Mark McGwire: I still would've hit 70 HRs without PEDs
In 2010, former single-season king Mark McGwire, who hit 583 career home runs, admitted he used performance-enhancing drugs, including during his incredible 70-homer season in 1998.
Some 20 years later, Big Mac thinks he could've done it all without the extra help.
In an interview with Jayson Stark of The Athletic, McGwire - now the San Diego Padres' bench coach - said he still would have broken Roger Maris' record and hit 70 homers without using steroids.
"I just know myself. I just know," he told Stark. "I was a born home-run hitter. I mean, unfortunately, I did (take PEDs). And I've regretted that. I've talked about that. I regretted it. I didn't need to. That's the thing. Didn't need to.
"But I know. Deep down inside, I know me as a hitter. And I know what I did in that box. And I know how strong my mind is. And I know what kind of hitter I became. And yes. Yes. Definitely."
McGwire was already one of the most feared home-run hitters in the game before 1998, when he and Sammy Sosa captivated the public with their home-run chase that many believe helped restore baseball's place in American sports following the 1994 strike. It was McGwire who passed Maris first, blasting No. 62 on Sept. 8 of that year en route to 70. Sosa eventually lost pace but still slugged 66. McGwire would only spend three years as the home-run king before Barry Bonds hit 73 in 2001.
Nine years after his retirement, McGwire finally admitted to using PEDs during his career and expressed regret about doing so. Despite the admission, he never received more than 23.7 percent of the vote in his 10 years on the Hall of Fame ballot.
The 53-year-old not only repeated to Stark his regrets about having doped, but added that he wishes MLB's drug-testing program had been in place during his career to act as a deterrent.
"Unfortunately, there wasn't any testing," McGwire said. "There wasn't anything going on (to keep the sport clean). The game has done a terrific job of doing what they're doing now. I commend them for doing it. I think we all wish (testing) went on when we had played. But unfortunately, it didn't."