1. 

   mickey
   

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   I'm not a big pro-sports fan. I prefer college sports to pro, and solo sports, like tennis and swimming, to team. But this bears a little discussion:

   Now that Mark McGuire is about to take the job of Cardinals' hitting coach, he decides to fess up -- finally -- about his use of steroids throughout his career. And this guy not only lied about it repeatedly, and for many years, he lied to Congress. Let me see if I remember correctly: Lying to Congress is a federal offense for which he can be charged with "contempt of Congress." I think he should be charged. I also think the Cards need to come up with a very convincing reason to keep him in his new job.

   Mark McGuire is what I would call... a real putz.

   http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/sports/baseball/12mcgwire.html?hp

   Posted 3 years ago #
2. 

   Rudy
   

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   thanks for sharing Mickey. Quote from the article:

   “I have the chance to do something that I wish I was able to do five years ago. I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come. It’s time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected. I used steroids during my playing career and I apologize.”

   I'm pretty sure Congress gave him the chance to say that MANY times. All these juiced baseball players are really a shame to an otherwise great sport. The resposibility falls on the individuals for sure...but I really blame the inept commissioner Bud Selig for letting the game get to this state.

   Posted 3 years ago #
3. 

   onederfullone
   

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   I agree the time to be strait with the public passed a long time ago, and he should not have gotten a pass on that. But we know how it goes, and how little it matters...

   Posted 3 years ago #
4. 

   Ballard Dad
   

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   truly sad. When I try to look on the bright side I think that maybe by the time my son is old enough to play, the game will have been cleaned up. Hopefully new rules will be instated and be effective enough to prevent this sort of disgrace in the future. I still have my old McGuire cards from his time on the Oakland A's. I used to love McGuire and Consenco in that era! Now look at 'em. Sad.

   Posted 3 years ago #
5. 

   Edog
   

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   "the game will have been cleaned up" Not going to happen. People are suckers to see Dingers fly out of the park, and this is what they pay for.

   I was 11 rows back from the visiting dugout last year. The size of each an every player was absurd. There is no doubt in my mind they were all juiced. Go back and look at highlight film from the 70s for comparison. There used to be little wiry guys who could run, hit, catch and throw, now its all about being giant with bicepts as big as your head. That used to be freakish, now its the norm.

   Honestly, I don't know why baseball gets singled out, and football goes unnoticed? People don't get that big becuase of training and good genes alone.

   Posted 3 years ago #
6. 

   RB
   

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   I think that McGuire deserves the shame that he brought upon himself, and he should be left out of the Hall of Fame. In my opinion, the worst part of it is that kids and young adults will think that they need to cheat to be successful. I think it's naive when players say that steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs didn't make them better. That really pisses me off when they say that. Does McGuire wish he never took steroids even if it means he would have never gotten those mega-contracts? I seriously doubt that. The fact is, sometimes cheaters prosper (unfortunately).

   However, society is full of "cheaters", some of whom contributed to the mess our economy is in right now. I love baseball, but its just a game.

   Posted 3 years ago #
7. 

   jj
   

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   I guess you can say that he and Sosa revived baseball after the strike, but it's still disappointing. I remember sitting in a bar watching him hit the record home run and thinking to myself that he had to be juiced up.

   It's a shame because he seemed like a good hitter anyway (like Bonds), but they all caught caught up in the game. It's also a shame that fans don't seem to care about it anymore - it's always win at all costs, don't get caught while your a member of my team, etc.

   I often wonder if the underlying marketing of sports is the real culprit. In order to sell the sport, the league often sells these huge rivalries between teams to try to get fans deeply entrenched. Often it ends up going overboard with people wishing death towards other members of their rival team, fans, etc. People are starting to cheer when members of the opposing teams are hurt, etc.

   I'd rather have my team beat the opposition at it's best - not because someone knocked out the QB. If someone on the team I support is caught for taking steroids, the fans should be deeply disappointed, and make the league feel it in their pocketbook.

   Posted 3 years ago #
8. 

   mickey
   

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   There is so much money in pro sports. I think, in a way, they get addicted to the big paychecks, just like they get addicted to the adulation of the fans, whenever they hit one out of the park.

   And you're right, Edog. Thirty and forty years ago the players were small and wiry. It's why they could steal those bases. I grew up going to old LA Dodgers games (please don't throw stones at me) and Davey Lopes was my favorite second baseman. Remember Willie Davis? Small guy! And then there was Sandy Koufax, whom I saw pitch in a World Series game, I believe in 1966.

   They don't make 'em like that anymore. Sure, some of the old players were real jerks, personality-wise, and some of them drank too much. But the steroids thing just reeks of phoniness and deception. ANd then there's all that money the A's and the Cards made from selling tickets to those who craved seeing homers slapped over the fence...

   Posted 3 years ago #
9. 

   cd6
   

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   What I don't get is why they hired him to be the hitting coach.

   Random Player: Gee Mark, I just can't seem to get any homers. What should I do?
   Mark McGuire: Well, I just took steroids.
   Random Player: Thanks for the help, Mark. I'll try that. No wait, get f'ed.

