http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2010/01/07/2010-01-07_mark_mcgwire_pinchhitting.html
Mark McGwire pinch-hitting for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010 could restart his Hall of Fame clock
BY Christian Red, Bill Madden and Teri Thompson
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITERS
Originally Published:Thursday, January 7th 2010, 1:38 PM
Updated: Thursday, January 7th 2010, 7:08 PM
Butkus/AP
Mark McGwire, who isn't getting much love from Hall of Fame voters, returns to the Cardinals as hitting coach in 2010.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa threw a wicked curveball in an interview with the Contra Costa Times, saying that if his club is in a tight division race come late August, he might break out a secret weapon for the stretch run: former single-season home run king Mark McGwire.
He also may have been angling for extra time for McGwire, 46, to appear on Hall of Fame ballots.
La Russa made the comments in an interview in which he also addressed when McGwire would hold a press conference to discuss his return to the Cardinals as a hitting coach five years after a congressional hearing in which he refused to answer questions about whether he ever used performance-enhancing drugs.
"If we're in contention, we'll put him on the roster Aug. 31. It's a nice little dream," La Russa told the paper, referring to McGwire. "Is it likely? Probably not. I don't think it's a zero possibility. The point is, you'll see him in spring training. He won't be leaning on the batting cage chatting it up. He'll work his (butt) off, and hitters will be thrilled he's there helping them."
La Russa qualified the comments Thursday, telling the Daily News what he said was "mostly tongue in cheek."
"He's feeling great," La Russa said of McGwire. "We weren't too serious about it but we kidded, if we were in contention and we activate him in August so he could be a pinch hitter in August, and we laughed... Just as an example, his back feels great, and that's the reason he had to retire in 2001. He's in great shape."
La Russa's comments, however, raised another issue: if McGwire is added to a Major League roster and plays in a game, it will make him an active player, or "unretired," and kick-start a new calendar for his Hall of Fame consideration (players have to wait five years after retiring or from their last appearance in a game and then have 15 more years to remain eligible for election. Because McGwire has already appeared on the ballot three times, he would only have 12 years of eligibility left, but plenty of extra time to rehab his tarnished image).
Jack O'Connell, Secretary Treasurer of the Baseball Writers Association of America, whose members elect players to the Hall of Fame, wondered if the Cardinals' manager was attempting to buy time for McGwire.
"Is that why La Russa is considering this move - because he wants to take McGwire out of the equation for another five years and see whether a player (from the steroid era) gets voted in (to the Hall of Fame)?" O'Connell said when told of La Russa's comments.
McGwire has fallen far short of election to Cooperstown the last three years - he only received 128 votes (23.7%) this year, 10 more than last year and matching the total from his first two times on the ballot - a result of allegations he was a steroid user and his widely-ridiculed appearance before Congress in 2005. Four days before that congressional hearing on steroids use in baseball, during which McGwire told members of Congress that he was "not here to talk about the past," the Daily News ran an exclusive story that described McGwire's use of hardcore steroids provided by a steroid dealer named Curtis Wenzlaff. Jose Canseco, McGwire's former A's teammate, also penned his steroid tell-all, "Juiced," that same year, and detailed how he personally injected McGwire during their days playing for La Russa in Oakland.
There is past precedent for making the move La Russa says he would consider: Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jose Rijo, for example, first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2001 and received one vote, then unretired in 2001-2002 and started the process all over, appearing on the ballot again in 2007.
Rijo, however, did not face the same kind of scrutiny McGwire continues to face and was not linked to steroid use. Wenzlaff was convicted in the landmark Operation Equine steroids investigation that unfolded between 1989 and 1993, and which was led by two now-retired FBI agents, Greg Stejskal and Bill Randall. According to two FBI informants involved in the case, Wenzlaff provided steroids to McGwire.
The Cardinals have yet to hold a press conference or an organized conference call to formally introduce McGwire, but La Russa indicated to the Contra Costa Times that he thought something would be arranged before spring training starts. Assuming McGwire actually joins the team, any such event is certain to draw a media firestorm and put McGwire in a difficult position where he will have to address steroid questions.
"He knows he's got to be forthcoming sooner than later," La Russa said. "Now that we're past the holidays and awards, I think it'll happen soon. ... I'm curious to see what he says. I know enough about him and his character, I know he's a quality guy."
But La Russa also made it clear that McGwire's Hall of Fame chances are on his mind.
"At least he didn't go backward," La Russa told the newspaper of the vote by the Baseball Writers of America. "Hopefully now he'll get back [in voters' good graces] where he's out working again."
