The Phillies-Yankees World Series matchup is without a doubt intriguing. The teams boast a pair of frightening lineups and stellar rotations. The Phillies are trying to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since 1999 and 2000. Ironically, this was the last time the Yankees were crowned champions.
Unfortunately for me, these two teams happen to be two of my most hated franchises in professional sports. I'm in a lose-lose situation since it will pain me to see either team pop champagne when the series concludes.
So maybe that's why I was pleased to receive a distracting bit of other baseball news this week with Mark McGwire's return to the game as the new hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals.
McGwire retired from the game in 2001 with 583 career home runs, the fifth-most in MLB history. He was also a 12-time All-Star and a member of Major League Baseball's All-Century Team.
But far more important than any of those accomplishments was McGwire and Sammy Sosa's 1998 home run race. This event provided a fresh storyline for the game amidst a dark era that included a cancelled season in 1994 and extremely low attendance numbers.
Through it all, McGwire and Sosa sparked tremendous excitement and continually garnered respect with their professional behavior and lovable personalities. Chasing Roger Maris' record in the same season created a common bond and brought the two closer together. It seemed like there wasn't a moment where the pair wasn't having fun, and that's what seemed to give baseball such a renewed sense of optimism.
A decade later, all of that seems to be not only a thing of a past, but an event that probably shouldn't have taken place in the first place. That concept to me is easily the most painful thing that fans of the ""steroid era"" have been forced to try and comprehend. When reports about rampant steroid use in baseball finally began to surface, it didn't take long before McGwire and Sosa became connected to the investigation with concrete evidence.
How ironic that the two players once labeled as the ""saviors"" of baseball were actually the forerunners of an era that some would argue was even darker than the one that came before it. Although the early '90s were a rough time for baseball, that period didn't hold nearly as much disgrace as the late '90s in its connection to cheating and performance enhancing drugs.
In 2005, when McGwire was asked to testify at a congressional hearing on steroids, he continually dodged the subject of steroids, and articulated his memorable quote: ""I'm not here to talk about the past, I'm here to be positive about the subject.""
Some players have faced these difficult circumstances more gracefully than others. Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte apologized to the public for their steroid use soon after it was reported. When both have retired and we look back at each of their careers, this move will be remembered fondly and will create more of a positive overall legacy.
On the other side, individuals like Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez have forever tarnished their legacies by lying on several occasions before the truth was finally exposed.
McGwire's position is still a little unclear in this dynamic, but his new job with the Cardinals will give him another opportunity to reflect on his past behavior. If McGwire discusses his own drug use, this could go a long way toward repairing the game and re-earning the public's trust.
Now McGwire has two choices: take the same approach he did in the congressional hearing and avoid the past, or come clean and allow others to learn from his mistakes. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I'd love to see him make the latter move, because today's baseball fans are in desperate need of some sincerity.
Think McGwire's reputation is beyond repair? E-mail Matt at mfox2@wisc.edu.
