JUPITER, FL--Next time you see the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter for Spring Training you'll see a familiar face around Roger Dean Stadium. The Cardinals are on the verge of announcing former home run champion Mark McGwire will be the teams new hitting coach replacing Hal McRae.
McGwire has more or less fallen off the baseball map after retiring from the game. He has been linked to using performance enhancing drugs and during a Congressional hearing a few years ago he said he didn't want to talk about the past and merely the present. McGwire swatted 583 career home runs during his career, including 70 in 1998.
Despite the home run total, McGwire has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame because of his possible link to steroids.
As for manager Tony LaRussa, his contract was up at the end of this year. The Cardinals are holding a news conference on Monday but did not specify what it was for, however most assume it's to announce LaRussa is returning for at least one more season with the option to return for a second.
