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Mark McGwire’s Tremendous Success
Mark McGwire is one of the most electrifying figures in sports today. This
six-foot five inch, two hundred and fifty pound monster is a man on a mission. In fact,
for the most part he is about as average as you and me. Almost except for one major
thing, he is the record holder of the most prestigious record in all of pro sports. His
name is Mark McGwire and the record is his 70 homeruns, shattering the old record
held by the Minnesota native named Roger Maris. McGwire’s mission began when he
went on to play high school baseball for Damien High School in Claremont. After high
school McGwire attend the University of Southern California to play college baseball.
McGwire would then go on to break a few home run records while at USC. The great
work he did in USC earned him a spot on the US Olympic baseball team in 1984. This
would be the beginning of a successful career. From there, McGwire became the tenth
pick in the first round and signed with the Oakland Athletics. In McGwire’s first year
with the Oakland A’s he became Rookie of the Year. Whether hitting home runs on the
field or working with children, Mark proves he is dedicated, successful, and one of
baseball’s most popular players to watch today.
Whenever people walk into a ballpark to watch Mark McGwire on the field,
people can believe he is a dedicated player to the game of baseball. McGwire has had
much success because of all the hard practicing he does to get better each day. After
reading the a book on Mark McGwire it stated, “ McGwire is always the last player to
leave the field and he workouts a few extra hours a day in the weight room after
practice” (Rains 64). McGwire’s dedication also came “When Coach Stanley hit
ground balls to McGwire, he tried to hit them hard enough that it would hit McGwire on
either the wrist or the shin” (Rains 61). I believe the long hours of taking ground balls
helped him become one of the best fielding first baseman and earned McGwire a few
Gold Glove Awards during his career. McGwire has also shown his dedication “When
McGwire took countless ground balls on a patch of rocky ground, trying to practice
some of the bad hops and unusual bounces” (Rains 62). Without a question McGwire
was determined to work hard on his fielding. When McGwire wasn’t fielding ground
balls, he would be practicing his swing during batting practice. McGwire would make
his adjustments in batting practice to find his right stance to hit a home run. Many
players don’t take the time to work on their stance to become a better hitter like
McGwire does, which is why I think he has shown much dedication in hitting the big
home run. With this dedication, “Mark started this quest for the record early in spring
training, setting his mind on accomplishing this one goal to be the king of all homerun
hitters” (Reily 37). “When the season was all over McGwire accomplished this goal
hitting a homerun every 7.3 at bats, which was a record pace” (Reily 36). McGwire has
also shown a dedication off the field by setting up his own foundations for children. I
found an article from the Sports Illustrated called “Mark McGwire Is A Hero For More
Than His Homers”. In this article I found out a lot of important information which
McGwire does off the field when he’s not playing baseball. When McGwire isn’t
hitting homeruns on the field, he’s spending his time off the field interacting with the
kids from “The Mark McGwire Foundation for Children, which is a foundation he has
committed three million dollar of his salary to help physically and sexually abused
children in local hospitals in St. Louis and around Los Angeles” (McGregor 22).
Without a doubt this homerun hero is more than what people think of him with the
dedication he has off the field. McGregor states, “His affinity for kids is evident when
signing autographs, fulfilling Make-A-Wish dreams or meeting abuse victims”
(McGregor 22). With this commitment to children , McGwire has been recognized by
fans, media, coaches, players, and the abuse children themselves for his time and
contribution towards these programs. McGwire has put much time into these programs
for this main reason. In the article I was reading it states, “According to the National
Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, last year protective service agencies confirmed more
than one million cases of abuse, ranging from physical and sexual to neglect and
emotional maltreatment” (McGregor 22). With these kinds of statistics, McGwire
wanted to change these numbers and donate his time and money to support abuse child
programs. McGwire shows how important kids are to him by signing autographs for his
fans and by working with abused kids who need a role model to help them. Without a
doubt McGwire has been known for achieving his goals and for being a public figure for
what he has done for his community off the field. As for me I see Mark McGwire as my
role model in this situation because he’s doing a great thing for these kids. McGwire
also started up the foundation because he states, “When you have a child of your own,
you definitely look at things differently” (McGregor 22). Since McGwire has a ten-year
old son, he’s changed in many ways emotionally to make sure his son grows up taught
the right way to do things. In all with his busy schedule McGwire said, “He wants to
help people” (Reily 45). That’s why I believe McGwire is such a dedicated player not
just on the field but also off the field with his foundation. Finally to prove McGwire is
such a dedicated player is when McGwire comes to the ballpark early to sign baseballs,
hats, and cards for fans who await his arrival to the stadium and even after the game
McGwire finds time to make his fans happy. As McGwire continues his success in
baseball it all comes down to the hard dedication he puts on the field during practice,
and also off the field to be one of the best baseball players of all time.
