Mark McGwire is cheered by fans, evades questions

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mark McGwire received a standing ovation from Cardinals fans Sunday in his first public appearance in St. Louis since admitting he used steroids.

His scheduled news conference, only minutes later, was much more combative.

The second session was shifted to an overcrowded hallway at the last minute, and McGwire evaded questions about the criticism he’s received from ex-players. He repeatedly emphasized that he was ready to talk about the game instead of performance-enhancing drugs.

“I hope you all can accept this,” McGwire said at the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up. “Let’s all move on from this. Baseball is great right now, baseball is better.”

Dressed in jeans, a sweater and running shoes, the 46-year-old McGwire walked on stage to “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses, the hard-rock song played before his at-bats with the Cardinals. The team’s new hitting coach was cheered by fans who secured seats as much as 31‚Ñ2 hours earlier.

“I’ve learned a lot,” McGwire told fans. “Especially to kids out there, steroids are bad. I made a huge mistake in my life and it’s something I want you guys to learn from. Don’t ever, ever go down that road.”

Jessica and Sarah Schaaf were in the front row of a downtown hotel ballroom jammed with perhaps 1,000 fans, and wore T-shirts made for the occasion that said “Welcome back, Big Mac Land,” with a photograph of McGwire.

“He did wrong,” Jessica Schaaf said. “But we still love him.”

In a brief appearance on stage, McGwire said he was happy about his chance to put on a major league uniform again. The former home run king headed over to Busch Stadium, just blocks away, for an afternoon hitting session with Colby Rasmus and Ryan Ludwick, and pledged to immerse himself in his new job.

“Like I told them, I’ll be the first one in the cage and I’ll be the last one to leave,” McGwire said. “I’m there for them, I’m there to pass on my knowledge.”

McGwire, hired in October, added he had a “huge Rolodex of knowledge” to pass on to Cardinals hitters.

He was supposed to be at a podium minutes later, but when his news conference was moved into a narrow hallway it left reporters jostling for space and shouting questions. The session lasted just more than six minutes before questions were cut off and McGwire was escorted out by security and police through a back door.