   Posted 3 years ago #
10. 

    gcm
    

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    I think the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports is a tricky one. Let's say you are in your chosen profession, and have trained for years to be in that profession. You finally have gotten your foot in the door in the upper echelon of your profession. At the highest ranks, imagine that there are performance enhancing drugs that can improve your professional work (maybe they make you design better buildings, win more legal cases, make more accurate diagnoses, cook better food, etc). Some people take them, some don't. Either way, the leaders of your profession don't care, and there is no risk of going to jail. Maybe the hard work has taken a toll on you, and these drugs can help you maintain a high level of performance in your chosen profession. You've been training for years for this specific career; you probably don't have an easy backup choice. The rewards of maintaining or elevating your performance are substantial. What do you do?

    We can talk about cleaning up the game, trying to emphasize sports less, maybe reforming salary scales so that the payoff of taking PEDs doesn't outweigh the risk. However, medical technology outpaced these in the past 2 decades, so PEDs are a reality. It's a messy situation but it isn't the first messy situation baseball has faced (gambling, segregation, drug use in the 70s and 80s). It seems a bit harsh to point fingers at a few people and say 'shame on you'.

    For what it's worth, I would have appreciated McGwire being honest in front of Congress.

    Posted 3 years ago #
11. 

    mickey
    

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    Funny, I thought the use of steroids in baseball was considered a major violation, not subject to personal excuses by those who use them.

    "It seems a bit harsh to point fingers at a few people and say 'shame on you'."

    If saying "shame on you" is considered "harsh" then wow, that's even funnier.

    Posted 3 years ago #
12. 

    twenty-ten
    

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    Come back, little Joey Cora. All is forgiven.

    Posted 3 years ago #
13. 

    gcm
    

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    Use of PEDs in baseball was strictly banned in 2006 with MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Until then, the waters were rather murky.

    I should have expanded my dramatically understated "shame on you" to mean a few people are bearing the burden of all of steroid usage in baseball. These few are being very publicly taken to task for what was a personal decision of questionable, not damnable, ethics.

    Posted 3 years ago #
14. 

    Rory
    

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    twenty-ten, I'm laughing. I can *never* think of Joey Cora without "little" prefacing his name. This only reminds me of him (weeping on the bench back in '95) so much! Thanks for the memory.

    Posted 3 years ago #
15. 

    BallardENTP
    

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    So what you're saying, gem, is that from a player's point of view, it wasn't necessarily wrong to take PEDs before 2006. And that, in a way, the benefits of taking them (fame, money, helping the the team and league hit their revenue goals) far outweighed the negatives (as you say, none whatsoever other than risk of getting caught/publicly shamed).

    That's an interesting take.

    Posted 3 years ago #
16. 

    BlackSheep
    

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    "People are starting to cheer when members of the opposing teams are hurt, etc."

    Really? That's horrible. I've never been a big pro sports fan, but went to a lot of games when I was in high school, and everyone there was concerned when anyone got hurt - our team or their team didn't matter when injuries occured. And we were high school kids! That is so appalling.

    Posted 3 years ago #
17. 

    Ernie
    

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    @ mickey

    Ichiro is a modern example of what you're talking about. And the funny thing is he does way more to help the team win by hitting at least one base hit in pretty much every game, and stealing bases, than most hopped up home run slugger ever could.

    He can knock one out once in a while too.....usually when it's needed the most.

    Posted 3 years ago #
18. 

    Edog
    

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    Yes, Ichiro is big but the American League DH is a great showcase of size outside of the NFL. I saw Jim Thome play when the Mariners went against the White Sox. Last time I'd seen Thome was in Cleveland in the 90s. Hes gotten much much bigger - I wonder how a grown man grows that much over 10 years at a time in life when most men are struggling to keep body mass. I mean, most of this abuse simply does not pass the laugh test!

    Posted 3 years ago #
19. 

    onederfullone
    

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    BlackSheep, they don't make them like they used to.

    Posted 3 years ago #
20. 

    Ernie
    

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    Edog, Ichiro is small.

    Posted 3 years ago #
21. 

    Edog
    

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    "Edog, Ichiro is small." ???? He looks pretty big to me.

    Posted 3 years ago #
22. 

    Rudy
    

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    5'11" - 170lbs...not exactly a big guy. ;)

    Posted 3 years ago #
23. 

    Edog
    

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    Wow he looks so much taller, and bulkier!

    Posted 3 years ago #
24. 

    mickey
    

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    Ernie - You're right, Ichiro is pretty thin and he's a great ballplayer. He's also considered a real TEAM player, which is all too rare in the age of overly-paid home run sluggos. Great players without attitude -- wish we could have more of them. I was working at Fenway Park the year the Sox and the A's battled in the playoffs (which the Sox lost, four games straight). Canseco was the A's jerk. Clemens faced the stands and flipped-off his hometown crowd. Not a pretty sight.

    Go M's!!!

    Posted 3 years ago #
25. 

    leeanimal
    

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    Remember the big show McGuire put on with Roger Maris's family at the game when he broke Maris's home run record in 1998? He laid it on really thick. I would think it would feel hollow to break that long standing record as a cheater. I can only imagine what Maris's family has to say about him (AND Bonds) Mums the word about Sosa, of course.

    Posted 3 years ago #

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