Mark McGwire gets Busch-whacked
By David Sweet • Jan 22nd, 2010 • Category: A-B InBev, MLB
Former Cardinals’ slugger Mark McGwire has been blessed recently by those in St. Louis. He was hired as a batting coach by longtime friend and manager Tony LaRussa. He was interviewed by St. Louis’ own Bob Costas as part of an effort to admit his steroid use and to rehabilitate his image.
But now, the verbal bats are swinging at him. Adolphus Busch IV, scion of the beer dynasty whose family’s name was on the stadium McGwire called home, blasted the man who once swatted 70 home runs in a record-breaking season.
“McGwire is not apologizing for his deceit, only for the embarrassment that came from his admission of having previously lied,” Busch wrote in a statement. “The timing of his announcement at the start of a new baseball season has allowed him to hide behind the frenzy of a new Cardinal season and the blinding faith of Cardinal loyalists.”
It is anger filled with intriguing sidelines. Those as gently reared as Busch rarely show such public wrath. And he doesn’t even own the Cardinals, which his family sold in the 1990s (nor does he own the A-B brewery anymore). The man whose record McGwire broke, Roger Maris, ran Budweiser beer distributorships after he retired, thanks to the Busch family.
Bottom line: McGwire was a hero to millions who used performance-enhancing substances to help break a sacred record. Ah, for the days when the worst that could be said of great home-run hitters like Babe Ruth is that they had one too many beers the night before.
re: Babe Ruth — or hookers, or meds, or booze, or fist fights or underage companions….
Let’s not all look at ‘the good old days’ of baseball like it was perfect. Those ‘good old days’ brought us The Black Socks, Ty Cobb and more racial scandals than you can shake a bat at.
I defended Mac about Andro vs. Steroids for the longest time and while it was obvious he was on extra-cirricular meds, I don’t see why every player of his era isn’t a bit more supportive other than they might share the stain. Like professional bodybuilders, before the medical proof became undeniable and rules we firmly in place there was a ‘well this isn’t EXACTLY banned’ mentality in pro sports.
Jose Canseco must feel great now that his book is proving more and more true every day. I wonder if its time for Mr. Uncongeniality to do another run and go on a book tour — the press will kiss his pock marked butt this time around.