On a day when MLB announced its PED suspensions, one of the biggest names to admit steroid use sat down to talk.
Mark McGwire had a great career, but in an interview with ESPN Los Angeles’ Arash Markazi, the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ hitting coach said he wishes he was never part of the steroids era.
“I wish I was never a part of it,” McGwire said. “Just get rid of it. If it’s better to have bigger suspensions, then they’re going to have to change it.”
“I wish there were things in place earlier,” McGwire said. “They were put in in 2003 I think. I just really hope and pray that this is the end of it. Everybody, especially the players, don’t want any more part of it, and I hope this is the end of it. … I wish I was never part of it.”
McGwire admitted to steroid use in 2010 before becoming the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Now with the Dodgers, McGwire has another chance to reflect on how performance-enhancing drugs are ruining the game.
But is McGwire being sincere or is he just trying to save his dreams of making it into Cooperstown?
The Steroids Era
There are some that argue that you vote players into the Hall of Fame based on if they were one of the best players of their era.
When guys like McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro played, it was the steroid era.
Despite the fact that it was cheating, it was still a part of the game and something that gave baseball fans a lot to be excited about.
Was McGwire one of the best players of his era? Absolutely.
He batted .263 with 583 home runs and 1,414 RBI. I’d say those numbers, under normal circumstances, would be Hall-worthy.
He and Sosa gave fans an exciting home-run chase in 1998, helping bring baseball back to relevancy in American households.
So, the numbers are there, but the prevailing attitude that cheaters must be kept out of the Hall, no matter what era, remains. Just look at Pete Rose, who was banned from the game for gambling on baseball.
McGwire Doesn’t Think He Should Go In
The biggest tell here is that McGwire has already said he doesn’t think he would vote himself for induction into the Hall of Fame.
During an interview on The Dan Patrick Show in 2012, McGwire said, “No, not by the guidelines they have now,” McGwire told Patrick. “I’ll never fight it. I totally respect the Hall of Fame. I have never fought. They have rules and restrictions, I totally abide by them.”
So if McGwire is saying he wouldn’t vote himself in because of his past, then there’s no reason why voters should.
McGwire understands the need to respect the integrity of Cooperstown.
Voters Are Speaking
When you look at the 2013 Hall of Fame voting results, a lot of voters are showing they aren’t tolerating steroid users.
McGwire was 15th in the voting, receiving 16.9 percent of the vote. That was down from 19.5 percent the previous year.
In fact, of the players on the ballot involved in steroid speculation, only Roger Clemens had half of the 427 votes needed for election. And he only beat that by one vote (214). Bonds had 206 votes, while Sosa had 71 and Palmeiro had 50.
Regardless of what players linked to steroids say now that their careers are over, the voters will continue to speak with their votes.
And if 2013’s vote says anything, that doesn’t look good for the likes of McGwire, Bonds, Sosa, Palmeiro and Clemens.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com