Dave Henderson will solve this steroids problem with his bathing observations
Jan 18, 2010, 8:00 PM EDT
So Tony La Russa’s contention that he never suspected Mark McGwire of taking steroids — either in Oakland or St. Louis — sounds perfectly reasonable to me. But then I also had a large sum of cash on the Chargers to win the Super Bowl. Others are more skeptical, but former teammates of McGwire with the Athletics are standing behind La Russa, saying that it’s quite possible he never knew.
And while Dave Henderson says that La Russa’s denial is plausible, he also contends that he himself had his suspicions. Key quote: “When you shower with a player every day, you notice their body and muscular (transformation), and these guys got big overnight.”
Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch culled the gem of a quote from an interview Henderson did on WXOS radio in St. Louis. Miklasz talked with several former A’s, and related a quote that former Oakland GM Sandy Alderson gave to the MLB network, in which Alderson said that “many of us were simply naive about what was going on.”
That’s not entirely true, according to former Oakland outfielder Dave Henderson.
“We didn’t actually see McGwire or Canseco do steroids, but when you shower with a player every day, you notice their body and muscular (transformation), and these guys got big overnight,” Henderson said in an interview with WXOS (101.1 FM) radio in St. Louis. “We kind of knew something was up. We’re not dumb.”
So did La Russa know?
“The manager doesn’t shower with us,” Henderson said. “We all have clothes on when we’re with the manager, but I’m sure he probably figured something was up. But it’s not his job to be a cop. He was in quite a quandary. If you accuse a player of doing steroids and he’s not, you’re in big trouble.”
I don’t think it’s necessary to shower with a person to notice that he suddenly doesn’t seem to have a neck. But if bathing with athletes will shed light on this in the future, I say we embed some reporters in the showers. Soap up, gentlemen (and ladies; I don’t want to appear sexist). The future of baseball hangs in the balance.
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Former players back La Russa [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
