Arlington resident Steve Wilstein says ‘it’s a shame it took so long’ for slugger to admit usage of performance enhancing drugs

MARYSVILLE — An Arlington resident and former Associated Press correspondent who broke the story on Mark McGwire’s performance enhancing drug use said baseball fans shouldn’t feel sorry for the slugger.

Steve Wilstein, who reported on McGwire’s use of androstenedione during the 1998 baseball season, said Tuesday, Jan. 12, that he was not surprised to hear that McGwire had admitted to using steroids during his career.

“I thought eventually he’d find a way to talk about it,” Wilstein said in phone interview from his winter home in Florida. “It was just a matter of time until he was willing to talk about it. It’s a shame that he took so long to wait to discuss it and it’s a shame that he did it for so long.”

On Monday, Jan. 11, McGwire admitted to using steroids during his record-breaking season during an interview with Bob Costas of the MLB Network.

During the summer of 1998, McGwire — a member of the St. Louis Cardinals — belted 70 home runs, shattering the Roger Maris’ previous single-season home run record of 61.

McGwire said in his interview that he mainly took steroids for health purposes, and that his natural ability was the main reason he was able to hit such a large number of home runs throughout his career.

Wilstein spent much of that summer covering McGwire and his march toward Maris’ record.

He was a national correspondent and columnist for the AP, and most famously gave the public its first look into what has been called the “Steroid Era” in Major League Baseball by reporting on a bottle of androstenedione — commonly called andro — in McGwire’s locker.

Wilstein said Tuesday that he had given interviews with Fox, NBC and a number of other national media in wake of McGwire’s admission.

“It’s been a crazy day yesterday and today,” he said. “I suddenly had calls from CNN and Fox and other people asking me to comment.”

Wilstein wrote a national column that appeared on CNN.com titled “Ban McGwire from baseball,” in which he wrote that the damage he did to baseball was too deep for him to justify his return.

McGwire signed to be the Cardinals’ hitting coach during the offseason.

Wilstein added during his interview that McGwire damaged the game more than former Cincinnati Reds player and manager Pete Rose, who admitted to gambling on games he was managing.

“(McGwire) claims to be a victim of the steroid era, whereas I consider him a poster boy for it,” Wilstein said. “I have compassion for him as a person, but I don’t think he should be trusted to coach other players.”

Wilstein said he’s been living in Arlington since 1999, and retired from his full-time writing duties in 2005.

Despite his retirement, he said he’s still been following baseball.

“Anytime anything happens in baseball related to steroids, people end up calling,” he said. “I’ve been doing these interviews for years — this is just the latest.”