids his entire career. Whether it was during an interview about steroids and his performance, a question about his name being mentioned in Jose Canseco’s book Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, “Big” Mac had no problem denying his steroid usage. Even in front of a Congressional Committee, during a congressional hearing about steroid usage in baseball. McGwire gave a very perplexed statement on forgetting about the past and moving ahead into the future when it came to steroid usage in sports.

He admitted to using Androstenedione or Andro during the Chase for 62 in 1998, but that was nothing because you could have gotten that at your local GNC. However, fans and the media went ape sh*t over the Andro situation and wanted his head on platter for using the substance. They needed a “smoking gun” to link “Big” Mac to steroids so his chase for the record could be invalid and the cat could finally be out of the bag about steroid usage among MLB players. Now the truth is out and for most of us, our initial reaction is, “No sh*t Sherlock. Tell us something we don’t already know.”

So now that he has admitted the using steroids throughout his career, what do we go from here? Well, let’s start with why he decided to come out now as oppose to coming out with this admission five years ago. One of the reasons why he had not admitted to using steroids sooner is that he wanted to immunity for his testimony during the Congressional Hearings. When that wasn’t possible, he was advised by his lawyers to stay away from the topic. Hence, the very confusing statement he made at the hearings.

Secondly, the St. Louis Cardinals hired McGwire to be the hitting coach for the upcoming season of baseball. It’s better for him to come out now, as opposed to during the season, with his admission so this situation will not be a distraction to the team. Reporters would have flogged their pre and post game interviews with questions about McGwire’s and steroids. Who needs that distraction when your team is in the middle of a pennant chase?

Finally, he claims that this has nothing to do with the fact that’s he’s been snubbed for the Baseball Hall of Fame for the past few years. I think that statement is a load of bunk. He has a World Series ring and that’s all well and good. However, if you’re voted into the Hall of Fame, in my opinion, that’s the highest honor any athlete can receive. The reason is that a committee of your peers does that decision. People who have played the same game you’ve played your entire life, and understand the ups and downs of the game, welcome you into a fraternity of immortals.

Not everyone is worthy to be part of that fraternal order and you have to prove your worth for consideration. Nevertheless, when any act of cheating is involved, the “gods” frown on that act and you’re banished from “Olympus” until they see fit to let you in. In some instances, that may mean never. Just ask Pete Rose how that’s working out for him. However, in a time when most of the players in baseball were using steroids and other forms of PEDs, you have to ask yourself this: is it really cheating when the majority is doing it?

What do we do as fans about the situation? Do we forgive and forget, or do we heckle him the first chance we get and make it known that we will never forget? We move on. A-Rod, Pettitte, we forgave them when they admitted their personal battles with steroids, and they’re still playing. McGwire has no intentions of coming back to play. He’s a coach now and it’s not like his presence is going to make a lick of difference on the field when the Cardinals are playing. All he’s going to do is teach guys how to hit the ball. As long as he tells then to stay away from the “juice”, then it’s alright.

So don’t sit there and start calling him a hypocrite and all of the other derogatory statements you can think of about McGwire. You’re no better than he is. Yes he lied about steroidsu. He did what he had to do to keep his job and stay competitive. How many of you have had to do something you knew was wrong in order to keep your job? Exactly.  I’m not saying it’s right, but sometimes those are the things you have to do to stay employed and live your life.

Is he late with his admission? Very. Is it too little, too late for damage control?  No, there’s still plenty of room and time to salvage his image. However, if you, as fans, sit there and start pointing the finger at him, you’re living a lie and we’ve seen what lying can do to a person. Isn’t that right Mr. McGwire?

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