Finishing a feat that will rank with the greatest in the history of sports, Mark McGwire homered twice in Sunday’s final game against Montreal to end his historic season with 70 home runs–four more than any other player has hit and nine more than anyone before this homer-happy season.
“I can’t believe I did it,” he said. “Can you? It’s absolutely amazing. It blows me away.”
As always, McGwire offered a tribute to the Cubs’ Sammy Sosa, who enters Monday’s tiebreaker versus San Francisco with 66 homers.
“It has been a tremendous ride because of Sammy,” McGwire said. “Everybody has been asking if he pushes me, if I push him. We’re just two guys who really enjoy playing the game . . . I’m really proud of the things I’ve done this year with Sammy Sosa.”
A 14th consecutive sellout crowd came to Busch Stadium for the St. Louis Cardinals’ finale. The day turned into one huge McGwire feeding frenzy, marked by long lines at souvenir stands and empty newspaper racks.
McGwire added to the magic with a solo home run off right-hander Mike Thurman in the third inning and a three-run homer off right-hander Carl Pavano in the seventh inning of the 6-3 win. It came in his last at-bat of the season, which was his 510th. That’s one homer every 7.3 at-bat.
McGwire, who started the year homering in the first four games, finished with a flurry. He hit five homers in 11 at-bats in the last three games. McGwire, who was 3 for 3 Sunday, ended his year batting .299. He drove in 147 runs and drew 162 walks, matching the second-highest total in history behind Babe Ruth’s 170.
