McGwire took steroids 'to heal faster'

BASEBALL:FORMER ST LOUIS Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire has admitted using steroids when he was a player, including in 1998 when he broke the single-season home-run record, but denied they improved his performance.

“I used steroids during my playing career and I apologise,” the 46-year-old said in a statement on Monday that was welcomed by Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner Bud Selig.

McGwire hit 70 home runs for St Louis in 1998 to shatter the record of 61 set by Roger Maris for the New York Yankees in 1961. The record was subsequently broken when Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants registered 73 homers in 2001.

“It’s the most regrettable thing I’ve ever done in my life,” McGwire added in a tearful TV interview. “I apologise to everybody in Major League Baseball, my family, the Marises, Bud Selig. Today was the hardest day of my life.”

McGwire, who last played in 2001 and was hired in October as hitting coach for the Cardinals, said he wanted to set the record straight before beginning his new role with the team.

McGwire told MLB Network he took steroids only to overcome health issues. “I told my dad yesterday when I finally had to tell him about this. I remember calling him in ’96,” he said, pausing as tears welled in his eyes.

“I was so frustrated with injuries I wanted to retire. He’s the one that told me to stick it out. I was using steroids to heal faster, help my body to feel normal. I did not take steroids for any gains or strength purposes.”

McGwire said he experimented briefly with steroids in the 1989-90 off-season and began taking them regularly in 1993 and used them in low dosages throughout the 1990s, including during his record-setting season, “just to feel normal”.

Selig welcomed the admission from McGwire, who is eighth on the all-time home-run list with 583. “I am pleased Mark McGwire has confronted his use of performance-enhancing substances as a player,” the commissioner said in a statement.

“Being truthful is always the correct course of action. This statement of contrition, I believe, will make Mark’s re-entry to the game much smoother and easier.”

Although there was no drug testing in baseball during his career, suspicion of doping has tarnished McGwire’s image and led to a backlash in Hall of Fame voting.