Cardinals manager Tony La Russa dismisses book by hitting coach Mark McGwire’s brother

La Russa dismisses book by McGwire’s brother

JUPITER, Fla. — St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has no plans to read a new book that suggests Mark McGwire knew steroids would boost his power at the plate.

The book, to be released Monday, is by McGwire’s estranged brother, Jay McGwire. He says Big Mac knew he became a better hitter because steroids enhanced his size and strength.

Last month, McGwire admitted taking steroids and human growth hormone during the 1990s, but said he only did so to recover from injuries — not to improve his performance. He hasn’t commented on the book as he works with hitters at the Cardinals’ spring training facility in his new job as batting coach.

La Russa told reporters Thursday that the allegations sound familiar. He said someone he knew read an advance copy and it doesn’t sound as though the book includes “first-page-to-last-page damning stuff about Mark.”

The manager said he doesn’t plan to read it.

“What’s the point?” La Russa said. “It’s stuff that’s already been gone over a bunch of times. I don’t know what it’s going to change.”

Estranged from his brother for eight years because of a family dispute, Jay McGwire has gone public in “Mark and Me: Mark McGwire and the Truth Behind Baseball’s Worst-Kept Secret,” which is scheduled for publication Monday by TriumphBooks.

Jay McGwire says in the book that he persuaded his brother to start using steroids regularly in 1994 and set him up with a supplier. He says Mark regularly used an array of drugs through 1996 that included Deca-Durabolin, human growth hormone, Dianabol, Winstrol and Primobolan. McGwire later used androstenedione, a steroid precursor that wasn’t banned by baseball until 2004, when it became a controlled substance.

Jay McGwire, a former bodybuilder who turns 40 on May 5, said he was introduced to steroids by friends in 1989, beginning with pills of Anavar. He says his brother only gave in to using steroids after an injury-filled 1993 season.

La Russa, who managed Mark in Oakland before the pair reunited in St. Louis, recalled seeing Jay McGwire in the Athletics clubhouse, but said he didn’t think Jay was taking steroids.

Mark McGwire hit 70 homers for the Cardinals in 1998, shattering Roger Maris’ record of 61 set in 1961.

The brothers haven’t spoken since 2002. They fell out after Jay McGwire’s stepson, Eric, tickled Mark and caused Mark to spill coffee on himself. Mark then swatted Eric on the backside. Jay’s wife, Francine, then refused to attend Mark’s wedding.