Baseball Slugger McGwire Has Knee Surgery

Tuesday October 24 12:43 AM ET

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire, limited to pinch-hitting duties over the final month of the season and the playoffs, underwent surgery on his right knee over the weekend, the team announced Monday.

McGwire had the diseased portion of his patella tendon removed during the procedure at Barnes West County Hospital.

``Aside from the tendinitis, there were no other abnormalities with Mark's knee,'' team physician Dr. George Paletta said.

``We were impressed by the overall condition of the knee, and the other structures within his right knee were normal.''

McGwire is recovering at his home in California and will begin rehabilitation this week. The team hopes he will progress enough to begin spring training on time.

Baseball's premier power hitter spent two months on the disabled list and missed the All-Star Game. He returned Sept. 8 but was only 5-for-15 with two home runs and four RBI down the stretch as the Cardinals captured the National League Central Division title.

McGwire, 36, batted .305 with 32 homers and 73 RBI in 89 games. He was leading the majors with 30 homers at the time of his injury and passed Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Mantle and Mike Schmidt this year to stand eighth on the all-time home run list with 552.

McGwire is due to be paid $11 million next season.