Former St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire is credited by some for saving baseball after the 1994 players’ strike when he and Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa had their famous home run race in 1998 — a race that ended with McGwire breaking Roger Maris’ single-season record of 61 homers by smashing 70.
But McGwire’s legacy was forever tarnished in 2010, when he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, including during his magical 1998 season.
Sosa, who wound up hitting 66 homers to finish second to McGwire in 1998, has also been tied to using PEDs.
In a story written by Jayson Stark of The Athletic, McGwire says he regrets using PEDs. But the 53-year-old McGwire, now a member of the San Diego Padres’ coaching staff, says he still would have hit 70 home runs without using them.
“I just know myself. I just know,” he told Stark. “I was a born home-run hitter. I mean, unfortunately, I did (take PEDs). And I’ve regretted that. I’ve talked about that. I regretted it. I didn’t need to. That’s the thing. Didn’t need to.
“Deep down inside, I know me as a hitter. And I know what I did in that box. And I know how strong my mind is. And I know what kind of hitter I became. And yes (he could have hit 70 homers without PEDs). Yes. Definitely.”
McGwire’s single-season record only held up for three years; San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds set the new mark of 73 homers in 2001. Bonds has also been tied to PEDs, and admitted to using steroids in 2011 — though he said he was misled by his trainer into believing he was taking flax seed oil.
Do you think McGwire would have still mashed 70 home runs without the aid of performance-enhancing drugs? Or were all those homers a mirage?
Let us know in the poll.
