McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

[suave1477]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

LOOKS LIKE IT'S OFFICIAL!!



Mark McGwire Cards' New Hitting Coach

Posted Oct 25, 2009 4:18PM By Pat Lackey (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Cardinals, NL Central


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Mark McGwire will end his baseball exile and accept a position with the St. Louis Cardinals as their hitting coach, a Cardinals source confirmed to FanHouse's Ed Price Sunday afternoon. He'll replace Hal McRae, who's held the position for five years. The story initially appeared on Brian McRae's Twitter account, though it's since been deleted.

McGwire played 4 1/2 seasons with St. Louis, in which he hit 220 home runs and briefly set the single-season MLB record with his 70 homers in 1998. Of course, since then he's been surrounded by steroid rumors and has more or less dropped entirely off of the baseball radar after his Congressional testimony in 2005.

This news seems to make it pretty clear that Tony La Russa, who's been close with McGwire after managing him both in Oakland and St. Louis, should be back in 2010 as the Cardinals manager. There was initially some question about that, but a report by Joe Strauss Sunday morning pointed pretty strongly towards La Russa's return. It's hard to imagine any way McGwire accepts this job without La Russa in St. Louis.

What will be interesting is how the private McGwire handles his return to the baseball spotlight. He must know that by accepting this position, he's going to have to do some talking about the past, so to speak. Though, by announcing the hiring early, the Cardinals are probably hoping most of that dies down by the time the team is ready for spring training next February.

[sox83cubs84]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

From a collector's standpoint...it'll be refreshing (and Mcgwire will probably appreciate) the fact that, since he retired, Wrigley Field has gone Gestapo on fan access, and he won't have every collector and dealer in the area stampeding down to the wall when the gates open to line the wall to obtain his autograph.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[Vintagedeputy]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

When Julio Lugo hits 60+ home runs in 2010, I'm sure that it'll be because he's "just seeing the ball better".

[STLHAMMER32]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

I am going to cover some of the concerns brought up by the posts I have seen about Mark becoming hitting coach:

Big Mac's career batting average has nothing to do with his ability to coach and help players. McGwire's approach as a player was not to put the ball in play with 2 strikes...He was paid to hit homeruns and that is exactly what he did...he hit a hr once every 10 at bats. This is an incredible statistic. Although this was his personal approach this doesn't mean he applies that to everyone else. McGwire teaches mental focus..if you remember watching mcgwire on deck he would close his eyes and invision his at bat. He teaches seeing and picturing mentally what you will take into your at bat. McGwire thought about pitching situations, tendencies of the pitchers, what he would do with each type of pitch. He passes that on along with hitting techniques such as balance( mcgwire maintained tremendous balance in his hitting). Mcgwire has a talent for teaching hitting both the mental aspects and recognizing physical aspects as well. I think the average thinks "oh mcgwire just hits Hr's he don't know nothing else"....when really there is much more that goes into the game. A great example of this is "tipped pitching". The pitcher giving indication of what he will throw by small movements such as change of grip, small flare of the glove. The people that can recognize this will always have a job in baseball even if they can't hit a pitch to save their life, him telling others that can use it makes all the difference in the world. I know several who had this ability who kept jobs on teams that otherwise would have had nothing. Throw any numbers to the side when discussing coaching. Great players can be horrible coaches....it's about the talent to teach.

2.) McGwire has not been proven guilty of anything....we can assume all we want but the fact is you are innocent until proven guilty. Or did we change that? Sure seems like it. I'll be the first to say I think he did. Truth is we can do that for anyone. If McGwire comes out and spills his guts about what happened it would probably be best for his reputation. McGwire is less worried about him he doesn't want to be asked about others...he knows teammates that did and many involved. He is the opposite of canseco wants no part in involving others. For this reason he has chosen to not talk at all. You know what he doesn't have to, there is no evidence to even discuss.

3.) Like him or not he was a huge part of bringing baseball back. As baseball fans we should move past the steroid controversy...we all love the game and it most likely would not be here the way it is today without big mac...

[suave1477]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

I must say I am a bit surprised at a lot of the responses. I myself am not a Mac Fan. Some one here mentioned that he should be treated fairly.

Why?

He didn't reat the game fairly!!

[whatupyos]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

Bob,

Come on my friend. That was hardly a bash. I was just shocked at your statements. You always seem to be a harcore fan. Just reacting. I consider you a friend and I'm sorry if I hurt you in any way, just a simple exchange between two fans the way most guys do. Again, if I seemed harsh or hurt your feeling, I apologize.