Mark McGwire has been a successful player throughout his career with Oakland
and St. Louis. McGwire has become a successful by hitting home runs. His recent
success came two months ago on September 8, 1998 when McGwire broke Roger
Maris’ single season home run record of sixty-one homers. It wasn’t one of his long
homers either; however, it barely cleared the 330 foot fence. After all was said and done
Mark hit 62 homeruns in 145 games, his homeruns traveled a total of 26394 feet or 4.99
miles, for an average of 427.7 feet per homerun. McGwire also set the home run record
for rookies at forty-nine homers in 1987. When McGwire steps into the batters box he is
feared by pitchers and by coaches. McGwire has set all kinds of records since his
college years at USC. McGwire is also the first player in his first four years to hit thirty
of more homers in each season. Mark has also been proven to be one the most
successful players of all time with his great achievements he has had throughout his
career. In 1995 McGwire led the Major League for average home run distance with 418
feet. McGwire has also hit homers that have gone 538 feet long. “His longest has been
said that it went 600 feet long that ricocheted off a Range Rover in the players’ parking
lot in Denver” (Reily 40). McGwire is a serious man when it comes to hitting the long
ball far. “On June 18th Mark sets a Major League Record with his thirty-three
homeruns, giving him the most homeruns before July 1st in any season. On August
22nd Mark sets another record when he hits his 162nd homerun in the last three seasons
beating Babe Ruth's record of 161. Finally on September 5th Mark finally hits his 60th
homerun of the year joining Maris and Ruth as the only players in League history to hit
sixty or more homeruns” (Verducci 77). With all this success many people don’t know
that, “the biggest, strongest man in baseball is really a softy. His eyesight is 20/500,
which means that without his contacts, he is Mr. Magoo” (Verducci 76). This may not
be important but how does a man with poor eye sight hit a home run so far. The
question may be solved. With all the hard work McGwire does, he also has tremendous
strength which gives him the power to hit the ball so far. McGwire’s name has also
came up throughout the media of his announcement of taking supplements to pursue
Roger Maris home run record. However; this season in the year 2000 the media is
saying that this big homerun hero isn’t taking his supplements this year. However;
whether it’s true or not we will have to find out towards the end of the season where
McGwire will try to reach his milestone of seventy-homeruns again. However; it is to
believe McGwire became involved in lifting weights and taking care of himself when
his brother Jay moved in with him. “Mark learned how to lift weights the right way and
stay flexible. Mark would work out six days a week in the off season, four during the
season. He lifts after home games now and is routinely the last to leave the clubhouse”
(Reily 40). This has shown why McGwire has broken many records and has been a
successful player throughout his career. “McGwire strength also comes from the
supplements he takes such as: Muscle Nitro, Met Max, Lean Gainer and the famous
Androstenedione” (Reily 40). These supplements are legal and is also a major part of
the success McGwire has had the past couple of years. Without a doubt McGwire will
continue to hit many more home runs in his career with his strength and maybe this year
he might break his home run now of seventy home runs.
“Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, viewed from Waveland,
McGwire’s batting practice is the greatest show above earth” (Big Verducci, 76). Mark
was now becoming the biggest draw all around the majors, teams who normally couldn't
give tickets away were now selling out there stadiums when Mark came to town. The
Minnesota Twins couldn't get 50,000 over 150,000 people. Everyone was swarming to
ballparks all around the league to get a chance to see Mark hit a homerun. When ever
people come to the ball park to watch the game everyone is out to watch Mark McGwire
a very popular baseball player in today’s society. McGwire has brought out many new
fans to the game of baseball ranging from little kids to senior citizens. With the
attendance records doubling in numbers this past year because of the Roger Maris home
run chase; millions of people have came to see McGwire hit a home run. “A few years
back when the Major League Baseball was on strike many people didn’t bother to come
to the baseball games” (Rains 89). With McGwire’s record breaking home run record
many people have came back out to the ballparks to watch America favorite pastime. It
is also amazing what one guy can do, to make such a difference in the game of baseball.
For example, many people come out early to the stadium to watch McGwire take batting
practice. During batting practice people line up along the leftfield fence and along the
sides to take many pictures of McGwire. McGwire is a man who loves to sign
autographs, cards, and baseballs for kids. McGwire comes out early to the ballpark and
stays also late to please his fans. It also said when McGwire steps into a batter’s box, “a
sea of screaming red and white-clad of St. Louis fans, with thousands of flashbulbs
sparkle like fireflies on a late summer evening” (Bragg 1A). With this much pressure at
every at-bat, McGwire manages to see the small white baseball and hit it a long way.
With all the attention McGwire gets he’s a man who doesn’t do shoe deals. In his
fourteen years as a pro McGwire has yet to do a shoe deal with any company. McGwire
said, “Its too distracting” (Reily 35). Even though McGwire is such a popular player,
“He has turned down Letterman, Leno, sixty-minutes, book deals and movie deals”
(Reily 35). During McGwires fourteen years in the pros he has signed a few major
contracts in his career with Oakland and also with St. Louis. “While McGwire was in
Oakland he signed a five-year, twenty-eight million dollar contract that included a seven
million dollar signing bonus” (Rains 155). Being a popular player like McGwire can
have many advantages and disadvantages. With the many awards, records, and deals
McGwire has done, have proven to turn McGwire into one of the most popular players
to watch in baseball. McGwire popularity has also came from the many All-star games
he has appeared in and the trendmendous home runs he has hit throughout his career so
far. Many people say when McGwire retirees he will be one of the players to make it
into the Hall of Fame with Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and with many other great baseball
players that are there now.
As the 1999 baseball season came to an end Mark McGwire accomplished many
goals and shattered many records. In 2000 we can probably expect a bigger, stronger,
and smarter hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals. When the season just kicking off, we can
also expect many people to come watch McGwire play and shot for the new record of
seventy home runs. As we look back on the years McGwire has played in, he has gone
through a lot of problems. That why I believe Mark McGwire is one of baseball greats.
While I was doing my research on McGwire I got to learn more about Mark McGwire
and what he done for baseball and what he does off the field in the community. That’s
why whether hitting home runs on the field or working with children, Mark McGwire
proves he is dedicated, successful, and one of baseball’s most popular players to watch
today.
Word Count: 2405
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