Cards' McGee To Call It Quits

September 28, 1999 / 8:51 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The end of the line is near for St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Willie McGee, who indicated Tuesday that he'd retire at the end of the season.

"At this point, I don't honestly see myself playing anymore," McGee said. "Just like anything else, it hits you."

McGee was a World Series hero as a rookie in 1982. He was the NL MVP in 1985, when he batted .353 with 216 hits for another World Series team, and with five games to go in this season he had a career .295 batting average. He has won two NL batting champions.

He'll be 41 in November and his performance has slipped the past two years. More than anything, McGee, who's been mulling retirement the last three years, has lost the inner fire to compete.

"I still feel like I've got things to offer, but it's one thing to be able to play physically and another thing to want to be there, want to go through the grind," McGee said. "It's the traveling that gets you. Mentally, I'm not going to be the player I once was, and I'm realizing that now."

McGee was traded late in 1990 because he was about to become a free agent and the Cardinals were worried about salary escalation. Since returning in 1996 he's been perhaps the team's most popular player, even more so than home run king Mark McGwire. A sighting of McGee, head down and bat in hand, has routinely drawn huge ovations.

Lately, he's had trouble living up to that noise, batting .253 last year and hitting .256 with no homers and 20 RBIs in 266 at-bats heading into the final homestand this season. Perhaps most telling, he's 8-for-47 as a pinch hitter.

Manager Tony La Russa said McGee would have a job next season if he wanted one.

"Willie's always harder on his performance than the rest of us," La Russa said. "He always thinks he did less than we think he did."

But La Russa said he wouldn't try to talk McGee into coming back.

"He knows himself," La Russa said. "That's one of the worst things you can do, lay a guilt trip on him. You just let him know that he's done better than he thinks he did."

McGee would rather make room for a young player on the roster than hang on.

"You've got guys like Craig Paquette, Thomas Howard and Marcus Jensen that can do the same thing I can do and they've got that hunger and that fire," McGee said. "I've got 18 years of this. Their candle is just being lit."

Earlier in the season, McGee expressed an interest in coaching and ultimately managing. He wants to remain in the game i some capacity.

"I love this game, and I've always loved it," McGee said. "I love talking to these young guys. I wish there was a role in baseball where you could come in and just deal with the mental aspects."