Mark McGwire has agreed to be the new hitting coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers next season after spending two seasons coaching with the Saint Louis Cardinals organization. The question of his steroid use still comes up even though it’s been over a decade since he dabbled with steroids as a Major League Baseball player. But it seems that McGwire has overcome the steroid stigma – at least when it comes to continued employment within the sport baseball.
McGwire has likely accepted that he will never be inducted into the Hall of Fame due to his use of anabolic steroids. But he has proven that he is still deserving of a place in the sport he loves. The St. Louis Cardinals’ Tony LaRussa gave McGwire a chance to be the Cardinal’s hitting coach in 2010. Two seasons later, McGwire has proven to even his toughest critics that he is good at what he does.
In order to take advantage of the big break, McGwire had to break his long-term silence on the issue of steroids. Prior to 2010, McGwire had steadfastly refused to discuss his own experience with steroids. McGwire was subpoenaed to testify before the House Government Reform Committee investigating the use of anabolic steroids and performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in MLB. He asserted his Fifth Amendment constitutional rights and refused to incriminate himself in his testimony on March 17, 2005.
“Asking me or any other player to answer questions about who took steroids in front of television cameras will not solve the problem. If a player answers ‘No,’ he simply will not be believed; if he answers ‘Yes,’ he risks public scorn and endless government investigations…” testified McGwire. “My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family, and myself.”
But McGwire changed his tune when he was offered a coaching opportunity with the Cardinals. He admitting using steroids and called it a “mistake” on January 11, 2010.
“I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake,” McGwire said. “I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era.”
Just like that, after confessing, repenting and asking for forgiveness, McGwire was welcomed back into baseball.
The new job with the Dodgers comes at a perfect time for McGwire. He was contemplating retirement from coaching in order to spend more time with his young family. He and his wife Stephanie have five young children – Max, Mason and triplets Monet Rose, Marlo Rose and Monroe Rose.
As hitting coach for the Dodgers, McGwire has an hour or so drive from his home in the gated community in Shady Canyon (Irvine) to Dodger Stadium.
Photo credit: Keith Allison on Flickr via Wikipedia
Source:
Saxon, M. (November 7, 2012). Mark McGwire takes Dodgers’ job. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/8603761/mark-mcgwire-takes-job-los-angeles-dodgers-hitting-coach
