(Brad Palmer)

25 years ago, Mark McGwire was arguably the most recognizable and celebrated player in baseball after breaking Roger Maris’ single-season home run record.

In the latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us a story about how the steroid scandal interrupted the St. Louis Cardinals from celebrating McGwire’s records in a very public way.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard “Pete” Peterson, co-author, with his son Stephen, of The Slide: Leyland, Bonds and the Star-Crossed Pittsburgh Pirates and the editor of The St. Louis Baseball Reader.