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The Hot Corner: Big Mac's New Role In St. Louis

The Hot Corner

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: October 26, 2009

Hall of Fame voters and U.S. senators be damned! The lumberjack-looking redhead with inflatable forearms is back in the game.

As reported on ESPN.com Monday afternoon, Mark McGwire will be returning to the St. Louis Cardinals dugout as the team's new hitting coach.

Big Mac – virtually invisible since his tear-ridden blabfest on Capitol Hill in 2005 – seems to be a strange choice. Yes, he bombed 583 home runs over 18 seasons, owns an impressive OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .982 and was one of the most feared batters in the game for a number of years, but McGwire will never be remembered as a great "hitter."

A career average of .263 is pedestrian and of his 7,660 plate appearances, 1,414 of them ended on strike three.

That's the perplexing part about the Cardinals' new hire. One would think that traits like plate discipline and contact hitting are paramount when filling this position.

Don't get me wrong, performance enhancing drugs aside, McGwire knew how to hit a baseball and he did it well. Additionally, it's not like success in the game at any level is even a prerequisite for being an effective coach or manager.

But how much help is Big Mac going to be for contact and spray guys like 2B Skip Schumaker or SS Brendan Ryan?

The first thought might be that maybe it's a strategy to boost the club's overall power numbers, where the 2009 Cards ranked just below the major league average in home runs (160), slugging (.415) and OPS (.747).

Depending on the player, swinging for more power, though, can carry the added tagalong of higher strikeout numbers and lower batting averages.

The other item open for consideration with McGwire's clubhouse addition is wondering whether or not the hire is more of a favor than a merit-based acquisition.

Cardinals skipper Tony LaRussa is on the back nine of his managerial career and no single player in this league played more games under his leadership than Big Red.

You would have to assume that the PED issue was raised throughout this process and that top officials discussed how McGwire's reemergence will be welcomed. As spring training for 2010 gets closer and closer, this topic will most likely get its fair share of media coverage.

So will the sideshow and what McGwire is – or isn't – able to bring to the table worth the hire?

Loyalty is all well and good, but it can also blur one's best judgment.

Eric Horchy can be reached at 727-815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com.

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