McGwire Emerges

Mark McGwire emerges from his undisclosed location and speaks to a New York Times reporter:

In this instance, McGwire agreed to an interview with the understanding that it would focus on his work as a hitting tutor, and not on other issues. But at one point, McGwire did address the criticism he has received for being linked to performance-enhancing drugs.

“I’m such an easygoing guy,” he said. “I don’t need to sweep away any bitterness.” His foray into tutoring, he said, is not about what it can do for him, but what he has to offer. “I believe I have so much knowledge to give and help people improve as baseball players,” he said.

For the four major leaguers who were in his midst this winter — Matt Holliday and Bobby Crosby of the Athletics, and Chris Duncan and Skip Schumaker of the Cardinals —McGwire’s guidance was like a cross between fantasy camp and physics class.

I have been critical of McGwire’s testimony before Congress in 2005 and believe that he, as a retired player when everything went crazy, was in a unique position to defuse the steroid hysteria with information and candor and missed that opportunity completely. I don’t believe in a death penalty in baseball for PEDs, however, so I would hope that the game would welcome Mark McGwire back to it if he truly wishes to return and try to add something positive, be it coaching hitters or otherwise.


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Jason @ IIATMS
15 years ago

Did he see his shadow?  I’m sick of winter.

APBA Guy
15 years ago

I second the above, and if he did anything positive with Crosby he can put “Miracle Worker” on his business card.

Paul
15 years ago

From what I’ve read in the past, he helped Matt Holliday develop his high leg-kick timing mechanism which led (directly or indirectly, I’m not sure) to Holliday being much more consistent at the plate. If you look at Holliday’s minor league numbers, they weren’t too awe-inspiring so I’m willing to give McGwire some credibility as a hitting instructor/adviser/whatever you want to call it…

RoyceTheBaseballHack
15 years ago

Like a lot of us, I’ve spent a lot of time reading up on this topic. Offhand, I’m skeptical that your assessment of
  McGuire coming clean at the hearings a few ago would have diffused some of the hype.  Would McGuire’s admission of guilt have tempered the reaction to A-Rod’s exposure and admission?  I don’t think it would have affected it in any way. Further, I don’t see A-Rod’s experience diluting any subsequent bombshell admissions that are sure to come. I don’t know who they’ll come from, but they’ll come.  Do you see my point?  I think the sports community; the press, the Player’s Union, MLB Execs- all of them, are destined, no, cursed,  to keep reliving this madness every time a big-name player either comes clean or is exposed. To that end, I’ve assessed The Mitchell Report as useless tripe.
Worse of all, they’re going to drag all of us along with them behind the dang truck when it happens. Great- can’t wait. Where’s the freakin’ Kool-aid..?  There is no question that Mark’s own world would be better place to live in now; I think he can kiss a HoF induction good buy, regardless, but I doubt he’d be living under the stigma he’s under. I have further doubt he’ll ever pry himself away from it.  He can’t come clean now without the considerable risk of a Perjury charge being leveled on him by Congress, so he’s more or less stuck in a place where he has to bank on people just accepting him with the hint of impropriety swirling about. I think, eventually, he’ll crack, and unwittingly spill his guts to some reporter, or some blogger who has tape running when it happens.  Personally, I came to terms with the whole PED thing a while ago and I’m ready to move on. Please, somebody,  anybody,  everybody- let us hasten to the first weekend in April. Please!!

ditmars1929
15 years ago

OH, screw McGwire.  The guy’s a total douche bag.

JamieBBaseball
15 years ago

I think McGwire has certainly missed a couple of opportunities to if not come clean, not look like a total buffoon. That said, he doesn’t owe us as fans anything. The sooner we realize that – one – cheating has been going on in baseball for years – whether it’s greenies, sharpening your cleats, using a spitball, or taking PEDS, this is nothing new. It’s merely the newest way. That’s not to say it’s okay, but lets not pretend like these guys are the first to try and cheat. It’s good that MLB is now enforcing PED rules.

And Second, we need to realize that while maybe not the majority, but at least a substantial minority of players were using PED’s in the nineties. For whatever reason, though, we only get really angry about Bonds, McGwuire, and guys of their stature. That’s unfair. The steroid era was a sad one, but so was the violent, racist era that players like Ty Cobb played in. PED’s is just something else that baseball had to endure, change it’s rules to prohibit, and then move on.

We should move on, too.

BuschLeaguer
15 years ago

McGwire’s missed every opportunity to turn a lemon into lemonade … all he needs to do is come clean … admit he goofed … create a foundation like Dick Butkis’ I PLAY CLEAN … and all of a sudden he;s a hero again and a shoo-in for Cooperstown. MLB needs someone to take the whole roids epic and put some feel-good closure on it. Who better to do it than Big Mac?