The St. Louis Cardinals are bringing Mark McGwire back to major league baseball as a hitting coach. After disappearing from the baseball scene after breaking the single-season home run record and then denying any use of performance enhancing drugs to the US Senate, McGwire is coming back in 2010. Big Mac was seen as the all-american boy that had one of the most beautiful swings in baseball and took full advantage of his status when he hit 70 home runs in 1998 and then followed that up with 65 in '99.
From 1996-1999 Mark McGwire had a total of 253 home runs. At the height of the steroid era, Mark McGwire averaged 63 home runs per season. I'm not a scientist, but Andro can't do that. McGwire was always a great hitter, but he was also a smaller version of himself when he played in Oakland until Jose Canseco came along. Big Mac was a junior whopper before he broke the home run record in St. Louis at 6'5", 225 LBS.
How Will McGwire Be Welcomed Back
Mark McGwire was great for baseball when baseball needed someone to be great. The home run race between McGwire and Sosa had gotten all the attention that major league baseball wanted it to get. It's obvious during that time period that the powers that be in baseball turned a blind eye to what the players were doing. Let's use performance enhancing drugs and steroids to inflate stats and hit the long ball and when we get too much attention and are being chastised for steroid use in baseball, we'll come down hard on all of you to make it look like we're doing our job.
Mark McGwire put baseball back on the map with help from Sammy Sosa and others in 1998. Big Mac was an american hero at the time. How will his past and alleged performance enhancing drug use effect the way he is welcomed back to St. Louis and more importantly, other stadiums in 2010. PED user or not, Mark McGwire was and is one of my all time favorite players; so is Jose Canseco. I'll be cheering and excited to see McGwire come back to baseball. My only question, with all of this forgiveness for players that admitted to using PED's and even allowing Pete Rose a chance at the baseball hall of fame, when will Jose Canseco get his forgiveness from major league baseball for essentially doing their job for them and helping them with both of their causes in their time of need. Fair is fair.
Thanks to prettywar-stl for the picture of the home run leader board at Busch Stadium from 1966-2005.
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