RetroSimba

Expected to supply power and run production, Mark McGwire was a dud in his first 10 games with the Cardinals.

Slow to adjust to National League pitching, McGwire batted .088 in 10 games after being acquired by the Cardinals from the Athletics on July 31, 1997.

McGwire had three hits and one RBI in his first 34 at-bats for the Cardinals. He produced two singles in seven games before hitting a home run in his eighth. He was hitless in the next two.

The Cardinals lost eight of those 10 games.

After that, McGwire recovered from his slump and delivered the offense most expected. In light of subsequent revelations, the question of whether performance-enhancing drugs aided his breakout cannot be dismissed.

In 2010, McGwire told the Associated Press he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade, beginning after the 1989 season.

“I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989-1990 offseason and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again,” McGwire said. “I used them on occasion throughout the 1990s, including during the 1998 season.”

McGwire told Bob Costas of MLB Network that studying pitchers and making his swing shorter _ not performance-enhancing drugs _ led to his increase in home runs, but skeptics weren’t convinced.

“I think that’s a lot of horse muffins,” Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller said. “If it didn’t help him any, what the hell was he taking them for? Of course it helped him.”

Singles hitter

McGwire, acquired for pitchers T.J. Mathews, Eric Ludwick and Blake Stein, went hitless with a walk in his first Cardinals game on Aug. 1, 1997, at Philadelphia.

The next day, Aug. 2, he got his first Cardinals hit, an infield single against the Phillies’ Matt Beech.

McGwire was hitless over the next three games _ one at Philadelphia and two at New York versus the Mets.

On Aug. 6, he got his second Cardinals hit, a bloop single to center against the Braves’ Greg Maddux.

McGwire was hitless the next night, Aug. 7, versus the Braves. His batting average after seven road games versus the Phillies, Mets and Braves was .080.

“I’m big into visualization,” McGwire told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “You have to visualize how the pitch is going to come and what kind of pitch he has. When I’m facing a guy for the first time … they’re getting me out before I really see what they have.”

Cardinals manager Tony La Russa noted that Ray Lankford had been sidelined because of a hamstring injury since McGwire joined the team. La Russa had planned to bat Lankford third in the order. Without Lankford, McGwire, in the cleanup spot, batted behind a rotation of No. 3 hitters _ Phil Plantier, John Mabry, Willie McGee and Ron Gant.

Still, it was surprising, if not concerning, that McGwire, acquired to provide instant offense, was without an extra-base hit after seven games.

“All I can say is this is very humbling,” McGwire said.

Welcome home

McGwire’s eighth Cardinals game, on Aug. 8, was his first home game. He hadn’t been in St. Louis since playing there in an exhibition game for Team USA in 1983.

Lankford returned to the lineup for that night’s game against the Phillies at Busch Stadium. La Russa batted Lankford third and McGwire fourth in the order.

When McGwire came to the plate in the first inning, with runners on first and second, one out, most among the crowd of 38,300 gave him a standing ovation. McGwire popped out to the second baseman.

In the third, with the Cardinals ahead, 2-0, Lankford hit a solo home run against Mark Leiter. Two pitches later, McGwire followed with his first Cardinals home run. The ball, which barely avoided hooking into foul territory, traveled 441 feet before slamming into the glass exterior of the Stadium Club dining area above the left field bleachers.

The crowd roared its approval. After returning to the dugout, McGwire emerged onto the top step and waved to the fans. Video

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a crowd so loud in a regular-season game,” McGwire said.

In his last two at-bats of the game, McGwire flied out to right and walked. The Cardinals won, 6-1. Boxscore

Many homers, no pennants

After the feel-good home debut, McGwire went hitless against the Phillies in the remaining two games of the series. The Cardinals lost both.

In the Aug. 10 game, the Busch Stadium scoreboard, at La Russa’s request, displayed McGwire’s combined 1997 batting average with the Athletics and Cardinals (.267) rather than just his St. Louis mark.

After 10 games with the Cardinals, McGwire had an .088 batting average, two singles, one home run, one RBI and 12 strikeouts in 34 at-bats. It also didn’t go unnoticed that Mathews had three wins for the Athletics since being dealt for McGwire.

On Aug. 12, McGwire hit a double and a home run against the Mets’ Dave Mlicki. From then on, he improved his production.

In 25 games in August, McGwire hit nine home runs with 18 RBI and had an on-base percentage of .408.

In 26 games in September, McGwire hit 15 home runs with 24 RBI and had an on-base percentage of .413.

Overall for the 1997 Cardinals, McGwire hit 24 home runs with 42 RBI in 51 games. The Cardinals finished 73-89.

He had two epic seasons for the Cardinals in 1998 and 1999. McGwire hit 70 home runs with 147 RBI in 1998 and 65 home runs with 147 RBI in 1999, but the Cardinals failed to qualify for the postseason both years.

Previously: How Cardinals were able to acquire Mark McGwire