Mark McGwire

I'm not here to discuss the past... I'm here to be positive.

I don't know if I want to break my own record. I think I would rather leave it as it is.

The only reason I took steroids was for my health purposes. I did not take steroids to get any gain for any strength purposes.

I know it's tough. Everybody in baseball knows its tough. I'm just going to give it my best shot.

I'm sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids.

Once and for all, I did not use steroids or any other illegal substance.

I've been thinking about the record since I reached the fifty plateau. But you think about it and then you let it go because you can't waste many brain cells on hours thinking about it.

I have had to tell my son, my parents, my friends that I used steroids. It's been very hard. It's been very difficult.

I sort of missed one big thing, to touch first base. I hope I didn't act foolish, but this is history.

My message is that steroids is bad. Don't do them. It's a bad message.

I tell you what, I was so shocked because I didn't think the ball had enough to get out. It's an absolutely incredible feeling. I can honestly say I did it.

I had good years when I took steroids, and I had bad years when I took steroids. But no matter what, I shouldn't have done it, and for that, I'm truly sorry.

This is a great thing that's happening in baseball. We don't know if it will ever happen again.

I touched Roger's bat and held it to my heart. My bat will lie next to his. I'm damn proud of that.

I wish that every player could feel what I've felt in visiting ballparks. The receptions I've received, it's blown me away. It's absolutely remarkable.

Do you want to know the truth, or see me hit a few dingers?

I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989 -1990 off season, and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again.

I study pitchers. I visualize pitches. That gives me a better chance every time I step into the box. That doesn't mean I'm going to get a hit every game, but that's one of the reasons I've come a long way as a hitter.

What a perfect way to end the home stand, by hitting sixty-two for the city of St. Louis and all the fans. I truly wanted to do it here and I did. Thank you St. Louis.

In '83, we went over to Amsterdam. I just remember people saying, 'Baseball's just starting over here. They're learning how to play the game of baseball.'

Wouldn't it be great if we just ended up tied? I think it would be beautiful.

You don't know that you'll ever have to talk about the skeleton in your closet.

The steroids I did were on a very, very low dosage. I didn't want to take a lot of that. I didn't want to look like Arnold Schwartzenegger or Lou Ferrigno.

Only sixteen players have hit fifty or more homers in a season. To me, that's a very special milestone.

I think it puts baseball back on the map as a sport. It's America's pastime and just look at everyone coming out to the ballpark. It has been an exciting year.

Performance-enhancing drugs are an illusion. I wish I had never gotten involved with steroids. It was wrong. It was stupid.

Baseball was a chapter in my life, and now I'm excited to start another chapter as a hitting coach.