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“When he got to campus for the visit, I was taken aback,â€� ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ University baseball coach Darin Hendrickson said. “He’s kind of the spitting image of his dad.â€�

McGwire plays first base for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.

That’s Max McGwire, 22, the son of the legendary Cardinal Mark McGwire.

No, Max isn’t the son Mark lifted at home plate during the ’98 home run race. That’s Matthew, who is now 37. Max is one of five children Mark has with his wife, Stephanie, who hails from the Glen Carbon/Edwardsville area.

Max was raised in Southern California but spent key periods of his childhood in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ — because Mark was the Cards’ hitting coach in 2010-12. Max graduated from California’s Capistrano Valley High in 2021.

“You know, everybody has a different path to their dreams of trying to be a professional player, and his path has had a bunch of roadblocks with a couple of different universities,� said Mark of Max, who previous played, albeit sparingly, for Oklahoma and San Diego.

“Now he’s getting an opportunity to play pretty much every day — DH, first base or right field. He has a cannon for an arm. So he’s getting a true test of what it’s like. And I’m really happy for him. …

“It’s so awesome. And St Louis means so much to us.�

McGwire. The name stirs emotions in this city the way few other names do. The 1998 season was a ride. An experience. The Cardinals slugger broke the seemingly unbreakable record of 61 homers in a season — and did so with a Chicago Cub right on his tail. McGwire got to 62 first — “Touch first, Mark, you are the new single-season home run king,� Joe Buck said on the FOX broadcast on Sept. 8, 1998 — and shortly after, Chicago’s Sammy Sosa soon hit No. 62, too. And when it was over, McGwire finished 1998 with an impossible total of 70 home runs (Sosa had 66).

It rejuvenated Redbird fans and, many say, resuscitated the sport.

After his career ended — he hit 583 homers and from 1986-2001 — McGwire admitted he used steroids to help recover from injuries. He was later inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame, though not Cooperstown.

“I watch those (1998) highlights all the time,� said Max, who is a baseball superfan, quoting specific seasons and old players during our conversation. “I wish I was alive to watch them in person, because that’s all I hear all the time: ‘If you were there watching during ‘98, the chase, and how crazy that was — I mean, the videos don’t do it justice.’ But that’s all I got. And, yeah, it’s very special.�

Sure enough, guess who one of the Cardinals’ batting practice pitchers was in 1998?

The current SLU coach Hendrickson.

The ties that bind, in this case, are red laces from a Rawlings.

And so, it was last summer Max batted well in the summertime Northwoods League — and SLU coaches searched for a diamond in the rough on the diamonds. There was 6-foot-7 Max McGwire, who soon took a visit to the town near where his mom was raised (and his dad used to work).

“It was a perfect fit,� Mark said.

What’s cool about Max is his mentality. Sure seemed to be raised right. And I’m not just saying because he hits well or throws well. I mean by how he carries himself. Hendrickson praised the “normal� way Max goes about his days.

“We were always raised that we’re going to be our own players, and so that whole aspect (of being Mark’s son) never really bothered me,� Max said. “I’m comfortable in my own skin being my own player. So I mean, obviously I’ll have the name on my back, but comfortable being who I am. …

“I’m so lucky to have him as my dad, so grateful for everything that he’s done for us. He’s so supportive and always positive with us. And then having that his experience going to him with anything in life, just baseball or off the field, and being around him in the clubhouse, learning from him. I’m extremely grateful for it, and even coming out here (to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½), it’s just even more.â€�

Max was born in October of 2002, so he was around ages 8-10 when “Big Mac� was the hitting coach. Max would hang out with his brother, Mason (who’s in the Cubs minor-league system), and some of the other Cardinals kids, such as Jackson and Ethan Holliday — Jackson is on the Baltimore Orioles and Ethan is expected to be a top-10 pick in this upcoming draft.

With a smile like Mark’s, Max told a story of Albert Pujols.

Before a game at the Marlins, Pujols told the McGwire kids: “Hey, I’m going to hit a homer for you guys today.�

Sure enough, Pujols hit a homer.

The legendary Pujols then sought out the kids in the clubhouse and gave them big bear hugs.

“It’s unbelievable what he did,� Max said. “So many memories. My brother and I, we talk about them all the time to this day. I mean, we were there with the 2011 World Series run. Going to all those World Series games, Game 6. I mean, unbelievable.

“These memories, I mean, they’re just stuck in there. I’ll never forget them. … St Louis has always been like his second home in me. My mom’s whole side of the town is from here. Basically just grew up in this clubhouse. So this is just like second home to me. Very comfortable. I love it here, and it’s been great so far. … SLU is like a breath of fresh air.�

Offensively, Max got off to a slow start this spring. But he went 5-for-12 in a series in the L.A. area against Loyola Marymount — where his family attended the games.

“Afterwards, I got to talk to Mark for a while,� Hendrickson shared. “And he said, I’m more nervous there than I was hitting, watching Max hit.�

This is Max’s first college season with at least 100 at-bats. He’s finding himself in the batter’s box. In his last eight games, he’s 9-for-26 with two homers and nine RBIs and five walks.

And he has another year of eligibility.

He’s fitting in with the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Billikens — and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.

“It’s just great living, you know?� Mark said. “Living downtown and enjoying St Louis life. And you know, Max, he’s a foodie. He goes to The Hill all the time. He’s got his places at The Hill. He’s got his steak places and Clayton. So he’s really, really enjoying it, like, like I did as a player when I lived there back in the latter 90s, yeah, and early 2000s. It’s funny because he always texts me: ‘Dad, I’m out having a steak right now.’ I’m like, ‘Are you with anyone?’ He goes, ‘No, I’m sitting by myself, sitting in the corner.’ And I go, ‘Following your dad’s footsteps!’ �