Mark used both Steroids and HGH during his career. I noticed that McGwire was pretty low on the HOF voting totals. I assume that this pretty much seals the deal for him. My only question is who would buy a book written by McGwires brother? McGwire and Steriods Given Manny's behavior and physical appearance I wonder when somebody is going to rat him out.
Despite the steroids, it is my opinion, that McGwire deserves to be in the Hall. I don't expect everyone to agree and I don't really expect him to ever get there. However, he is an integral part of baseball's history and if it wasn't for him, the game wouldn't be nearly as popular as it is today. In a sense (steroids or not), he was the savior that rescued baseball from the post-strike doldrums.
I've known JJ since we were 13 years old. He was a f***ing punk then and he is a f***ing punk now. He's on the short end of the class stick to his brother Dan who was a total ***hole. The next word out of JJ's mouth that I believe, will be the first. Is he telling the truth? Who knows.... From years of personal experience, I can say that he is certainly less than credible.
ps and if he says different, I'll poke his last good eye out. in case you haven't noticed, you've managed to bring up one of the few people I've met or known that I don't believe could change in time...
pps Jay claims that Mark 'took the plunge' in 1994 By that time McGwire had been selected to 6 All-Star teams and broke the rookie HR record
Cheatin' bastard defrauded the game should not be rewarded by it. Turned himself into a cartoonish behemoth along with many others and made a mockery out of the record book in the process. He should never be inducted into the HOF for no other reason than his sniveling testimony before Congress that was a humilation to himself and the game.
Now that steroids have been taken out of the game it's amazing how far the home run totals have been droping. If they want to put those records in the HOF fine, but don't put them in the same place with the likes of Ruth and Maris. Let them have their own "Performance inhancing drug era" wing. They should charge extra for that freak show.
Annnnnd the ragging of McGwire continues, which is what this guy wanted all along.. oh, and to make a buck doing it. McGwire is a class act. I'm not going to defend his alleged steroid use. I do know that this guy is beyond 'less than credible.' According to his own timeline, McGwire had already shattered the rookie HR record and made 6 all-star teams before 'taking the plunge' with his brothers juice.. I am not saying McGwire didn't do it. I do know that this source is really bad. I wonder if JJ has contacted the CIF and asked them to strip away the team achievements that took place while he played there? I mean, why just Mark? Why not throw Dan under the bus as well? Hell, I'll be waiting for my nifty CIF championship gear in the mail.... I find it funny to read his account that he was juicing since he got that settlement check.. All those hormones couldn't fix his glass jaw.
Good job Corey... JJ was always jealous of his brothers success.... I love Mark,.. He is a good guy gives alot of time to the community .... And after the strike wasn't it the Soza-McGuire act that got people who left the sport get back into the sport......... and Corey when the CIf stuff comes in please don't give it to anyone... please
With all due respect, wasn't it Hulk Hogan and the Iron Sheik who saved the WWF? And some people actually thought that was fake too! :wink:
Eh.. with all due respect, this is another time in history in which we are losing the context.. Would you do the same? Probably. Would most people? Probably. It doesn't make it right. Did he do it? I don't know. What I do know is that JJ is a giant piece of fecomatter and you're all trashing one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet. The owners look the other way with a nudge of an encouraging elbow, the agents look the other way with a nudge of an encouraging elbow and the fans shred the guy who 'can't hack it' in the big while praising the guys with the balls flying out of the yard... Guys went from 10 HRs a year to 50 and nary an eye brow raised while fans blamed the baseball for being too tight... You knew it all along... and by you, I mean all fans. Like the owners, and agents and all others involved in the process. Looking the other way with an encouraging elbow.... But now we have the real culprits.. the players... yes it was the players.. Guys cheat in NASCAR and are openly praised here as good guys. We romanticize wife beating alcoholics, racists and men who turn a cold shoulder to their own children... but the ball players of the 90s... we have no tolerance for them. f*ck me...
The player's union exists for the benefit of it's members. Most unions I know of care about the health of their membership and if management is demanding that they work in unsafe conditions they do something to fix the problem. The players union knew that steroids posed a number of health hazzards. They knew that because some members of their union "chose" to use them (would most people?) others felt themselves "forced" to use them just to compete. It wasn't the owners the eternal whipping boy in this debate that had the primary obligation to protect the health of the players it was the players and their union. And when the owners first took steps to test and get the juice out of baseball did the union jump at the chance? History tells us differently. They opposed it. And when it was over. When it came time to come clean and be clean what did they do? They showed what real heros they were when the got in front of the country testifying before Congress. It became all to clear as to why they couldn't play the game with just their own talent.
Gip, I'm with you most of the way, but I don't believe the owners and fans get off free and clear in all of this. People spent 10 years arguing about the damned baseball, meanwhile Brady Anderson goes from Broomstick to Boomstick in one off-season.. No one 'noticed' that?? I could sit here all day and spit out examples of players that fit that bill. Speaking toward the McGwire case, what JJ is claiming not only contradicts Jose Canseco but also puts McGwire on using at an earlier timeline in his career.... But even assuming what JJ is true, which should be doubted, McGwire dropped 49 HRs as a rookie..he made 6 all-star teams.. it is awfully hard to say that guy needed it to play the game.
The ironic part Corey is that he had the talent to have a great career without juicing. Instead, his accomplishments are overshadowed just as Clemens' are. BTW I could never blame the fans. They get the shaft time and again from baseball. Strikes, high ticket prices, personal seat licenses in new stadiums and cold rainy World Series games. The pigs and the hogs want more and more slop and the fans have to keep forking it over.
Gip, I feel your compassion for the fans. I just can't see excusing the owners though. The players are taking the brunt of this and I still can't help but think what others would do in their situation... and I also think it is crappy because only a small handful are being singled out in all of this. I do have a McGwire related question about Congressional testimony... What if he avoided testifying to avoid Congress granting him immunity from prosecution in order to testify against former members of the teams he played for?
McGwire would have been much better off not testifying. That image of him before Congress will never be forgotten. In one month Clemens went from possibly the most dominant pitcher in baseball's modern era to a laughingstock. He too disgraced himself and discredited a lifetime of achievement. We all know who the cheaters were. I mean, just off the top of my head... Lenny Dysktra, Brady Anderson, Brett Boone, Jason Giambi, Clemens, Sammy Sosa, McGwire, Bonds. Help me out here... Two other players I have suspected are Johnny Damon and the Dodger relief pitcher Gagne was dominant and then broke down . Damon got real musclebound and powerful in his lastr couple of Red Sox years and turned out some power numbers and has been injury prone since. Physical changes, high octane performance followed by injuries and breakdowns are the common thread.
It is so tough now to compare guys to back then b/c of steroids and just science/technology now. Offseason wasn't lifting/running back then either, to most it was another job to make some money. Its truly a shame but that's the way it is. Any of you guys for eliminating some teams so that there are more talented players per team? For ex. NBA, the Lakers team in 80's would never be together now and it's just ruining sports in general. Sorry just ranting... :lol: