Marky-Mark Used Roidy-Roids

It has been nearly five years since Mark McGwire went before the Supreme Court with Rafael Palmeathead, Sammy Sosa and others and preached "I'm not here to talk about the past". But on Monday, Big Mac admitted to using steroids sporadically during the 90s, including during the 1998 season when he and Sosa combined for 500 home runs. However, McGwire says the HGH did not improve his career as a baseball player other than to help him recover from injuries more quickly.

Now, HOFers are coming out and making statements about the issue. Goose Gossage thinks players like McGwire, Sosa, Barry Bonds and others linked to HGH should never be allowed in the HOF because of their lack of integrity. Willie McCovey says that he would still vote for McGwire because he resurrected baseball in the late 90s.

All of the above is true...

...from a certain point of view.

By admitting to steroid use, McGwire says he got a huge weight off of his shoulders. He also secured his fate as a never-HOFer. He was a fringe candidate anyways, even though he had 583 homeruns, because of his poor batting average, inconsistency and lack of defensive ability. Even so, he possibly could have been a last-year ballot vote-in. He either realized he had no chance of getting in the HOF and just wanted to relieve the stress or he wanted to clear everything up so he could carry on with his new job with St. Louis without any distractions. Both reasons are legit.

As for McGwire saying the steroids did not help his baseball career other than heal injuries quicker is crap. I have no doubt that the guy was a great power hitter, but to hit 70 homeruns in a season is beyond his talent level. I could imagine Big Mac hitting 50 homeruns once or twice in a clean career, but the fact that he was a career .250 hitter with not that many doubles makes me think that without the juice, a good amount of his over-fences would turn into two-base hits. This is not to mention that without the steroids, even McGwire admits, his health was a huge question; he may not have been on the field enough to reach even 400 homeruns.

Known needler Jose Canseco is now in the mix because, although McGwire admitted to using steroids, he denied injecting with Canseco in bathroom stalls. Canseco is outraged because this questions his "integrity" and the facts in his books. He took a polygraph test about McGwire's doings and passed it, and he wants McGwire to do the same. This story is going to turn from a mess to a slimy mess if Canseco gets involved.

To go from this guy...

...to this guy...

...without PEDs is a pretty absurd notion.

I suppose it is up to the individual whether to forgive him or not. My personal opinion is to keep the records, without asterisks, because PEDs were not technically illegal until 2001. You really have to feel bad for guys who did it straight like Mickey Mantle and Henry Aaron, as well as the MLB players in the late 80s and 90s who played with or against McGwire, Sosa, Palmiero, etc. But at least the guys who did it straight will go on to lead more normal, probably longer lives, while the steroid users will most likely have health issues and complications due to PEDs. So in the big picture, who is the winner?