Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Sosa Ties McGwire's Homers

For many years, baseball fans believed Roger Maris' mark of 61 home runs would last forever.

They were wrong. Maris connected for number 61 on the final day of the 1961 season, giving the New York Yankees a 1-0 win over the Boston Red Sox.

Now, 37 years later, two players have broken this record. Mark McGwire, with St. Louis, and Sammy Sosa, with the Chicago Cubs.

McGwire was first to break the record, nailing his 62nd homer Sept. 8, 1998, at 8:18 p.m. CST.

There was much fanfare when he sent a line drive 331 feet to left field off Cub pitcher Steve Tracshel in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Tracshel had retired the first two batters in order before "Big Mac" took the first pitch over the fence.

For each of McGwire's at-bats in the game, Major League Baseball was using specially marked balls so the record-breaker couldn't be faked.

Earlier, a sports memorabilia company had offered $1 million for this ball.

No fan captured McGwire's homer, the shortest he's hit all season. Tim Forniers, a member of the St. Louis grounds crew found the trophy and gave it to a St. Louis trainer so McGwire would have it as his own memento. "I don't need the ball," Forniers said. "I came to the park wanting to see the home run. I was the first one to touch it off the bat." Because of this, he, too, has a special place in history.

Five days later the Cubs were playing Milwaukee in Wrigley Field. Sosa was sitting on 60 homer for the season when the game began.

He tied Maris in the fifth with a towering shot onto Waveland Ave. The homer was said to travel 480 feet.

For Sammy, though, winning the game was more important. While the Cardinals will stay at home in October once the regular season ends, the Cubs are in the hunt for a wild card slot in the playoffs.

In the ninth, the Cubs trailing by two, Sosa went deep a second time for No. 62 on the season. This prodigious shot also traveled an estimated 480 feet onto Waveland. His homer to tie Maris came off rookie pitcher Bronswell Patrick and gave the Cubs an 8-3 lead.

The one in the ninth, tying him with McGwire, was off Eric Plunk and ignited a game tying rally.

John Witt snared homer number 61. Homer number 62 resulted in a melee with no one sure who came up with it. One man claims to have caught the ball and had it taken from him.

However, unlike McGwire's 62nd homer, the balls for Sosa were the same being used throughout the game. There were no special markings.

The two homers were as different as day and night. McGwire's a line drive barely clearing the left field fence, and Sosa's a thunderous blast leaving the park.

The reaction was also different. While the stands erupted for both players, McGwire jumped into the bleachers to hug members of the Maris family. Flashbulbs and fireworks went off to commemorate the moment. McGwire was met at home plate by his son, Matthew, whom he hugged in the air.

Upon seeing the ball leave the park, McGwire almost blew his spot in history by missing first. He had to return and tag the bag to make it official before completing his circuit.

For Sosa, the fans went wild. There was no special ball or ceremony, just standard post game interviews.

Sosa was shown in the dugout with a serious look on his face, still concentrating on winning the game and staying in the playoff hunt. But the fans, and the Cubs have the most dedicated fans in baseball, wouldn't let the game resume until Slammin' Sammy, as they call him, came out and took three bows. He returned to the dugout the third time with tears in his eyes.

When McGwire hit number 62, Sammy ran in from right field to hug and congratulate him. Sosa was greeted by his own teammates Sunday afternoon when he tied McGwire.

The Cards played the Houston Astros Sunday night, with McGwire to have a chance to pull away from Sosa. When McGwire hit 62, Sosa was sitting on 58.

Sosa joked with McGwire Tuesday asking him to slow down so he could catch up. Sunday Sosa caught up and McGwire was 0-2, leaving the game with back spasms.

Some have speculated it would be great if both these players could end the season tied. Both men are gracious though their backgrounds are completely opposite. Each has rooted for the other throughout the home run hunt.

Interestingly, in the bottom of the 10th, Sosa was due up fourth. The Cubs and Brewers were tied at 10-10, with Chicago needing to get one on so Sammy could try going yard a third time.

The first two batters went down in order, bringing up first baseman Mark Grace, a consistent .300 hitter. Grace did something he rarely does, he homered to end the game, robbing Sosa of the opportunity to take the home run lead.

Sosa, though, didn't fret, whine or moan about Grace's homer. Instead, he met his teammate at the plate, hugging him for getting the game winning run. Sosa even hugged the umpire after Grace's homer.

Grace apologized later saying he was sorry for hitting the home run so Sosa didn't get another chance to go yard.

If Sosa can stay close to McGwire as the season winds down, and the Cubs can keep pulling miracles out of their bag of tricks to earn a playoff berth, it is conceivable the home run record could belong to Sosa when Chicago's season comes to an end possibly with the Cubbies wearing World Series Championship rings.

Who knows, stranger things have happened.

JOHN MILLER