This past year a lot of things have happened in the world.
President Clintoncould possibly be impeached. Our government tried to once again take over SadaamHussein. And Mark McGwire hit 70 home runs to break Roger Maris’ record of 61. During this extraordinary event in the baseball world, one item of skepticismclouded the entire accomplishment. During an interview that he was giving nextto his locker, a reporter noticed a bottle on the top shelf.
This bottle wasfilled with a nutritional pill titled androstenedione, a legal dietarysupplement that is a testosterone-producing drug that helps the body repairitself after workouts. This repairment, in turn, helps the person taking itbuild muscle faster. Some sports fans, and some who are not, say thatMcGwire’s record should be discounted due to the use of this pill. I am notone of those people. What he did this year was a personal accomplishment andwhile the “andro” may have helped a little, Mark did this through years ofhard work in the batting cages. As a skinny rookie in 1987, McGwire managed toknock 49 baseballs out of the park.
I think that 11 more years experience in theleague could provide a player with the experience to chalk up another 21dingers. Now granted, I can see some skeptics points. Androstenedione is asupplement that has been banned by a number of sports organizations worlwide:the NFL, NCAA, and the International Olympic Committee for example. But MajorLeague Baseball is not one of these organizations.
So why then should his recordbe nixed for breaking a rule that does not even apply in his sport? The answeris he shouldn’t. Mark McGwire is a superb athlete who bettered his game byfollowing the rules. He did absolutely nothing wrong in obtaining this oncethought of unobtainable record. Another aspect to look at is that Sammy Sosaalso had a tremendous year. This Chicago Cub hit 66 home runs this year and hehas never touched androstenedione. How hard is it for a fellow slugger to hit 4more? Not that difficult if you are as high a caliber player as McGwire.
Musclebuilding supplements have been used for years in pro and college athleticprograms. Creatine, probably the most popular, is used by virtually every majorcollege in the country. Even your average weight lifter uses it. Androstenedioneis just one step higher on the dietary scale, and only by a fraction. Astatement was issued by the Cardinal’s medical staff concerningandrostenedione when the supposed “scandal” surfaced. Now, there is apossibility that it may be a tad biased but keep in mind that the ladies andgentlemen that issued this statement are still doctors.
“Androstenedione is anatural substance, which is a natural precursor product of testosterone. It hasno proven anabolic steroid effect nor significant side effects. It stimulatesslight increase levels for a short period of time (1 hour). Taken approximatelyone hour before workouts, it may make one’s workout more efficient. “Due tocurrent research that locks documentary evidence of any adverse side effects,the Cardinal’s medical staff cannot object to Mark’s choice to use thislegal and over-the-counter supplement.
” If doctor after doctor repeatedlydefends androstenedione as harmless and the FDA approves its use, why all thecontroversy? Creatine is basically the same thing and is used on a much morewidespread basis, yet no one questions its use. Why? I think that partly thereason may be because Mark McGwire is so good and so powerful. Roger Maris’record was never even threatened up until this year. Living in the type ofcountry we do, people needed to find a bad side to everything that is pure. Evenif no rule was broken, the public accuses anyway.
If legal muscle enhancingproducts were outlawed and everyone who used them had their records revoked, thestandard by which we measure athletic greatness would be considerably lower. Regardless of whether or not Mr. McGwire used a muscle enhancing product or not,he accomplished a spectacular feat. Something legal that he did should notquestion the validity of that event.
It is a sad fact that a sports hero canbreak a once thought untouchable record and now his name will forever be flawedfor no reason at all.
