In the world of sports, consumers want their athletic heroes to constantly lift them out of a slog, but do so while remaining clean and noble in their actions. Imperfection is only craved if it enables the legend while fitting in with our moral compasses. What if someone rescued a sport while bending the rules?
Let me make myself clear: I wouldn't trade Mark McGwire's reign in St. Louis Cardinal red for a better spot on the moral high ground of baseball fanatics and historians. At a time when the game was losing its luster and the pace of the game only mattered if you were a New York Yankees fan, McGwire and Sammy Sosa turned baseball on its head with their home run battle in 1998, a mad dash for Roger Maris' single season record. Like a boxer finding a late wind, McGwire pulled away late, collecting 70 home runs.
He would go on to hit 65 in 1999, 32 in 2000, and 29 home runs in his final season in 2001. All together, McGwire cranked 220 home runs in just 545 games with the Cardinals, arriving on the doorstep with a thud in the middle of 1997, but leaving with a poignant bang as he passed the torch to Albert Pujols. Before Pujols made Cardinal Nation stop when he reached the plate, the world quit what they were doing when McGwire walked to the plate to the thunderous sounds of Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle".
McGwire was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame this afternoon, a welcome return for a guy who isn't looked upon equally by fans these days. You see, years after McGwire stepped away from the game, when the steroid user witch hunt began, he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs during his playing days. In addition to the yet to be banned androstenedione and HGH that many knew he was using during his final days, McGwire tearfully opened up in an interview.
The fallout hasn't been entirely kind. While McGwire found work with the Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and currently the San Diego Padres as a hitting coach, people still have a problem with the realization that their Redwood hero's story had a catch at the end. A plot twist that many didn't adore or can live with in their determination of what is right and wrong in the game.
The Baseball Hall of Fame denied McGwire after a few tries, with the highest vote percentage of 24 simply not cutting it. With the allegations surrounding the current home run king for single season and career, Barry Bonds, the whispers will never go away about who took what and for how long.
Here's how much I care about all of that: Nada. I couldn't care less about what McGwire and others did back in a day where baseball wasn't even policing the substance or usage of drugs in the game, other than politely saying to the masses, "hey, that's not cool if you use that stuff". There were no suspensions or public shaming. Managers turned their head, teammates probably indulged more than many actually know, and fans ate it all up. Why is it so important to spin our head now and have a problem?
Think about it. Hank Aaron once took amphetamines, which classifies as a PED. Mickey Mantle threw everything but the pharmacy lab coat into his body during his playing days, but he's a great hitter and owner of a big personality to so many in the game. Several in the game of baseball over the past one hundred years took something to give their bodies an advantage over the next guy. Do you think Stan Musial would have said no to something that could have added years onto his playing career?
One of the most annoying crowds in the world are the moral police. The people who deny a magnificent hitter his due because he took something thousands of players did. The only reason people ridicule McGwire is the fact that he had enormous success in the Majors. If he was a 4A player with minimal skill who tried a PED, who would care?
If McGwire was so aided by steroids, why did he smash 154 home runs in his first four seasons as a full time MLB player? Did steroids help him later on in his career? Sure. Should he be singled out due to finding success while others are just let off the hook? No.
Let's be honest. Do you think taking PEDs helps you hit 543 home runs? If the answer is yes, find a wall and throw your head through it. And come on back here.
Whether you agree with me or not, would you really trade in the 1998 and 1999 seasons for sounder sleep at night about your high paid heroes? Before you run to the mountain and back of provocative thinking, remember this: while steroids reached the banned list in baseball in 1991, testing didn't begin until 2003. 12 years after it was known to be on the naughty list, testing began. Do you really think thousands of players weren't juicing during those 12 years? Come on. Don't use your strength on flawed baseball players.
1998 was my first year on the Manual Scoreboard. I'll never forget watching every long ball fly through the air at old Busch. The faces of fans lighting up like never before. Busch Stadium being packed every night. McGwire didn't hurt you with what he did. He gave you a reason to love baseball again. In the end, it wasn't all legal, but I have a feeling many of us knew something wasn't adding up as home runs totals of 70 and 65 were put up by more than one player.
It didn't help that McGwire wasn't as charismatic as Mantle or as sweet as Aaron and Musial. A sense of humor gets you far in a game bludgeoned by inferiority complexes. He didn't like doing a ton of press or answering questions. He simply liked hitting baseballs a very long way. I don't know the man nor have I ever met him or saw him be truly nice to a fan. This isn't a few words about a gifted friend. I just know what I saw in 1998 was amazing and a few visual effects or asterisks don't take away the energy that St. Louis felt for three years.
One day near the end of the 2001 season, I was sitting around with a couple guys on the scoreboard. We talked about McGwire and the possibility that this larger than life man was being assisted by something. There was a moderation about whether it would hinder how we felt about his time in St. Louis. One or two weren't sure about, it, while others didn't like the idea of it. I sat there and said with a point blank face, "I don't care. That was the kind of thing we may never see again."
Maybe I am an imperfect person for still looking back on McGwire's reign as a wonderful moment in Cardinals history. A few people have asked what would I tell my kid when he heard about the story. I'd tell my son Vinny that sometimes people mess up, don't do things according to plan or rules, but you should know the whole story before you make a judgment. And when you make that judgment, don't be afraid to stand next to your beliefs, even if they don't mesh with others. I would tell him it's okay to like something that isn't preferred or perfect if it made you feel good.
Nothing is ever as logical or morally sound as we want it to be in life. Everything contains a "but". Our heroes are far from perfect and make mistakes. It all comes down to what you consider okay or not okay. 2003, MLB started testing for steroids. Many years later, there was a 50 game suspension for first time users. Mark McGwire stopped playing in 2001.
You want to know what else? Unlike Rafael Palmeiro, he never lied about his usage of PEDs.
20 years ago, Mark McGwire arrived in St. Louis. He would finish his time with the Cardinals with a .683 slugging percentage and 1.1111 OPS. He averaged 50 home runs and 114 walks over his 16 year career. That's incredible and worth remembering.
Big Mac wasn't perfect, but he did something special in St. Louis. That deserves to be honored, which is what happened today. Welcome to the Cardinals Hall of Fame, big guy.
