Mighty Mark McGwire crouched over home plate. In the grip of his thick hands, the bat looked like a twig. The pitch was tossed, a little low. Bam! He belted the ball with all his 250 pounds. McGwire began running as he watched the ball soar 458 feet, over the left center-field fence. It's outta there! The crowd jumped up and roared as he trotted toward home with joy on his face.
That blockbuster hit last Wednesday was the 59th homer of the season for McGwire. On Friday the world watched for the next one, but it didn't come. The St. Louis Cardinal was just three away from breaking one of baseball's greatest records.
Chasing Maris
In 1961 Roger Maris of the New York Yankees finally broke Babe Ruth's season home-run record of 60, set in 1927. For 37 years, players, coaches and fans have wondered who would go beyond Maris to hit the magic 62.
From the start, Mark McGwire looked like he could be the one--even when he was a kid! "Mark did not play baseball until he was nine," says his mother Ginger McGwire. "Then, in his first at-bat as a Little Leaguer, he hit a home run over the fence!"
Soon, McGwire was collecting trophies, kept in his closet because he didn't like to show off. He played his first full season as a major leaguer in 1987, and he blasted 49 homers that year--a rookie record. The past 11 years have added even more power to his punchy swing. In 1997 he slammed home 58. This year he's been on a record-breaking pace all season.
McGwire, nicknamed Big Mac, tried at first not to think about the record chase. "I didn't expect to have 57 by September 1," he said last week. "But when I got to 50, I began to think about the record."
Meanwhile, some other sluggers were hot on his heels. In mid-July, the Seattle Mariners' Ken Griffey Jr. was just three homers behind McGwire and seemed to have the next best shot at breaking the record.
As of last Friday, Griffey had just 47 home runs, tied with Greg Vaughn of the San Diego Padres. Even so, their streaks seemed to put a little extra fire in McGwire's swing. "I would not rule out Ken Griffey," said McGwire recently. "The man is going to get hot."
It's The Sammy Show Too
While Griffey was slipping behind a bit, another player was catching up: Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs. As a boy, Sosa
shined shoes and sold oranges in his home country, the Dominican Republic. His first baseball glove was a milk carton turned inside out. But he was a natural player and traveled to the U.S.
to play ball.
In June, Sosa hit a whopping 20 homers. As August turned to September, Sosa and McGwire were neck and neck. Sosa insists he is focusing on bringing the Cubs to the World Series, not breaking the record. "This is the Mark McGwire show," he says.
But with 57 homers by last Friday, Sosa also had a good shot at overtaking Maris. "It's the Sammy show too," said McGwire last week, after Sosa tied him at 55. "He's been fun to watch. Hopefully someday we can really get to know each other."
Faster, Farther, Stronger
If both Ruth's and Maris' records stood for so many years, why are so many sluggers streaking toward it this year? For one thing, better bats are belting the ball farther. But some also say major league pitching is not as good now that there are 30 teams. In Maris' day, there were only 18. Others claim that smaller ballparks allow today's players to slug more hits over the fence.
And athletes are bigger than ever, thanks to weights and special diets. In August reporters discovered that McGwire takes a pill that helps build muscles. It is banned in many sports, but not in baseball. Baseball officials are studying the pill's effect on players and may ban it.
Fan-tastic!
Whatever the reason for the crop of homers, fans are loving it. Thousands come to watch McGwire practice. A St. Louis billboard sports a giant Band-Aid over the spot where Big Mac's 545-foot
homer cracked it. Stadiums are selling out.
By the time you read this, Maris' record may be outta there. McGwire or Sosa may even hit 65 or 70! The next homer king will join Maris and Babe Ruth as a baseball legend, and someday you'll be telling your kids about the sluggers of '98.
Good Vibrations: The Science Of Homers
Hitting a round ball with a long, skinny bat is not easy. What's the secret to sending the ball over the fence? Some athletes, including McGwire, have tremendous strength working in their favor. But science plays an important part too.
In the past, most hitters liked to swing heavy wooden bats. The famous New York Yankee slugger Babe Ruth used a bat that weighed three pounds!
Now experts say the speed of the swing matters more than the bat's weight. Since light bats can be swung more quickly, pro ballplayers use bats that weigh two pounds or less. Most are made from ash wood. Aluminum bats are even lighter, but they are banned from the major leagues for fear that they would turn pro baseball into a home-run hit parade!
A good crack! comes from hitting the ball with the bat's sweet spot, about three-quarters of the way down the bat. Any time a ball hits a bat, waves of vibration travel through the bat. If the vibrations start at the sweet spot, the waves moving up and down the bat cancel each other out. Result: a clean hit that doesn't rattle the batter's hands and sends the ball far. Sweet!