St. Louis is counting down to 62
Posted: Wednesday September 02, 1998 09:56 PM
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Cincinnati, beware: The Reds, who come to Busch Stadium for a three-game weekend series, are the only NL team that McGwire has not homered against AP |
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Driving around downtown St. Louis, one thing becomes
obvious fast: McGwire Mania has hit this city harder than Mark McGwire
hits a hanging curve.
As the St. Louis
Cardinals' first baseman closes in on perhaps the most glamorous record
in sports, the frenzy of this baseball-crazy city grows stronger every day.
On nearly every street close to Busch Stadium, billboards and signs on
storefronts read, "Go McGwire" and "Go Cardinals." At coffee shops and
sports bars, McGwire followers recount each at-bat, each pitch, in
anticipation of the day their hero becomes the single-season home run king.
McGwire's performance is often the lead story on the TV news and at the top
of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
McGwire hit two homers Tuesday in Miami against the Florida Marlins to
give him 57, breaking Hack Wilson's 68-year-old National League mark of 56,
and raised his total to 59 with two more Wednesday against the Marlins. But
the NL record barely merits a mention around town. The focus remains on
McGwire's effort to top Roger Maris' single-season record of 61 set in
1961.
At Gladstone's bar, a sign that reads "McGwire's Countdown to History,"
has been hanging on the building since the season started. Inside,
bartenders serve up a round of drinks on the house whenever McGwire sends a
ball into the stands.
"It cost me about 100 bucks the other day," said owner Dennis James.
"When he hits two of them, it gets to be pretty expensive. But it's for
McGwire. So, it's worth it."
At the L.L. Wood Stationery Co., a 10-foot-tall mural on the store window
shows McGwire uncoiling after a pitch. The words "Going for the Mark, 62"
are painted on an adjacent window.
Another sign invites customers into the store to sign giant greeting
cards that will be given to McGwire at the end of the season.
"We've had people from all over the world -- Japan, England, Germany and
all over the United States come in and sign the cards," said owner Nita
Haggerty. "There's at least 300 signatures and by the end of the season, I
bet we have 500 or more."
Some just signed their names, but others scribbled messages to McGwire.
"Great home run last night," read one. "Good luck on 62," was another.
"People come in to sign the card but most of the time they never buy
anything," Haggerty said. "We don't care. We just like Mac."
Other businesses take a more subtle approach. At Anthony's Bar downtown,
owner Vincent Bommarito hung the number "57" Wednesday.
"If you're alive in this city, or in any other city for that matter, you
don't need an explanation," Bommarito said. "It's been fun. We even came
down on a Sunday when we were closed to change the number. We'll keep it up
there all season, even after he breaks the record."
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