Mark McGwire Says He Didnt Need Steroids to Hit 70 Home Runs in 1998

Former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs to set the single-season home run record in 1998. McGwire also used steroids quite liberally during his baseball career. But 20 years later, McGwire has convinced himself that he could have just as easily hit 70 home runs even if he never used anabolic steroids.

McGwire insisted that he “absolutely” could have hit 70 home runs without steroids when asked by sportswriter Jayson Stark who covers MLB for The Athletic website. His hitting ability was innate and existed long before he ever considered using steroids according to McGwire. Of course, this isn’t something that McGwire can prove. It is only something that McGwire says he knows “deep down inside”.

“Absolutely,” McGwire told The Athletic in an article published on April 9, 2018 “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 …

“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.”

Stark asked McGwire the obvious question. Why did he use steroids if it didn’t make a difference in his hitting ability? McGwire blamed the MLB for his use of steroids. The lack of steroid testing created an environment he and everyone else could experiment with PEDs without anyone stopping them.

“There wasn’t anything going on (to keep the sport clean),” McGwire said. “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.”

The McGwire and Sammy Sosa home run chase revitalized the game of baseball in 1998. It also marked the beginning of baseball's so-called "steroid era".

McGwire ended his 16-year career with 583 home runs and 1,626 hits. McGwire admitted using steroids during a portion of his career but refused to provide explicit details about his steroid cycles and patterns of use. Other players and people in McGwire’s orbit have not been so stingy with the details.

Curtis Wenzlaff, who was McGwire’s steroid dealer in the 1990s, claimed that McGwire used steroid stacks including Winstrol (stanozolol), Equipoise (boldenone undecylenate) and testosterone. Jose Canseco, a one-time teammate of McGwire’s with the Oakland A’s and author of the book that blew the lid off baseball’s steroid era, claimed that McGwire used Winstrol, Deca Durabolin and human growth hormone (hGH) stacks. And even McGwire’s little brother Jay claimed that “Big Mac” used Deca Durabolin and hGH.

Nah. No one thinks that steroids made any difference whatsoever in McGwire’s baseball hitting performance. Good luck telling people that, Mr. McGwire.

Source:

Stark, J. (April 9, 2018). Stark: Twenty years later, Mark McGwire says he could have hit 70 home runs even without PEDs. Retrieved from theathletic.com/304776/2018/04/09/stark-twenty-years-later-mark-mcgwire-says-he-could-have-hit-70-home-runs-even-without-peds/