Voices carry
Everyone talking about McGwire -- except McGwire
Posted: Friday September 04, 1998 11:04 PM
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McGwire has hit a home run against every team in the NL this season except the Reds Stephen Dunn/Allsport |
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Everybody at Busch Stadium was talking about Mark McGwire --
except Mark McGwire.
Tony La Russa spoke about McGwire's mental approach, then Jack McKeon
described his power. Brett Tomko and
Dennis Reyes
took turns discussing how they'd pitch to him.
But when it came time for the highlight of Friday afternoon's press
conference -- an appearance by McGwire himself -- the man of 59 home runs
was a no-show.
"He needed time to clear his head and get ready," a spokesman for
major league baseball announced.
Yet not even McGwire, it seemed, could get enough of this homer
hysteria.
Because at that very moment, right down the hallway from the pregame
hustle, McGwire was sitting alone in the St. Louis clubhouse, reading the
story about himself in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated.
"The history is just out there," said La Russa, the Cardinals
manager.
And the race for Roger Maris' mark of 61 home runs was heating up by
the moment.
Shortly after McGwire hit seven homers in 20 swings in batting
practice, his main rival for the record -- Sammy Sosa -- hit
No. 57 for real in the Chicago Cubs' game at
Pittsburgh.
McGwire went into Friday night's game against Cincinnati on a tear,
having hit 12 homers in 16 days, including two in each of his last two
games.
And time and time again in the last month, he showed a talent to top
Sosa by hitting home runs on the same day as the Cubs' star.
"I think it's coincidental," La Russa said. "I also think it's a real
healthy competition. It's much better for Player A if Player B and Player C
are having great years."
McGwire went 0-for-3 with a walk Friday night
Before the Cubs' game began, Sosa predicted McGwire would finish the
season with 70 home runs.
"Everybody knows I'm pulling for Mark. I just want to make the
playoffs and if that happens, the whole season will be better," Sosa said.
"I just love what is happening."
How well McGwire would fare in this three-game series was uncertain.
He had hit a home run against every team in the NL this season except the
Reds, going just 2-for-13 -- both singles -- with 11 walks.
McKeon, the Reds manager, said his team was not afraid of McGwire,
only that it was being careful by walking him.
"In those particular situations, he always seemed to come up with a
chance to beat us," McKeon said.
After Harnisch, Reyes was to start Saturday for the Reds with Tomko
working Sunday.
Tomko recently said he wouldn't mind if he gave up the record-breaker,
and he admitted his teammates ribbed him pretty good about the remark.
"If I did, looking back at it after a few years, you'd say you were a
part of history," he said. "It wouldn't be a disappointment."
Besides, McGwire's pursuit has become the main topic in the Reds'
locker room.
"A lot of people are chattering about it," Tomko said. "Like if you
were playing third base and he hit it, would you give him a high-five?"
Rarely, if ever, has a late-season game between two teams out of
pennant contention attracted so much attention.
There were no tickets to be had, with scalpers apparently doing a
brisk business. ESPN changed its schedule to televise it and more than 600
media members were on hand to cover it.
Specially marked baseballs are being used for all of McGwire's
at-bats, so they can be identified later. FBI agents also were at the
ballpark, part of baseball's effort to handle security.
The souvenir stands figured to do well, especially if McGwire hit No.
62 during a five-game homestand that includes a visit by Sosa and the Cubs
on Monday and Tuesday.
T-shirts (for $30) and pennants ($10) already had been printed up
proclaiming McGwire as the home run champion, but those items were not
going on display until he reached 62. "This is great for Mark
McGwire, this is great for baseball," La Russa said. "This is something
phenomenal in our lifetimes."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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