With the ESPN 30-for-30 documentary “Long Gone Summer” that documents the 1998 home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa taking center stage over the past week, a major story line hasn’t been forgotten.
The usage of steroids was brought up in the middle and the end of the documentary but it wasn’t a huge focal point throughout, or at least what we thought it would be. However, following the documentary several former and current players weighed in on the topic offering their insight on the Hall of Fame and the usage of steroids in general.
One of those players happened to be one of Sosa’s teammates for a few years, Mark Grace.
The first baseman appeared on “The Dan Patrick Show” Tuesday and was asked if he ever used steroids. Grace responded with an epic reason as to why he did not:
“I’m going to give you the honest answer, Dan,” Grace said. “I was a single man in Chicago, and that stuff is bad for your get up and go, if you know what I mean. So I wanted to continue to have the ability to get up and go. So that’s a big reason.”
I mean, that’s a legit reason.
He also offered up a more serious baseball reason as to why he never did.
“Second of all, I don’t think myself, my swing was conducive,” Grace said. “I wasn’t a flyball hitter. I hit line drives and groundballs for the most part. If I elevated a line drive, it would go out of the ballpark. So I just don’t think, I was never interested in it. And I’m glad I didn’t because now looking back on my career, my numbers were my numbers — not a syringe’s numbers. They were my numbers, and I’m proud of that.”
You can listen to the full interview here as Grace talks about his time with the Cubs and his career in general. It’s a great interview and I recommend listening to it.
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