Roid cheat says PEDs didn’t help
TWENTY years later, Mark McGwire still believes he didn’t need performance-enhancing drugs to hit 70 home runs.
The former Cardinals slugger went deep 70 times and tallied 147 RBI during the season he broke the single-season home run record previously held by Roger Maris, who belted 61 in 1961. Barry Bonds would hit 73 home runs in 2001.
“Absolutely. I just know myself. I just know. 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,” McGwire told The Athletic while discussing the 1998 season.
He added: “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.”
Over 12 years after his accomplishment, McGwire admitted to steroid use in an interview with Bob Costas. The slugger claimed that he didn’t use steroids to boost his level of performance on the field. “I believe I was given this gift. The only reason I took steroids was for health purposes,” McGwire said.
In that interview, Big Mac said he would use steroids occasionally throughout the ’90s, beginning in the 1989 offseason.
The 54-year-old told The Athletic he would have never touched the drugs if the league had the testing it has in place now.
“Unfortunately, there wasn’t any testing,” McGwire said. “There wasn’t anything going on (to keep the sport clean). The game has done a terrific job of doing what they’re doing now. I commend them for doing it. I think we all wish (testing) went on when we had played. But unfortunately, it didn’t.”
Since baseball started cracking down on steroid use, no one has come close to putting up the numbers Bonds and McGwire did. McGwire believes two Yankees have the potential to reach those numbers, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge.