An article in USA Today paints a reclusive yet resolute Mark McGwire.

It was in September 2005 when McGwire made his last public baseball appearance as he returned for the last time, it seems, to Busch Stadium to celebrate the final regular-season games there. It was also that year when a different kind of spotlight, and a different kind of audience, put him under the public glare. It was at the congressional inquiry on the use of steroids in America’s top favorite game.

McGwire neither denied nor admitted his use of steroids. Six months after his congressional testimony, the media had a chance to ask him about the allegations and McGwire remained clammed up about the issue.
“When I left Washington, that’s the last time I’m going to ever talk about it,” McGwire told reporters. “That’s really about it. I’ve moved on. I wish the media would move on from it.

“I’m enjoying life right now. I love the game of baseball. I miss the game of baseball. And I can’t wait for someday when somebody offers me a fantastic job to get back in baseball.”

The rumors of steroid use is keeping the former slugger from being inducted in the Hall of Fame. His career record boasts of 583 home runs, and yet, in a voting conducted by the Baseball Writers Association of America, McGwire has received only 23.5% and 23.6% in the past two years of eligibility. To be inducted for the august Hall, a candidate needs at least 75% of votes.

McGwire, now 44, resides at the “end of a cul-de-sac in a gated community”, according to the same article. And the description invites the question: Will this be the cul-de-sac of McGwire’s legacy?
He refused interview requests and turned down invitations to visit his former team. And yet, there have been reports that he’s been conducting “secret hitting lessons”, an indication that he might have plans to return to his game.

“The perception of Mark is so completely different than the reality,” says Craig Daedelow, a friend of McGwire who often sees and talks to him. “People think he’s out of the game, but they have no idea just how much he’s still in the game.”

Tags: anabolic steroids, Hall of Fame, Major League Baseball, Mark McGwire, MLB

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Baseball, Steroids in Sports