Section B · Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Thursday, September 10, 1998
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McGwire's 62nd falls into history
ST.LOUIS—Even before his first swing in spring training, the questions started.
The Associated Press
Could the record be broken?
Would he be the one to do it?
Mark McGwire, the man who seemed destined for home-run history from the day he was born, answered them all Tuesday night.
Homer No. 62 was a low laser to left field, far from the monster
McGwire: May take a few days off during the 18 game.
moonshots he's been hitting all season. In fact, at 341 feet, it was his shortest homer of the year.
nizable record in sports, a mark that Roger Maris held for 37 years.
No matter.
Because the moment the ball barely cleared the wall, the St. Louis slugger had won the race to break the most recog-
I have been talking about this since January," McGwire said. "I can honestly say I did it."
Born two years to the day after Maris hit his 61st in 1961, McGwire's solo home run in the fourth inning off Chicago Cubs pitcher Steve Trachsel capped a chase that began with his grand slam on opening day.
Record hits home with Maris' widow
Though McGwire and the rest of the baseball world had been expecting the record-breaker any day, it still was overwhelming.
McGwire was so excited that he skipped past first base as he rounded the bag and had to return to touch it, pulled back by coach Dave McKav.
"I sort of missed one big thing—to touch first base," he said. "I hope I didn't act foolish, but this is history."
Technically, McGwire could've been called out because of Rule 7.09 (1), which prohibits coaches from reaching out to assist runners. Then again, that wasn't going to happen on this night.
Every Cubs infielder shook McGwire's hand on his trip home, and former St. Louis teammate Gary Gaetti hugged him, as did catcher Scott Servais. Halfway to the plate, McGwire pointed at the Chicago dugout in tribute and saluted the fans.
ST. LOUIS — Roger Maris' widow was hospitalized Tuesday after developing an irregular heartbeat for the second time this week.
Patricia Maris was listed in satisfactory condition at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and was released yesterday morning.
Her family brought her to the emergency room several hours before Tuesday night's Cubs- cardinals game in which Mark McGwire broke her husband's 37-year-old record of 61 home runs in a season.
"But it's a little crazy out there tonight, and we felt she just needed a nice quiet night."
"She's fine, medically," hospital spokesman Todd Cooper said.
Patricia Maris, 62, on Sunday flew to St. Louis from Gainesville, Fla., with her four sons and two daughters to watch McGwire. She was taken to the hospital before that game when she first developed an irregular heartbeat.
"I think it's just exhaustion," son Randy Maris said after his mother was hospitalized the first time. "The last three or four months, a lot has been going on with all this attention."
The Associated Press
McGwire was mobbed by his teammates at home plate as Cardinals relievers ran in from the bullpen, and he lifted his 10-year-old batboy son Matt high into the air. McGwire then ran into the seats to hug the family of Maris.
"I couldn't be happier for him," Roger Maris Jr. said.
Before the game, McGwire clutched the bat that Maris used to hit his 61st and rubbed it against his chest.
"Roger, I hope you're with me tonight." McGwire said.
Cubs right fielder Sammy Sosa, who has 58 home runs and also held Maris' bat, ran in from right field to hug McGwire as the sellout crowd of 43,688 roared.
None of the fans, however, wound up with the lucky ball. The souvenir, which had attracted offers of $1 million, instead went over the fence, but short of the stands, and was retrieved by grounds crew worker Tim Forneris.
Forerin, 22, picked it up and later gave it to McGwire in a postgame party on the field. McGwire also got a '62 red Corvette from the Cardinals in the postgame tribute ceremony, and he and his son took a slow victory drive around the field. Plus, there was a call from President Clinton.
"Right when it hit off the bat, I knew it was going out, and it went
right over the sign," Forneris said. "There was a bunch of groundcrew guys on the wall. But I was right on the edge, and I said, "That ball is mine."
The historic ball was en route today to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., along with McGwire's bat, jersey, spikes and other memorabilia from the game.
The homer set off an 11-minute delay, baseball's biggest midgame celebration since Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games record in 1995. Near the end, McGwire grabbed a microphone and returned the compliments.
"To all my family, my son, the Cubs, Sammy Sosa. It's unbelievable." McGwire said. "Thank you, St. Louis."
Trachsel watched most of the celebration with umpires near him, and resumed pitching after a few warmups.
"I was hoping it wasn't going to be me," said Trachsel, baseball's newest trivia answer.
McGwire appeared anxious when he grounded out on a 3-0 pitch in the first inning, especially considering he hasn't homered on a 3-0 pitch all year. His homer came in his second at-bat on the first pitch, an 88 mph fastball at 8:18 p.m. CDT.
McGwire's homer was his 15th in 21 days, a surge that started after Sosa passed him — albeit for only
an hour or so — for the homer lead in late August. McGwire walked in his final two plate appearances in the Cardinals' 6-3 victory.
Big Mac, the only player ever to hit at least 50 homers in three straight years, started this season by connecting in his first four games. But while the race to break 61 is finished, the chase to become the 1998 homer champion is not done.
With the Cardinals out of contention, McGwire may take off a few days during the final 18 games; Sosa figures to play every day down the stretch with the Cubs still in the NL wild-card race. The loss kept them in a wild-card tie with the New York Mets.
Like Maris, McGwire broke the mark in an expansion season. But consider this stat: This year, home runs are being hit at a rate of 2.05 per game; last year, the average was also 2.05.
McGwire accomplished his feat in the Cardinals' 145th game, which includes one tie, while Maris' Yankees played 163 in 1961. Before Maris set his record, 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.
That decision was reversed seven years ago, but it came six years after Maris died in 1985. Maris played his final game on this same Busch field for the Cardinals in the 1968 World Series.
Unlike Maris, McGwire didn't lose his hair in his pursuit of the record, even though the expectations and pressure began building way before the Cardinals' first workout in spring training.
worked his way into mid-June, McGwire complained that he felt like a "caged animal" because of all the attention his batting practice sessions were attracting. Later in the season, he was stung by an Associated Press report that he used androstenedione, an over-the-counter muscle booster that is legal in major league baseball, but banned by the NFL, NCAA and International Olympic Committee.
But on this special night, all of that seemed to be in the past for McGwire, along with the entire baseball world and beyond.
The whole country has been involved in this since the All-Star break," he said. "People have been saying it is bringing the country together. So be it."
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