Mac slams No. 65
NL to review umpire's ruling that disallowed No. 66
Posted: Monday September 21, 1998 08:47 AM
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McGwire now has 89 homers, 180 RBIs and 199 walks in 200 career games with the Cardinals AP |
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Mark McGwire's
home run total might need an asterisk, after all. McGwire hit
No. 65 to extend his record, then had an apparent No. 66 taken away by an
umpire's ruling in the St. Louis Cardinals'
11-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
“After further review, it looked like it was a home run,”
McGwire said. “The man who caught the ball, he never came across the yellow
line.” Given the unique nature of the Great Home Run Race of
1998, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said the club is appealing to the
National League to make the unprecedented move of reversing second-base
umpire Bob Davidson's call and awarding the homer. “The home
run chase has drawn attention all over the world,” La Russa said. “Most
importantly, the way the inning played out, it didn't make any difference.”
After McGwire's two-out, disputed double, Brian Jordan
singled him home and scored on Ron Gant's home
run. Had McGwire been stranded, “we wouldn't even have asked, because of
the integrity of the game,” La Russa said. “They asked us to
look at it, and that's all I can say right now,” NL spokeswoman Katy Feeney
said at Wrigley Field, where she attended “Sammy Sosa
Celebration” day. Feeney said a ruling was expected Monday.
Rule 9.02 (a) of the Official Baseball Rules states: “Any
umpire's decision which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to,
whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a
ball, or whether a runner is safe or out, is final.” “You
cannot go and reverse that now no matter what it might mean,” Brewers
manager Phil Garner said. “If you're not going to allow replay, then you
can't do it on that.” Davidson, a member of the NL staff since
1983, said he couldn't be swayed by the fact the ball came off McGwire's
bat. “I could care less if he hits 150 home runs,” Davidson
said. “As an umpire, you can't get caught up in that.” Davidson
barely had time to spin around, but swears he was in good position to make
the call. “The ball got out there in about half-a-second,” he
said. “I got out there as fast as I could and I saw it. When I saw it, the
fan was leaning over and the ball hit him below the yellow line. So, that's
why I called it a ground-rule double.” The fan, Michael Chapes,
a 31-year-old high school gym teacher from Waterford, Wisconsin, was
ejected from the stadium and fined $518 for trespassing. “I
hope Mark McGwire signs my citation,” Chapes told The Associated
Press in a phone interview from his home. After catching
the ball with his glove, Chapes was swarmed by the crush of fans, but he
insisted he was doubled over a chain-link fence behind the railing, not in
front of it as the umpire ruled. “It was definitely a home
run,” Chapes said. “This whole thing makes me sick. I thought I was a part
of history, and then the kid snatches the ball from my glove. They took the
ball from me and took the home run from him.” McGwire moved two
homers ahead of Sosa with a first-inning shot off Scott Karl that
needed no judgment call. Everybody but Davidson thought McGwire
had No. 66 in the fifth inning, when he sent a line drive deep to
left-center field off rookie Rod Henderson. But Davidson ruled
that a fan had interfered by reaching over the yellow railing at the
392-foot sign and pulling the ball in. McGwire was forced to
stop at second with a double as the crowd of 52,831 jeered and La Russa
protested. The yellow pipe was installed about 18 inches above
the outfield wall padding for the 1983 season, after a fan reached down and
snatched a ball from Ben Oglivie's grasp in the 1982 AL playoffs.
It has been the source of several disputes since, mostly because there's
a chain-link fence between the padding and the yellow rail, making it
difficult for umpires to tell for certain whether a ball clears the rail,
hits right in front of it and bounces over or even if a fan reaches over.
Before Roger Maris set his record of 61 homers in 1961,
commissioner Ford Frick declared any record would carry a “distinctive
mark” if it did not beat Babe Ruth's mark of 60 in 154 games. McGwire
surpassed Maris on September 8 in is 145th game. But now Mighty
Mac has a footnote of his own. And for now and forever fans will wonder
whether his total should have been one higher. McGwire, who
struck out four times Saturday night, gave St. Louis a 2-0 lead with a
423-foot shot in the first following a single by Fernando Tatis.
McGwire sent a drive into the left-field bleachers, setting off a scramble
for the ball. Charles Dombrowski, 21, of Wisconsin Rapids, came up with it.
He said he'd give it back to McGwire: “It's the right thing to
do.” McGwire went 3-for-4 with a walk. Needing a triple to hit
for the cycle -- his last triple came in 1988 -- he struck out in the
seventh inning and walked in the ninth. “You have a better
chance of winning the lottery than for me to hit a triple,” McGwire said.
Karl (9-11) also gave up homers to Pat Kelly, Ron
Gant and pitcher Manny Aybar (6-6) before leaving the game after three
innings trailing 6-0. McGwire's 451st career homer tied him
with Carl Yastrzemski for 20th on the career list. Notes:
The Cardinals, who swept the three-game series with the Brewers, have six
games to go, all at home, where McGwire has homered a record 33 times. ...
St. Louis starter Kent Mercker, a
left-hander, was scratched after taking the mound in the bottom of the
first when a blister opened on the middle finger of his left hand. ... The
three-game attendance of 155,157 broke the Brewers' record of 153,974
against Boston in 1978.
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