Fans Cheer Mark McGwire In Return
Mark McGwire received a standing ovation from St. Louis Cardinals fans Sunday in his first public appearance in St. Louis since admitting he used steroids.
Dressed in jeans, a sweater and running shoes, the 46-year-old McGwire walked on stage to “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses. The team’s new hitting coach was cheered by fans who secured seats as much as 3 1/2 hours earlier.
“I’ve learned a lot,” McGwire told fans. “Especially to kids out there, steroids are bad. I made a huge mistake in my life and it’s something I want you guys to learn from. Don’t ever, ever go down that road.”
Former Cardinals slugger Jack Clark, who called McGwire a “phony” in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch story last week, was booed in an appearance on the same stage not long before McGwire’s appearance.
His scheduled news conference, only minutes later, was shifted to an overcrowded hallway at the last minute, and McGwire evaded questions about the criticism he’s received from ex-players. He repeatedly emphasized that he was ready to talk about the game instead of performance-enhancing drugs.
“I hope you all can accept this,” McGwire said at the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up. “Let’s all move on from this. Baseball is great right now, baseball is better.”
