Some were surprised to hear that Mark McGwire is the latest MLB hero to admit he took performance-enhancing drugs.
Don't count former teammate Jose Canseco among them.
The former slugger, who claimed in 2005 that he and McGwire injected each other with steroids before games, told ESPN.com that former manager Tony La Russa knew he used steroids when he was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals — and he should have known that McGwire used them prior to hiring him as the Cardinals hitting coach this offseason.
"Tony La Russa was quoted as saying that I was using steroids back then, and I was talking about it in the clubhouse, openly," Canseco told the Web site. "There are some things here that are so ridiculous, and so disrespectful for the public and 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."
La Russa told ESPN's Baseball Tonight he was not aware of McGwire's steroid use until the player admitted it in a phone call to La Russa on Monday. McGwire claimed he only used steroids to keep his body healthy and to stay in the lineup, not to bolster his home run numbers.
While Canseco respects McGwire as an individual, he is not backing down from what he wrote.
"I'm tired of justifying what I've said," Canseco said. "I"ve polygraphed, I've proven that I'm 100 percent accurate. I never exaggerated. I told it the way it actually happened. I'm the only one who has told it the way it actually happened. Major League Baseball is still trying to defend itself. It's strange. All I have is the truth, and I've proven that."
