He choked. He blew it. He cracked under the pressure. The chance of a lifetime ruined.
Whatever you want to say about Mark McGwire happened — or didn't happen at last week's congressional hearing on steroids. The former major league slugger testified, along with several other current and former players about the use of steroids and its impact on the game of baseball.
Heading into the hearing, many observers viewed it as a chance for current and former players to clear their names in one of the most talked about issues in the last decade. But while sluggers Rafael Palmeiro, Sammy Sosa, and Frank Thomas were outspoken in their denials of steroid use, McGwire repeatedly refused to answer questions regarding his alleged use of the illegal drugs.
His legitimacy came into question after Jose Canseco published his tell-all book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big," and more recently in a published report in the New York Daily News, which cited documents linking him to steroids in the early 1990s.
Repeatedly telling members of Congress, "I'm not hear to talk about the past," McGwire looked visibly nervous in front of the panel. His refusal to talk about the subject only made matters worse. And some see it as an admission of guilt.
McGwire and Sammy Sosa are credited with resurrecting baseball in 1998 with their historic pursuit of Roger Maris' single-season home run record. McGwire hit 70 home runs that year and came under fire for his use of Android, a performance-enhancing drug that is now banned by Major League Baseball. And after years of denying he used steroids, McGwire folded in front of a national audience, bringing his legacy and great accomplishments into question.
He clearly had the most to gain from the hearing and wound up being the biggest loser of all the players. McGwire told the panel he will do whatever he can to help get steroids out of high school and college locker rooms, a place where steroids have become more and more common. But he refused to talk about his past role in alleged steroid use. Now it seems as if Canseco, who is not the most credible person in the world, was actually telling the truth.
Why didn't McGwire say anything about it? It wasn't as if he was one of the players under investigation in the BALCO trial. McGwire chose to go mum at the wrong time. And for that, he is perceived as guilty. Even his former manager, Tony LaRussa, has doubts about his former player, who he's defended on several occasions in the past. LaRussa told reporters in Florida at the Cardinals' spring training facility that he was disappointed his former player didn't set the record straight regarding steroids. He felt McGwire relied on his lawyers too much in the statements he said and that hurt him.
LaRussa wasn't the only one speaking out against Big Mac's lackluster performance at the hearings. A Missouri representative called for McGwire's name to be removed from a stretch of highway in St. Louis, which was dedicated to McGwire after his 70 home run season in 1998.
For a person who seemed larger-than-life while he was on the baseball diamond, McGwire's poor performance at the hearing will have a lasting effect on his legacy. McGwire, who hit 583 home runs over a 16-year career with the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals, will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Veterans Committee shouldn't look kindly on a cheater — if that is what McGwire turns out to be.
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