'Couldn't be more proud': Teammates, coaches admire Mark McGwire despite steroid admission

Mark McGwire certainly didn’t have to talk.

He could have ignored it like everyone else.

If he refused to talk about it, maybe it would be forgotten in time.

There are thousands of players who were using performance-enhancing drugs during the steroid era. Most stayed quiet, and some even went into the Hall of Fame.

Instead, McGwire confessed in 2010 to using PEDs during the 1990s and during his record-breaking season, infuriating fans, and for some, tarnishing the great memory of his 1998 Home Run Chase with Sammy Sosa.

Yet, for those who played the game in that era, those who coached and managed when bodies became bloated and statistics became exaggerated, it doesn’t change a thing.

They didn’t lose respect for McGwire.

EXCLUSIVE: 25 years later, Mark McGwire still gets emotional reliving 1998 Home Run Chase

He instead earned admiration.

“There were a lot of things going on in the game, and those people close and inside the game knew what was going on," Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais, who witnessed McGwire’s record-breaking night for the Chicago Cubs, tells USA TODAY Sports. “Everyone just turned a blind eye to it. It was just part of the game.

“So what Mark and Sammy did, it was still a monumental moment. It changed the game. That moment of time will forever be cherished. The people on the field, and in the stadium that day, people that love the game, they’ll know how special that day was.

“I’ll always have a ton of respect for them, having that talent to break those records.’’

First baseman Mark Grace, who’s being inducted into the Chicago Cubs’ Hall of Fame this weekend, says he never used steroids, but understands the mindset of those who did. There were no rules until 2003. No testing until 2004. If you wanted to go that route, feel free.

“It wasn’t like [McGwire] was the only guy using," Grace said. “It was part of the era. I love Mac. He’s a good dude. I don’t have a problem with it at all. It wasn’t illegal.

“It was a known thing. Everybody knows that. Plenty of other players did the same thing. A lot of it is known, more than it is unknown.

“It’s not like were walking around clubhouses with syringes sticking out of their ass, but you knew who was using, and who wasn’t. You wish it wasn’t that way, but it was. There’s not a damn thing you could do about it.’’

McGwire, who says he used steroids and human-growth hormone for health reasons, ultimately decided to come clean before the 2010 spring training when was becoming the Cardinals’ hitting coach. He went public by releasing a statement, doing a short interview with the Associated Press, and then having a sit-down with Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Costas.

The most difficult part of the admission, McGwire said, was telling his parents, and brothers and sisters. He sat down with his kids. He called manager Tony La Russa. He called commissioner Bud Selig. He even telephoned the Maris family, who declined this week to speak about the historic night or McGwire’s call.

“I’d prefer just not to comment on the subject at hand," Kevin Maris said.

The idea of letting anyone down, particularly his closest friends and family, still troubles McGwire. This is a guy who was exhausted, but still took daily batting practice, just because he knew there would be 15,000 to 20,000 fans who arrived early to the ballpark to watch him launch balls into sections of the ballpark where no ball had ever traveled before.

When he set historic milestones, he would leave personally autographed jerseys, bats, balls or scorecards from the game on teammates' chairs in front of their lockers. He was generous almost to a fault.

“I’ve been around a lot of outstanding people and players in my life,’’ says La Russa, “and he’s as good a person as you’ll ever find. I know what he did, and why he did it. He thought his career was over with the heel problems. He wanted to get healthy, and was really smart about his nutrition, and he really took care of his body.

“I know he admitted it. He wasn’t going to lie about it. But I’m also certain in my heart what he did with PEDs was such a small quantity, and such a small part of his success. Other guys did things, and never admitted it. So while there’s the taint of PEDs, it’s definitely exaggerated. I never had anyone better.

“He’s a legitimate Hall of Famer."

Says Rene Lachemann, who spent 59 years in the game, and coached McGwire in Oakland and St. Louis: “My opinion, he’s a guy that should definitely be a Hall of Famer. I don’t care about the other things. These two guys (McGwire and Sosa) brought a lot of people back to the game. They saved baseball.’’

Really, all you need to know about McGwire, former teammate Dave Stewart says, is that he never implicated anyone else. No trainers. No doctors. No coaches. No teammates. No opposing players. No one.

“My first reaction to when Mark admitted what he did,’’ Stewart said, “was, 'Oh, no!' The truth is that I thought he’d be the last damn person to get involved in that mess. But you know, he wasn’t going to be like a guy like Jose [Canseco] to snitch on everybody. Mac wasn’t bringing anyone in that pool. Never.

“So, even after all of the allegations and things that took place, I don’t care what anybody says, I couldn’t be more proud of a single individual.’’

McGwire, who has never been to the Hall of Fame since his U.S. Olympic Team visited in 1984, still hopes that one day there will be forgiveness on the Contemporary Era Committee. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were on the ballot last winter, but failed to get at least four of the necessary 12 votes by the 16 person committee.

“It would be nice, really nice," McGwire says. “If I’m lucky enough someday to get it, I would accept it with open arms. But I totally understand the situation.

“Looking back now, I feel horrible. I wish there were testing. I wish there were some regulations. But there was nothing back in the day.’’

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mark McGwire steroid admission earned respect from players, coaches