Aaron

[skyking26]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

I love how you bump your McGwire thread every 5 days and say you're a fan but then you come out with statments like the one above and how he should have taken the path Giambi and Pettite did. Look, that's your opinion and that's fine, but I'd have taken the advise my lawyers had given me all the same.

Aaron

Aaron, for starters I bump 7 or more days...if I even remember to do it at all. If I've done in less, it was by mistake. I make mistakes, acknowledge when I do, etc.

Yes, I am a McGwire fan for accomplishments on the field before roids, and even if he did them you still have to posess the skills whether you are on juice of not. However...I've been open over the years about not thinking much of the fact that he was not humble like the others I mentioned and that his actions have hurt his own rep. I believe you and I have spoken about that privately via email as well. I think a person can still be a fan of a player but not agree with everything they do. My feelings on that are mine, and as such I really don't care for the personal attack regarding my statements.

You do surprise me by yours however. I've been told many a time by a good friend that I should leave this forum for bs like this...not being able to speak my mind etc without a bash, and I guess I never learn.

RK

[whatupyos]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

It will be interesting. Those that note his .266 avg. and the fact his been in hiding for years have points. Mark created the situation.

My guess is, he'll return with his famous statement: "I'm not here to talk of the past....just the future."

If he does, I know I won't pay much attention to him in 2010...

I love how you bump your McGwire thread every 5 days and say you're a fan but then you come out with statments like the one above and how he should have taken the path Giambi and Pettite did. Look, that's your opinion and that's fine, but I'd have taken the advise my lawyers had given me all the same.

Aaron

[whatupyos]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

Unless Big Mac was helping Holliday before he came to St Louis, I'm not sure you can say he helped him become a .300 hitter. Considering he has hit .300 every year but one.

Holliday did catch fire once he arrived in St Louis. Maybe Mac was responsible???

Anyway, I'm not a Mac fan. I'll leave it at that.

Actually, McGwire has been helping Holliday for at least 3 years. It started about 3-4 years ago when he was in Colorado. Gallego tried to get Mac back into baseball and had him visit the club when they played in LA. He texted Holliday off and on and he's give him advise. So, he's been helping Holliday for a good chunk of time now, not just this last year to state the facts.

Aaron

[whatupyos]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

I can only speak for myself, but it will be great to see McGwire back in uniform and in the Cardinals dugout again.

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

Matthew 7:1-4 (NIV)

Well said. I know I need to keep this in mind myself, as I fail. I'm a huge McGwire fan and don't like people mad dogging him, so I should keep that in mind when I dig at other people's favorite players. Again, well said.

Aaron

[TNTtoys]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

Unless Big Mac was helping Holliday before he came to St Louis, I'm not sure you can say he helped him become a .300 hitter. Considering he has hit .300 every year but one.

Holliday did catch fire once he arrived in St Louis. Maybe Mac was responsible???

Anyway, I'm not a Mac fan. I'll leave it at that.

McGwire helped Holliday this past year when he played in Oakland and was in a deep slump. He changed Holliday's mechanics to eliminate a bad habit that he had gotten into over time. There was a dramatic improvement in Holliday's numbers from his time with McGwire forward.

[rj_lucas]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

I can only speak for myself, but it will be great to see McGwire back in uniform and in the Cardinals dugout again.

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

Matthew 7:1-4 (NIV)

[skyking26]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

Just like he hepled Matt Holliday last off season geting ready to play for the A's. It only took Holliday till the start of June to go back to his old way of hitting.

It will be interesting. Those that note his .266 avg. and the fact his been in hiding for years have points. Mark created the situation.

My guess is, he'll return with his famous statement: "I'm not here to talk of the past....just the future."

If he does, I know I won't pay much attention to him in 2010...

[dnrapp]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

He has worked with several hitters that were struggling on a private basis over the years in off-season, and each hitter has stated that Mac has turned their game around to the positive.

Just like he hepled Matt Holliday last off season geting ready to play for the A's. It only took Holliday till the start of June to go back to his old way of hitting.

[5kRunner]

Re: McGwire to be Cards new hitting coach??

I hope he comes back. I can't wait!! He's helped Holliday and Skip Schumaker (sp?). They're both over .300 hitters. He was a great mental student of the game. Just because he wasn't a .300 hitter doesn't mean he can't teach it to others. I would love to see my boy back in the game. I hope he comes back and he's treated fairly.

Aaron

Unless Big Mac was helping Holliday before he came to St Louis, I'm not sure you can say he helped him become a .300 hitter. Considering he has hit .300 every year but one.

Holliday did catch fire once he arrived in St Louis. Maybe Mac was responsible???

Anyway, I'm not a Mac fan. I'll leave it at that.