by Tracy Ringolsby

Mark McGwire should feel pretty comfortable in St. Louis. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

Those were the good old days for McGwire. He and Sammy Sosa battled in pursuit of the game's single-season home run record in 1998, and the two were credited with providing the impetus for baseball to regain popularity following the ugliness of the 1994 strike that led to cancellation of the World Series and delayed the opening of the 1995 season.

The good times didn't last long, and McGwire has been living in the shadows of baseball's steroid stigma ever since.

First came a controversy in the midst of the pursuit of Roger Maris when a writer thought he had found his claim to fame by "exposing" McGwire for using a supplement that was perfectly legal at the time — although the andro that was included in the ingredients has since been banned — and was actually purchased over the counter at GNC. The writer, who recently had a public relations firm promoting him for the Hall of Fame, created a smear campaign over sighting a bottle that was readily visible in McGwire's locker.

Then came former Oakland teammate Jose Canseco, in his book on the use of steroids in baseball, naming McGwire among the players he knew used the illegal substance, although McGwire never was tested because in his day baseball had no drug-testing policy.

And finally came a 2005 hearing in front of a publicity-seeking Congressional committee that brought back memories of the McCarthy-era witch hunts where McGwire declined to answer any questions and by the time Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., finished his smear campaign McGwire was assumed guilty until proven innocent.

Never one who courted the media and looked for the spotlight, McGwire retired after the 2001 season and has been in seclusion. He never lost his love for baseball, but was reluctant to extend himself too much for fear of creating a public scene. He spent some time around the Colorado Rockies during the 2006 season, which led to him beginning private offseason work with Matt Holliday, thanks to the urging of former Oakland teammate Mike Gallego, a Rockies coach at the time.

The Rockies were so impressed that over the last couple of years they have pursued McGwire as a hitting coach, but he declined the overtures. He chose to limit his work to private sessions, allowing him to keep his life more private.

Now, however, McGwire has had a change of heart.

Now he is ready to get back into uniform.

He has found a comfort zone.

La Russa has been his guru since he first came to the big leagues in Oakland and was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1987 until the end of his big-league career in St. Louis, where McGwire hit the last of his 583 career home runs, which rank eighth on the all-time list.

And his image remains strong in St. Louis, where the local McDonalds still sponsors Big Mac Land in the left-field seats, a tie-in between the company's popular hamburger and the nickname of the popular former Cardinals player.

McGwire deserves the opportunity.

He doesn't deserve the constant snide remarks and innuendos.

Manny Ramirez has been caught violating baseball's drug-testing policy, and Dodger fans never wavered in their hero worship. Barry Bonds remains an icon in San Francisco despite grand jury charges dealing with his association with performance enhancing drugs.

So what's the knock on McGwire?

Better yet, what's the knock on baseball for allowing McGwire to return?

It's laughable when Congress decides to intercede, politicians looking to pamper their image at election time, and then chastises baseball for allegedly illegal doings of the players.

If laws have been violated, then where are the federal authorities charged with enforcing the laws? It would seem that Waxman would better serve his constituents if he spent time finding out why the law enforcement agencies have failed in their area.

It was the federal government that uncovered the drug problems with Pittsburgh in the '70s, and the Royals in 1983, when four Royals actually went to prison for their actions.

If McGwire has not been proven to have violated any laws or rules, he shouldn't be denied the chance to be a part of the game.

On a baseball level, what the move with McGwire would seem to show is that La Russa is expanding his power within the Cardinal organization, winning his battle with Jeff Luhnow, whose ties to ownership led to the departure of former general manager Walt Jocketty, a long-time La Russa ally who is now the general manager in Cincinnati.

If not, La Russa would not have been willing to accept a multi-year deal to return, and his long-time sidekick, pitching coach Dave Duncan, would not be returning, much less McGwire joining the dugout staff.

But then La Russa does have a résumé that involves winning World Series (two), pennants (five), division titles (12) and games (2,552, tops among active managers and third on the all-time list), not office rotisserie leagues, a key element of Luhnow's résumé.

And McGwire has a track record, too, that is stronger than the fact he hit towering home runs. He has gained credibility as an instructor with the private work he has done with several players, including Holliday and Cardinals second baseman Skip Schumaker.

Only time will tell if McGwire's hiring will add to the lure for Holliday, a free agent in waiting, to opt for less money and return to the Cardinals.

It's not that Holliday had problems with Hal McRae — who never was a La Russa guy and as a result was an easy sacrifice to make room for McGwire.

It is just that Holliday has developed a special relationship with McGwire, just like La Russa and the Cardinals' fans.