Kevin Maris supports Mark McGwire until proven guilty.
As Mark McGwire pursued the single-season home run record in 1998, he took special care to embrace the family of the man whose 37-year-old record he hoped to break. When the Cardinals slugger hit No. 62 that season, he went into the stands at Busch Stadium, hugged Roger Maris' family and pointed to the sky.
It was a tip of the hat to the man who had been vilified for hitting 61 home runs in 1961, breaking Babe Ruth's 34-year-old single-season record. McGwire wound up hitting 70 home runs in '98; his record was eclipsed in 2001 by Barry Bonds, who hit 73.
Maris' son Kevin told the Daily News yesterday he believes McGwire is a class act, not the steroid-inflated cheat described in Jose Canseco's upcoming book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big."
"Mark is a first-class individual," said Kevin Maris, 44, the baseball coach at Oak Hall School in Gainesville, Fla. "He respects the game as much as anybody. We hope he's not wrapped up in this. He's a hard-working guy. He's worked hard on his game. You have to respect that."
Added Kevin Maris: "I'm sure what he's going through now is miserable."
As the Daily News first reported this week, in "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big," Canseco claims he personally used steroids with some of the biggest names in baseball - including McGwire and Jason Giambi.
Regan Books, Canseco's publisher, will reportedly release the book on Monday. Kevin Maris hopes Major League Baseball will conduct an in-depth investigation of Canseco's explosive charges as soon as possible.
"Whatever decision Major League Baseball makes about this, the Maris family will stand by it," he said. "Hopefully it's untrue. I don't think this is good for the game of baseball. This is not a good example for kids. We know these things are not good for the body. You have kids who are trying to keep up with the Joneses, and it leads to an unfair playing field."
Kevin Maris said his father, who died in 1985 at age 51 from cancer and who played through busted ribs, leg injuries, a broken hand and appendicitis during his years in baseball, would not condone ballplayers who use performance-enhancing drugs to get an edge on their competitors.
"I think Dad would be disappointed in the whole situation," Kevin Maris said. "He took pride in the fact that he took care of himself during his career. He was an honest guy. He played hard-nosed baseball the way it is supposed to be played. He was clean."
As Mark McGwire pursued the single-season home run record in 1998, he took special care to embrace the family of the man whose 37-year-old record he hoped to break. When the Cardinals slugger hit No. 62 that season, he went into the stands at Busch Stadium, hugged Roger Maris' family and pointed to the sky.
It was a tip of the hat to the man who had been vilified for hitting 61 home runs in 1961, breaking Babe Ruth's 34-year-old single-season record. McGwire wound up hitting 70 home runs in '98; his record was eclipsed in 2001 by Barry Bonds, who hit 73.
Maris' son Kevin told the Daily News yesterday he believes McGwire is a class act, not the steroid-inflated cheat described in Jose Canseco's upcoming book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big."
"Mark is a first-class individual," said Kevin Maris, 44, the baseball coach at Oak Hall School in Gainesville, Fla. "He respects the game as much as anybody. We hope he's not wrapped up in this. He's a hard-working guy. He's worked hard on his game. You have to respect that."
Added Kevin Maris: "I'm sure what he's going through now is miserable."
As the Daily News first reported this week, in "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big," Canseco claims he personally used steroids with some of the biggest names in baseball - including McGwire and Jason Giambi.
Regan Books, Canseco's publisher, will reportedly release the book on Monday. Kevin Maris hopes Major League Baseball will conduct an in-depth investigation of Canseco's explosive charges as soon as possible.
"Whatever decision Major League Baseball makes about this, the Maris family will stand by it," he said. "Hopefully it's untrue. I don't think this is good for the game of baseball. This is not a good example for kids. We know these things are not good for the body. You have kids who are trying to keep up with the Joneses, and it leads to an unfair playing field."
Kevin Maris said his father, who died in 1985 at age 51 from cancer and who played through busted ribs, leg injuries, a broken hand and appendicitis during his years in baseball, would not condone ballplayers who use performance-enhancing drugs to get an edge on their competitors.
"I think Dad would be disappointed in the whole situation," Kevin Maris said. "He took pride in the fact that he took care of himself during his career. He was an honest guy. He played hard-nosed baseball the way it is supposed to be played. He was clean."
