Former St. Louis Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire has taken the same position with the Dodgers, the team announced Wednesday. The announcement had been anticipated for several days, since McGwire informed the Cardinals he intended to leave.

McGwire served as the Cards’ hitting coach for the past three seasons, when they led the National League in batting average (.269) and on-base percentage (.337), ranked second in runs (2,263), fourth in slugging percentage (.416) and third in OPS (.753). During his time as hitting coach, the Cardinals batted a National League-best .274 with runners in scoring position.  McGwire’s tenure in St. Louis was highlighted by the Cardinals’ 2011 season, when St. Louis led the NL in batting average (.273), on-base percentage (.341), slugging percentage (.425, T-1^st), OPS (.766) and runs scored (762), while striking out a National League-low 978 times en route to a World Series title.

In 2012 St. Louis led the league with a .338 on-base percentage and ranked among the NL leaders in runs (765, 2^nd), hits (1526, T-1^st), batting average (.271, 2^nd), slugging percentage (.421, 4^th) and OPS (.759, 3^rd). St. Louis hitters tied for second in the NL with a .264 batting average with runners in scoring position. In the three seasons preceding McGwire’s hiring (2007-09), the Cardinals ranked eighth in the NL in runs scored.

Born in Pomona and raised in Claremont, McGwire now resides in Irvine with his wife, Stephanie, and their children, triplet girls Monet, Marlo and Monroe, and brothers Max and Mason. McGwire also has a 25-year-old son, Matt, from a previous marriage.