Mark McGwire's return to baseball could ignite interest

Update: McGwire admitted using steroids for a substantial part of his career in an interview with The Associated Press on Jan. 11, 2010.  My opinions here (item written Oct. 16 when it was apparent he was returning to MLB as a coach) largely remain the same, though I definitely do not think this will improve his status in the eyes of Hall of Fame voters as much as it might members of the public.

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By CHRIS OLDS | Beckett Baseball Editor

Mark McGwire is set to return to Major League Baseball as the new hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals today, a move that could ignite interest in his long-suffering sports cards and memorabilia.

The news comes as a surprise to many as the former single-season home run king has distanced himself from the game in his eight years since retiring and remaining remarkably silent in a cloud of performance-enhancement drug suspicions.

And if McGwire thinks the spotlight of 1998’s home run chase was tough, the first thing on everyone’s mind will be eight words that were his crutch before Congress in 2005:

“I’m not here to talk about the past.”

LaRussa will return as the Cardinals manager next year, bringing along the guy who once owned the hobby and the hearts of a nation — a man whose autographs are about the only thing that remain pricey in the wake of the last decade. (Why? He simply doesn’t sign many.) McGwire’s 1985 Topps Rookie Card is a deflated shell of its past self, selling for $30 or less while once commanding hundreds of dollars. Same goes for most of his other 4,647 baseball cards.

But first things first. McGwire will have to talk about the past.

And if he doesn’t, the nature of the beast called curiosity — and more than a few beat reporters — might make this one of the shortest-running experiments in baseball history. Bringing on McGwire (a career .263 hitter) as a coach, regardless of how much he has helped players in recent years, is not an overwhelmingly positive move for LaRussa, the Cardinals — or Major League Baseball — unless the past is addressed.

Immediately.

Then again, LaRussa’s public comments on the issue of steroids in the game haven’t always made sense, blasting former player Jose Canseco for his obvious known use (on his watch) and, meanwhile, knowing nothing about any misdeeds from McGwire — consistently defending him. Even after this:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=942HcHKbOno]

While the congressional hearing was a landmark event for baseball, there’s no denying the fact that McGwire has a chance to redeem himself and become a star with fans once again. Ultimately, one of the reasons so many stars have fallen from grace — particularly in the hobby — was not that they made mistakes or were driven to excel by any means necessary in an industry that had no regulations. It’s the fact that they continue to deny any wrongdoing — so much so they appear to be buffoons in the face of reality and, at the very least, common sense.

Sure, there will never be proof of many players’ alleged use of steroids or other PEDs, but at this point it really doesn’t matter. In today’s baseball landscape, doubt casts a long shadow — right or wrong — but there’s an easy way to emerge from that darkness. It’s something that we’ve seen so few athletes do in recent years, but a few examples include Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi and, yes, even Canseco.

It’s called talking about the past.

Let’s hope McGwire does that on Monday.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball and Beckett Graded Card Investor. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com.