Mark McGwire pinch-hitting for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010 could restart his Hall of Fame clock
BY Christian Red, Bill Madden and Teri Thompson
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITERS
Originally Published:Thursday, January 7th 2010, 1:38 PM
Updated: Thursday, January 7th 2010, 7:08 PM
Mark McGwire, who isn't getting much love from Hall of Fame voters, returns to the Cardinals as hitting coach in 2010.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa threw a wicked curveball in an interview with the Contra Costa Times, saying that if his club is in a tight division race come late August, he might break out a secret weapon for the stretch run: former single-season home run king Mark McGwire.
He also may have been angling for extra time for McGwire, 46, to appear on Hall of Fame ballots.
La Russa made the comments in an interview in which he also addressed when McGwire would hold a press conference to discuss his return to the Cardinals as a hitting coach five years after a congressional hearing in which he refused to answer questions about whether he ever used performance-enhancing drugs.
"If we're in contention, we'll put him on the roster Aug. 31. It's a nice little dream," La Russa told the paper, referring to McGwire. "Is it likely? Probably not. I don't think it's a zero possibility. The point is, you'll see him in spring training. He won't be leaning on the batting cage chatting it up. He'll work his (butt) off, and hitters will be thrilled he's there helping them."
La Russa qualified the comments Thursday, telling the Daily News what he said was "mostly tongue in cheek."
"He's feeling great," La Russa said of McGwire. "We weren't too serious about it but we kidded, if we were in contention and we activate him in August so he could be a pinch hitter in August, and we laughed... Just as an example, his back feels great, and that's the reason he had to retire in 2001. He's in great shape."
La Russa's comments, however, raised another issue: if McGwire is added to a Major League roster and plays in a game, it will make him an active player, or "unretired," and kick-start a new calendar for his Hall of Fame consideration (players have to wait five years after retiring or from their last appearance in a game and then have 15 more years to remain eligible for election. Because McGwire has already appeared on the ballot three times, he would only have 12 years of eligibility left, but plenty of extra time to rehab his tarnished image).
Jack O'Connell, Secretary Treasurer of the Baseball Writers Association of America, whose members elect players to the Hall of Fame, wondered if the Cardinals' manager was attempting to buy time for McGwire.
"Is that why La Russa is considering this move - because he wants to take McGwire out of the equation for another five years and see whether a player (from the steroid era) gets voted in (to the Hall of Fame)?" O'Connell said when told of La Russa's comments.
McGwire has fallen far short of election to Cooperstown the last three years - he only received 128 votes (23.7%) this year, 10 more than last year and matching the total from his first two times on the ballot - a result of allegations he was a steroid user and his widely-ridiculed appearance before Congress in 2005. Four days before that congressional hearing on steroids use in baseball, during which McGwire told members of Congress that he was "not here to talk about the past," the Daily News ran an exclusive story that described McGwire's use of hardcore steroids provided by a steroid dealer named Curtis Wenzlaff. Jose Canseco, McGwire's former A's teammate, also penned his steroid tell-all, "Juiced," that same year, and detailed how he personally injected McGwire during their days playing for La Russa in Oakland.
There is past precedent for making the move La Russa says he would consider: Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jose Rijo, for example, first appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2001 and received one vote, then unretired in 2001-2002 and started the process all over, appearing on the ballot again in 2007.
Rijo, however, did not face the same kind of scrutiny McGwire continues to face and was not linked to steroid use. Wenzlaff was convicted in the landmark Operation Equine steroids investigation that unfolded between 1989 and 1993, and which was led by two now-retired FBI agents, Greg Stejskal and Bill Randall. According to two FBI informants involved in the case, Wenzlaff provided steroids to McGwire.
The Cardinals have yet to hold a press conference or an organized conference call to formally introduce McGwire, but La Russa indicated to the Contra Costa Times that he thought something would be arranged before spring training starts. Assuming McGwire actually joins the team, any such event is certain to draw a media firestorm and put McGwire in a difficult position where he will have to address steroid questions.
"He knows he's got to be forthcoming sooner than later," La Russa said. "Now that we're past the holidays and awards, I think it'll happen soon. ... I'm curious to see what he says. I know enough about him and his character, I know he's a quality guy."
But La Russa also made it clear that McGwire's Hall of Fame chances are on his mind.
"At least he didn't go backward," La Russa told the newspaper of the vote by the Baseball Writers of America. "Hopefully now he'll get back [in voters' good graces] where he's out working again."
