Mark McGwire

In his prime, he was perhaps the closest thing to Babe Ruth that modern baseball has seen. Like Ruth, he was a big man, and a prolific home run hitter; he hit the ball out of the park once in every 9.42 at bats. Like Ruth, he had begun as an outstanding pitcher. And like Ruth, he was a superb low ball hitter who learned to golf the ball for titanic home runs, balls that sometimes cleared the fences with 100 feet to spare.

McGwire ended his career with 583 home runs, which is fifth on the all-time list. He hit 50 or more home runs for four seasons in a row (1996-1999), was a league leader 4 times, and broke the long-standing single season home run record in 1998 when he hit 70 (since broken by Barry Bonds).

McGwire worked hard on his defense, and resisted being seen as a one-dimensional player.

McGwire also had a sense of baseball history that is rare among modern players. He graciously involved the family of Roger Maris[?] in the year that he broke Maris's single season home run record.

McGwire played for the Oakland A's from 1986 until 1997, and finished his career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He won the World Series just once, with the Oakland A's in 1988.

In 1984, McGwire won a silver medal with the USA amateur baseball team in the Olympics Games.

Mark McGwire's career totals:

• Games played 1874
• At bats 6187
• Runs 1167
• Hits 1626
• Doubles 252
• Triples 6
• Home runs 583
• Runs batted in 1414
• Walks 1317
• Strike Outs 1596
• Stolen Bases 12
• Caught Stealing 8
• On base percentage .394
• Slugging percentage .588
• Batting average .263