Hall pass from Tony

NEW YORK -- Tony La Russa will defend Mark McGwire until the end: To him, Big Mac is a Hall of Famer.

"I've believed in him from day one. I still believe in him," the St. Louis Cardinals manager said Tuesday.

McGwire is appearing on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, and an AP survey of 125 baseball writers who are eligible to vote -- about 20 percent of the total -- showed that only one in four who gave an opinion planned to vote for McGwire.

"It would be two in five then. I'd make it two in five," La Russa said. "I can't answer for anybody else, what priorities they give and how they weigh stuff. I know what my personal opinion is, and that's the way it stays."

McGwire, a 12-time All-Star, is seventh on the career home run list with 583, but his status plummeted in the minds of many after former Oakland teammate Jose Canseco accused him last year of using steroids. McGwire evaded questions during a March 2005 congressional hearing, saying repeatedly: "I'm not here to talk about the past."

La Russa managed McGwire from 1986 to 1995 with the Oakland Athletics, then from 1997 to 2001 with the Cardinals. La Russa repeatedly has said that he never saw McGwire use any performance-enhancing drugs.

"I've watched him for years and years and years work out and take care of himself, and if any of us do that, we get bigger and stronger," La Russa said.

McGwire's business manager, Jim Milner, did not return telephone calls Monday and Tuesday seeking comment.

For La Russa, it's hard to gauge whether McGwire is being treated unfairly because of his refusal to answer questions at the congressional hearing.

"I know people are struggling with how to put it in perspective," he said. "I don't know where it goes. I don't know how people weigh. I don't know how the public feels. To me, the issue is the player that I saw for years and years. I believe in him. And that's where I leave it."

McGwire has stayed away from most baseball events -- he wasn't seen at any of the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series games this year. While La Russa remains in close contact, they haven't discussed the upcoming Hall of Fame vote.

"I talk to him frequently. We don't talk about it. We have other things to talk about," La Russa said.

St. Louis beat the Detroit Tigers in five games last month for its first World Series title since 1982. For La Russa, this offseason is a time to savor.

"It's been good. Enjoying every bit of it," he said. "You wouldn't feel it as deeply as you do having been though a bunch of misses."