JUPITER, Fla. -- The St. Louis Cardinals have hired former great Willie McGee as a special assistant to the general manager focusing on the minor leagues.

The 54-year-old McGee, added to the staff on Wednesday, served a special instructor at spring training last month. McGee is in the franchise top 10 in games played, triples, stolen bases and pinch hits and was a career .295 hitter over 18 seasons.

McGee was a member of the 1982 World Series championship team and was National League MVP in 1985 with a league-leading .353 average for a pennant-winning team. His batting average from 1985 and 216 hits are franchise bests for switch hitters.