Mac keeps mashin'
Nos. 58, 59 leave McGwire just 2 shy of Maris
Posted: Thursday September 03, 1998 01:17 AM
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Ballpark figures: McGwire's two homers Wednesday gave him the third-highest season total in major league history AP |
MIAMI (AP) -- Two homers from the record, Mark McGwire
still has a full head of hair.
Mighty Mac took off his cap following Wednesday's game and proudly ran a
hand through short but thick red locks.
"It's OK, huh?" he said with a laugh.
When Roger Maris approached the major league record for home runs, his
hair fell out in clumps. But the pressure of chasing Maris doesn't seem to
bother McGwire. In fact, the closer he gets, the farther the ball goes.
McGwire hit a pair of majestic homers for the second consecutive night
Wednesday against the Florida Marlins,
giving him a career-best 59. He has 12 homers in the past 15 days, and he
needs just two more to tie Maris, who hit 61 in 1961.
"Quite amazing, isn't it?" McGwire said.
He homered in the seventh inning against Brian Edmondson and again in
the eighth on the first pitch from Rob Stanifer. Each was a two-run homer,
helping the St. Louis
Cardinals win 14-4.
The first homer, which landed halfway up in the upper deck in left
field, was estimated at 497 feet, making it the third-longest in the
history of Pro Player Stadium. The second homer 30 minutes later was to
left center and traveled an estimated 458 feet.
Each time the delighted crowd of 45,170 demanded a curtain call, and
McGwire responded by stepping out of the dugout and punching the air three
times.
Now it's three to go to break the record. The Cardinals begin a
three-game series Friday at home against Cincinnati, but McGwire declined
to speculate about his chances.
Right stuff: McGwire is the first right-handed hitter ever to hit 59 homers AP | |
"Let's not look so far ahead and just take what today has given us," he
said.
McGwire's eighth multihomer game this season was the 51st of his career.
With 23 games remaining, he's on a 69-homer pace.
For the second night in a row, McGwire got both balls back. The fans who
retrieved the souvenirs gave them to him in exchange for bats, balls and
caps.
"I'm glad there are people like that out there," McGwire said. "It shows
you what the game means to some people."
McGwire broke Hack Wilson's 68-year-old NL record of 56 home runs with
two Tuesday. Sammy
Sosa hit No. 56 for the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday
afternoon and anticipated a response from McGwire a few hours later.
"Mark has the possibility to come back tonight and hit two more," Sosa
said. "He's playing in Miami, don't forget."
Sure enough, McGwire feasted again on the worst pitching staff in the
NL. He denies that he's competing with anyone, but his past seven homers
dating back to August 23 have come on the same day Sosa hits a homer.
"It's just a coincidence," McGwire said. "Some things are unexplainable,
right?"
The Cardinals slugger surpassed his career best of 58 homers last year
-- 34 for Oakland and 24 for St. Louis. The only players to hit more home
runs in a season were Maris and Babe Ruth, who hit 60 in 1927. Ruth hit 59
in 1921.
McGwire has surpassed Ruth's major league record of 114 homers in
consecutive seasons, set in 1927-28.
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Extra punch: Since Sosa passed him for the major league lead on August 19, McGwire has hit 12 homers in 16 games AP |
Even McGwire was impressed by his first homer Wednesday. He golfed a 2-1
pitch from Edmondson that was low and inside, then pumped his right first
as he trotted toward first base.
"The pitch was probably three inches off the ground," McGwire said. "I
amazed myself that I went down and got it."
"It'd be scary to see what he could do with a set of golf clubs,"
Edmondson said.
In the eighth, McGwire jumped on a slider from Stanifer.
"He crushed it," Stanifer said. "It's amazing. You can't throw the guy
any pitch he can reach or he hits it 500 feet. It's a little unfair at
times. He's like the Michael Jordan of baseball. He's unreal."
After that, manager Tony La Russa took McGwire out of the game in the
eighth. The crowd booed, then headed for the exits.
The game also attracted more than 400 media, the largest following yet
for McGwire's home-run chase.
In his first three at-bats, McGwire grounded into a double play, walked
twice and scored on pitcher Kent Mercker's
grand slam. Mercker (9-11) allowed two earned runs in seven innings.
"We had a hell of a game tonight, oh by the way," McGwire said with a
smile.
Jesus Sanchez (6-8) took the loss. Mark Kotsay hit
his ninth home run for the Marlins, who lost their seventh game in a row.
"We've been embarrassed a lot of days this year," manager Jim Leyland
said. "Tonight was no different, other than that the fans had a great
time."
Notes: The two youngsters who retrieved McGwire's home-run balls
Tuesday posed for photos with him during batting practice. They watched the
game from Marlins president Don Smiley's skybox. ... Mercker's homer was
his first in 212 career at-bats. His grand slam was the first by a
Cardinals pitcher since Donovan
Osborne hit one against San Diego on September 7, 1996. ... Mercker
improved to 4-0 lifetime against Florida. ...The Marlins have lost eight
consecutive home games. ... Sanchez didn't add to his total of 12 pickoffs,
which leads the major leagues. ... The series sweep was the Cardinals first
at Florida since May 20-22, 1994.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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