Monday, Oct. 26, 2009

La Russa makes it official: He's back, and so is Big Mac

ST. LOUIS -- Tony La Russa made it official Monday morning: He's coming back as the St. Louis Cardinals' manager in a one-year deal, and Mark McGwire will be his hitting coach.

La Russa, 65, spoke at a 51-minute press conference alongside Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and General Manager John Mozeliak. McGwire, who retired in 2001 and then had steroid suspicions linked to his name, did not attend the press conference.

"This is a terrific situation, and selfishly I wanted to be the guy that enjoys it in 2010," said La Russa, adding that pitching coach Dave Duncan and the rest of the staff, minus Hal McRae, also will be returning for his 15th season as Cardinals manager.

McGwire, 46, who batted .263 with 583 home runs in 16 seasons with the Oakland A's and the Cardinals, is replacing the 64-year-old McRae, who had been the hitting instructor for the last five seasons.

"Mark McGwire is going to be our hitting coach," La Russa said. "I never talked to him until Monday, a week ago. We talked back and forth for three or four days. I definitely ran it by 'Mo' and Bill and they were on board. I'm excited to have Mark on the staff. This is the time for Mark to join our club."

La Russa wasn't sure whether McGwire would be interested in being the Cardinals' hitting instructor, even though McGwire in recent years has worked with players like Skip Schumaker and Matt Holliday of the Cardinals and Garrett Atkins of Colorado.

"Right away, he was asking questions," La Russa said of his initial conversation with McGwire. "When he did that, I said (to myself), 'There's a chance here.'"

McGwire contacted La Russa on Friday and said he would take the job.

La Russa and Mozeliak said McGwire would meet at some point with the media to answer questions that have dogged him since a Congressional hearing in March 2005 into steroid use in baseball.

La Russa hinted those questions would not be a daily topic of conversation at Busch Stadium, saying McGwire would be too busy working with hitters.

"He's not going to have a lot of time to sit around the cage and just talk," La Russa said. "I know a bunch of you are anxious to talk to him about whatever, but he's ready for it."

Mozeliak said the Cardinals would "expose" McGwire to the media at some point this winter, but "probably not in person." That would mean a phone hookup with McGwire from his home in Southern California.

La Russa, the third-winningest manager in baseball history, said he decided quickly after the season ended that he wanted to return to the Cardinals. He said he never doubted Duncan would be back, and said the pitching coach would have likely returned if La Russa had retired.

"I'm excited," La Russa said of his return. "I'm fired up for a number of reasons. This is a great place to be. This is a great place to manage. It's a terrific situation. Selfishly, I wanted to be a part of that situation in 2010."

Most of the questions at the press conference -- by one count, 33 of 42 -- centered on McGwire's return, not La Russa's decision to remain in St. Louis.

"I would be here if Mark wasn't the (hitting) coach," La Russa said. "But adding him adds fire to the gut."

McGwire, who is married to the former Stephanie Slemer of Glen Carbon, told La Russa he was interested in the coaching job because his two sons are in school fulltime. La Russa said McGwire's wife urged him to take the position.

"He's been hired to be our hitting coach because he can help our offense be better," La Russa said. "Nobody has worked harder, including Albert (Pujols) ... That work ethic is going to translate into a heck of a coach."

McGwire hit a record 70 home runs in 1998, eclipsing Roger Maris' record of 61 set in 1961. Barry Bonds now holds the home run mark with 73, set in 2001.

For more on La Russa and McGwire, see Tuesday's News-Democrat or visit www.bnd.com.