Big Mac Finally comes clean...sorta

Remember the guy over to the left?

11 years ago, this was the man who, along with Sammy Sosa, put the game of baseball on his massive shoulders and saved it....

Fans gave up on the sport after the devastating strike in 1994, but it was the Home Runs that Big Mac hit that made people, once again fall in love with America's pasttime...the momentum built from the great Home Run Chase sparked record attendance numbers that are still being set to this very day....

Allow me to fast forward 7 years to the Congressional Hearings on Steroid use in Major League Baseball....a forum where the man who once hit shots heard around the world...was so silent about his past that you could hear a pin drop....and the hearts breaking of every person who had now seen their hero turned into a fraud...

Everybody who remembers the night McGwire hit #62...a Steve Trachsel delivery that barely went over the left field wall...people who watched the game saw what could be described of some of the most genuine moments ever seen in baseball....everything from McGwire being so happy that he forgot to touch first..to high fiving players on the opposite team..to lifting up his son at home plate..to embracing Sammy...to embracing the Maris family...all the while with tears of joy in his eyes...Those genuine moments were now tainted......

All of this leads us to what happened this past Monday Night...the night where Big Mac sat down with Bob Costas and finally admitted that he used Steroids throughout his Major League Career...not exactly the shocker of the century...

However, on a night where he really could have knocked several demons out of the park...Big Mac whiffed

It's not like he wore the golden sombrero, however (that four strikeouts in a game for those of you that don't understand baseball lingo)...It's more like he had a couple big hits, but struck out with the bases loaded to end the game....confused? Let me explain myself...

You couldn't help but see the pain in his eyes from holding back this secret for so long...allegedly from everyone, including family and friends...obviously that can't be an easy thing to hide...He claimed that he remained silent that day in congress for the welfare of his family and friends...I don't know too many people who wouldn't do that for their family...I give him all the credit in the world for going on National Television without any kind of rehearsal and just speaking from the heart...you could tell that, at the very least, that the tears flowing down his face were very real...

Now let me tell you why he struck out....

McGwire absolutely REFUSED to admit that steroids allowed him to hit Home Runs that may not have even landed yet...attributing his success to great hand/eye coordination and god given talent...does he expect us to beleive that garbage?

The story McGwire sticks to these days is that he took the 'roids clearly for injury purposes....Let me give you a quick rundown on what you put in your body, Mark....If you take anything that allows your body to heal faster...that's what we like to call a PREFORMANCE ENHANCER! Did I mention that they also improve your hand/eye coordination? Sorry Big Mac...im not sold on your story...

He also can't sell me on the fact that his "god-given" ability allowed him to hit a Home Run every 7 at-bats...With diluted pitching, different bats..new stadium dimensions...NOBODY will ever hit 70 HR that is going the natural route...

But why was he in such pain if he was only taking steroids to recover from injuries? There's one part of the story that he refuses to budge with and he's going to have to go a little further into detail about his past if he doesn't want to be a distraction as the new Hitting Coach of the St. Louis Cardinals..Mark has been known his entire career, even dating back to H.S and College, that he could tear the cover off the ball, but he needs to realize that his juice enabled him to hit a few more bombs than he would have...He and his diluted former manager Tony LaRussa are going to have to wake up from this illusion that they've living and just straight up say that steroids helped his power numbers...

While he whiffed in his confession...I don't think he totally blew it...It was a great first step, but the book is not closed just yet...If Big Mac comes to his senses and allows the public into the final chapters of his story...He will, at the very least, earn back the respect of his peers...Fans will be forever tainted with what he has done...but it may end with the first slugger of the steroid era reaching the Hall of Fame...It may take all 15 years of eligibility, but it's awfully hard to ignore the fact that this man saved the game of Baseball...steroids or not.