According to a statement sent to The Associated Press on Monday, Mark McGwire admitted that he used steroids when he broke baseball’s home run record in 1998.

“I wish I had never touched steroids,” McGwire said in a statement. “It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era.”

His admission to using steroids was prompted by his acceptance to become the hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals.  McGwire’s reputation had been tarnished since March 17, 2005 when he refuse to answer questions during a Congressional hearing.  Rather, he repeatedlly said, “I’m not here to talk about the past.”

“Baseball is really different now – it’s been cleaned up,” McGwire said. “The commissioner and the players’ association implemented testing and they cracked down, and I’m glad they did.”

McGwire played 16 seasons in the Major Leagues where he hit 583 home runs, drove in 1414 RBIs and hit .263.  On his fourth time on the Hall of Fame ballot this year, McGwire received 128 votes (23.7 percent) from the BBWAA.  You need 75 percent to be elected into the Hall of Fame.

You can see Mark McGwire’s statistics here.

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