Welcome Back, Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire came out of the closet today. No, he's not gay. He admitted to using steroids during the 1990's, including his record-breaking 1998 season.

Yes, I know this is as shocking as the news that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow. But I give him credit for coming clean, even if it took him nearly five years from the time he looked like a total ass in front of Congress.

I'm a lifelong fan of the Oakland A's, and I had been a big fan of Mark McGwire since he began his career with the A's and was one of the Bash Brothers, along with Jose Canseco, in the late 1980's. His move to St. Louis in 1997--along with the prior and subsequent moves to Saint Louie by several other A's, including Dennis Eckersley and Tony LaRussa--made me into a Cardinals fan, too. The 1998 season was awesome, as McGwire dueled with Sammy Sosa for the home run title, with McGwire ultimately swatting a MLB-record 70 home runs to Sosa's 66.

McGwire retired in 2001, and shortly thereafter, the steroids hit the fan. At some point during the steroid stink, I forced myself to recognize that my favorite baseball player--one of my heroes--was a cheater. It was really a tough pill for me to swallow. In 2005, he faced Congress and refused to answer their questions about steroid use in baseball. His legacy was destroyed.

Fast forward to 2010. The St. Louis Cardinals have hired McGwire to be their hitting coach. It's his first time back in baseball since his retirement, and his first time back in the public eye since that disastrous day on Capitol Hill five years ago. The media was going to swarm him starting in Spring Training and dissect him all season long over the steroid issue.

What he did today by finally admitting to using steroids, expressing regret, and clearing the air was the best thing he could possibly have done. He should have done it five years ago in front of Congress, but it's better late than never. It's probably a load off of his shoulders, and it should allow him to focus entirely on helping Cardinals hit a baseball now. Distractions from steroid talk should be minimal. Andy Pettitte admitted his steroid use, and the storm quickly passed. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens still can't come to terms with the truth, and...well...

So I applaud Mark McGwire. It took courage to do what he did today. He screwed up in his playing days, and again in front of Congress. But we all screw up, don't we? It's human nature. All we can do when we make a mistake is admit it, apologize for it, learn from it, and move on.

After worshipping him as a hero for 15+ years, and loathing him as a pariah for five years, I'm finally realizing that Mark McGwire is, in reality, just like the rest of us: he's human. He always has been. I simply forgot that small detail as I watched him launch home runs in grand fashion, lead my favorite teams to victory time and time again, and then be exposed as a cheater and a liar under oath. Or, at best, an uncooperative witness under oath.

But today, he admitted his mistake and apologized for it. Now I'm ready to move on. I look forward to watching Coach McGwire helping the Cardinals get back to challenging for a pennant.