Big Mac hits Big Apple in style
Posted: Thursday August 20, 1998 09:02 PM
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McGwire: "It's always been fun to come to New York and play at Yankee Stadium and now at Shea Stadium." AP |
NEW YORK (AP) -- Fans climbed over each other for a chance at getting his
autograph. Photographers followed his every move during batting practice
and it seemed everyone at Shea Stadium was hoping to see Mark McGwire
make history.
He did that in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday, hitting his
50th home run in the St. Louis Cardinals'
2-0 win over the New York
Mets. He then hit his 51st homer in the first inning of the second
game.
McGwire's shot in the opener off Mets starter Willie Blair
made him the first player with 50 home runs in three consecutive seasons.
It came in the seventh inning and landed in the left-field bleachers.
"It would be very cool to do it here," McGwire said before the games.
"There's a lot of history. It's always been fun to come to New York and
play at Yankee Stadium and now at Shea Stadium. To think about all the Hall
of Famers who walked around and put their shoes on in these ballparks."
McGwire's drive in Game 2 hit the screen connected to the left-field foul
pole and came against Rick Reed. Earlier
this season, McGwire hit the 400th homer of his career at Shea against
Reed.
Putting on his cleats was one of the few things McGwire, now 11 homers
shy of Roger Maris' record of 61 homers in a season, can do privately these
days as he and Chicago's Sammy Sosa close
in on the record. As the pressure grows on McGwire to hit home runs, so
does the amount of people following baseball's biggest story.
"That's something that I can't control, the only thing I can control is
swinging the bat," he said. "But sometimes when you think about the whole
world is watching you, it's a lot of pressure. ... Sometimes it's a tad
uncomfortable when you know all eyes are on you."
As he has done since early in the season when media attention became too
overwhelming, McGwire met with reporters for one-half hour before the first
game to answer many of the same questions he has had posed to him since
spring training.
"For the most part, yeah," he said when asked if he was having fun. "I
have a lot of fun while I'm playing the game, that's the important thing.
Dealing with media, I don't know if there's a correct way of handling it. I
deal with it the best I can."
McGwire hit homers No. 48 and 49 on Wednesday in Chicago and his two-day,
four-game visit to New York will only intensify the pressure he's already
feeling. He has insisted all season that talking about the record would be
premature until someone got to 50 homers. Only then would they have a
legitimate shot.
"That's what I truly believe," he said. "Ever since I was a young kid
hitting home runs. I mean if someone gets to 50 by September 1, they have a
shot down the stretch run."
For that reason, McGwire was still non-committal about his chances
Thursday, prior to his homer.
"I'll say it once I hit 50," he said laughing. "Hey, I have to stay with
my statement."
When Shea Stadium's gates opened at 2:45 p.m. EDT, fans rushed down
behind the St. Louis dugout for a closer look at McGwire. Others staked out
spots in the left-field seats, hoping to catch a souvenir.
"Stay out here if you haven't seen him," Mets manager Bobby Valentine
advised before BP began. "It's a show. The ball goes a long way."
It sure did, and even jaded New Yorkers were awed by a typically
McGwiresque performance. After signing his name on magazines, balls, caps
and a replica of his jersey for fans down the third-base line, McGwire
stepped into the batting cage to a rousing ovation.
Fans groaned when he bunted the first pitch but oohed and aahed as he hit
eight homers, including four straight. As one ball cleared the picnic area
beyond the bleachers in left field, one fan yelled: "Unbelievable."
For Mets fans, McGwire's presence was an added bonus with their team in
the wild-card race. Valentine was asked if a sweep by the home team and
McGwire hitting two homers would make it a perfect day for New York fans.
"I could live with that," Valentine said. "But I wouldn't necessarily
call it a perfect day."
Not everyone was enthralled with the idea of seeing McGwire hit a home
run. When he came to the plate in the first inning, fans behind home plate
taunted him with chants of "So-sa, So-sa."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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