Jose Canseco says Mark
McGwire is still lying about his use of steroids and his former manager
Tony La Russa isn't telling the truth either.
McGwire admitted Monday that he used
steroids for a decade, including when he hit 70 homers in 1998, but
denied Canseco's claims that he injected himself and McGwire with
steroids in bathroom stalls.
"I've defended Mark, I know a lot of
good things about him," Canseco told ESPN 1000 radio in Chicago on
Tuesday. "I can't believe he just called me a a liar. Umm, there's
something very strange going on here.
"I even polygraphed that I injected
him, and I passed it completely. So I want to challenge him on national
TV to a polygraph examination. I want to see him call me a liar under a
polygraph examination."
In Canseco's 2005 book, "Juiced: Wild
Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big," Canseco
claimed he introduced McGwire and other stars to steroids and
performance-enhancing drugs. He wrote about injecting himself and
McGwire in bathroom stalls, and how the effects of the drugs were the
reason he hit 462 career home runs.
Canseco and McGwire helped lead the Athletics to a World Series sweep in 1989.
"Jose is out there doing what he's
doing, but I'm not going to stoop down to his level," McGwire told ESPN
on Tuesday. "None of that stuff happened. He knows it. I know it. I'm
not going to stoop down to that level."
La Russa was McGwire's manager for
nearly all of his 16-year career in both Oakland and St. Louis. He was
also his fiercest defender, especially after The Associated Press
reported McGwire used androstenedione during his record-breaking season
in '98. Andro, as it was known, was made a controlled substance until
2004, when it also was banned by baseball.
The manager said he didn't know until Monday that McGwire used steroids.
"That's a blatant lie," Canseco
said. "There are some things here that are so ridiculous, and so
disrespectful for the public and the media to believe. I just can't
believe it. I'm in total shock. These guys remind me of politicians
that go up and just lie to the public and expect to get elected."
McGwire, who retired in 2001, had
been widely ridiculed since he evaded questions before a congressional
committee five years ago, repeatedly saying he wasn't there to address
his past. His confession was sparked by the Cardinals' decision in
October to hire him as hitting coach.
Canseco has said he is considering
filing a class-action lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the
players' association. He says he's been ostracized for going public
with tales of steroids use in the sport.
"I've proved it. I'm 100 percent
accurate," he told the radio station. "I never exaggerate, I told it
the way it actually happened. I'm the only one who told it the way it
actually happened."