Goodbye Hack, hello Mac
McGwire shatters NL record with 56th, 57th HRs
Posted: Wednesday September 02, 1998 08:41 AM
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Taking his Hacks: McGwire has hit two or more homers in a game seven times this season AP |
MIAMI (AP) -- Mark McGwire
laughed when fans playfully booed him for hitting a mere single in the
third inning Tuesday night.
"I started to think, `I hope they understand that this is not an easy
task,' " McGwire said.
It didn't take long for him to again make home runs look easy. McGwire
hit a pair of homers that raised his season total to 57 and broke Hack
Wilson's 68-year-old NL record in the St. Louis Cardinals'
7-1 win over the Florida Marlins.
"It's a pretty awesome feat," McGwire said. "I'm totally excited."
He homered on a 1-1 fastball from Livan
Hernandez leading off the seventh inning, sending the pitch an
estimated 450 feet over the center-field wall.
"It hung up there so long, I wondered if it was ever going to come
down," McGwire said.
Two innings later, he hit the first pitch from Donn Pall to
almost the same spot. This time the estimated distance was 472 feet.
"They look like pingpong balls going out," Marlins manager Jim Leyland
said. "I haven't seen anything like it."
The balls were retrieved on the tarp beyond center field by an
11-year-old and a 17-year-old. They turned the souvenirs in to the
Cardinals in exchange for balls, bats, jerseys, tickets and a chance to
meet McGwire.
It was his seventh multihomer game this season and the 50th of his
career, leaving him four short of Roger Maris' record with 24 games left.
He began the night tied with Sammy Sosa at 55
homers in their race to break Maris' 37-year-old record.
"Now it is getting a little bit exciting," Sosa said. "Eveybody knows
that everybody is pulling for Mark and I am pulling for Mark, too. And I
want him to break the record first."
McGwire is on a pace to finish with 67 homers.
"This is a great thing happening in baseball," McGwire said. "We don't
know if it'll ever happen again."
When No. 56 landed on the tarp, several boys scrambled for the ball as
the crowd of 37,014 gave McGwire a standing ovation. He touched the plate
with a big grin and playfully punched teammate Ron Gant in the
stomach before returning to the dugout.
When the cheers continued, McGwire responded with a curtain call before
the next batter stepped to the plate.
"It's a magical moment, what's happening with him and Sammy," Hernandez
said. "All you could do was watch it and be part of the moment."
With one out and none on in the ninth, more than a dozen youngsters
gathered on the tarp in anticipation of another homer and that's where
McGwire hit it. There was another frenzied ovation, and another curtain
call.
"Two curtain calls is an unbelievable feeling for an athlete," McGwire
said. "It means a lot."
Pall said McGwire connected on a split-finger fastball.
"I don't want to be part of history," Pall said. "It means nothing to
me. I don't care what number it is. I'll hold my head up high because I
went after him with my best stuff."
Wilson's NL record of 56 homers was set in 1930 for the Chicago Cubs. He also had
190 RBIs that season, still the major league record. McGwire has driven in
121 runs.
Before his latest homers, McGwire was batting just .222 this season
against the Marlins, who have the worst pitching staff in the league. But
he hit a 545-footer, his longest of the season, against Hernandez in St.
Louis on May 16.
"Two home runs, one mile," Hernandez joked.
The Marlins' right-hander has allowed 31 homers this season third-most
in the NL.
McGwire flied out to center in the first, and the crowd booed when he
hit his 52nd single of the year in the third.
As McGwire stepped to the plate leading off the fifth, the scoreboard
briefly displayed an erroneous message saying Sosa had hit his 56th homer.
McGwire then grounded out to second.
Matt
Morris (5-4) allowed one run in seven innings. Gant hit his 22nd homer
and Ray
Lankford hit his 25th for the Cardinals.
St. Louis went ahead in the second on a two-out, two-run single by Delino
DeShields. Placido Polanco's two-out RBI single made the score 3-0 in
the third, and Gant homered with the bases empty in the fifth.
Hernandez singled home the only run for the Marlins, who lost their
sixth game straight.
Notes: Before the game, Leyland was in his office intently watching
the news conference to announce the firing of Detroit Tigers manager
Buddy Bell. Leyland, who grew up near Detroit, is expected to leave the
Marlins after this season and could be a candidate for the Tigers job. ...
McGwire moved ahead of Dave Kingman into 21st place on the career list with
443. ... Batting practice was rained out, disappointing thousands of fans
who arrived early to watch McGwire hit. ... The Cardinals purchased the
contract of outfielder Joe McEwing from Class AAA Memphis, where he hit
.334 in 78 games. ... Marlins shortstop Edgar
Renteria, sidelined with a bruised knee, is expected to be ready to
play Sept. 9, the day he is eligible to come off the disabled list. ...
Hernandez has won only one of his past six starts. ... St. Louis improved
to 26-26 since the All-Star break. ... Morris improved to 4-0 in his career
against the Marlins.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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