Mark McGwire #25

**Coaching Career** McGwire takes the reins as the Dodger hitting coach after three successful seasons in the same position with the St. Louis Cardinals...during his time as hitting coach, St. Louis led the NL in batting average (.269), on-base percentage (.337) and batting average with runners in scoring position (.274), ranked second in runs (2,263), fourth in slugging percentage (.416) and third in OPS (.753) in the three-year span... the Cardinals ranked second, first and first in the NL the last three seasons in batting average and first in on-base percentage the last two seasons...McGwire's tenure in St. Louis was highlighted by the Cardinals' 2011 season, when St. Louis led the NL in batting average (.273), on-base percentage (.341), slugging percentage (.425, T-1st), OPS (.766) and runs scored (762), while striking out a National League-low 978 times en route to a World Series title. **Playing Career** In a 16-year Major League career with the Athletics and Cardinals, McGwire hit 583 home runs (363 with Oakland), the 10th-most in baseball history...in 1998, McGwire broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record, set in 1961, of 61 home runs on Sept. 8 against the Chicago Cubs' Steve Trachsel... McGwire went on to hit 70 home runs that season. He followed that up with 65 homers in 1999...a 12-time Major League All-Star and 1987 Rookie of the Year, McGwire was also named in 1999 to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team...McGwire also holds records for most home runs by a rookie (49) and career at-bats per home run (10.6)...in 1997, he became only the second Major Leaguer, after Babe Ruth, to hit 50 or more homers in consecutive seasons and he became the first player to hit 20 home runs with two different teams in one season, hitting 24 homers for the Cardinals after arriving in a July 31 trade from Oakland...in addition to breaking the single-season home record in 1998, McGwire led all Major Leaguers with a .752 slugging average, second in NL history to Rogers Hornsby's .756 average in 1925...he hit a game-winning homer in the ninth inning of Game 3 in 1988 World Series against the Dodgers and helped lead the A's to a World Series championship title run in 1989 when Oakland defeated the San Francisco Giants...hit an Oakland record and Major League-leading 52 home runs in 1996, becoming just the 14th player in Major League history to hit 50 home runs...was a first-round pick by the A's (10th overall selection) in the 1984 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Southern California...McGwire was The Sporting News National Player of the Year, an All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1984 at USC, where he played for legendary coach and former Brooklyn Dodger Rod Dedeaux...was also a member of Team USA at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. **Personal** Mark McGwire resides in Irvine with his wife, Stephanie, and their children, triplet girls Monet, Marlo and Monroe, and brothers Max and Mason. McGwire also has a 25-year-old son, Matt, from a previous marriage.

2000

After spending the past two seasons in a constant spotlight, back and knee injuries limited the game's most celebrated slugger to less then a half-season of play as a regular. He started just 70 games at first base, the last coming on 7/6 vs. CIN... early season back spasms kept him out of the lineup for nine of the team's first 15 games, including the season opener... was batting .303 with 30 HR and 69 RBI at the time of his final first base start on 7/6. Left that game after three innings when right knee discomfort would not allow him to continue... at the time of his knee injury, Mark was leading the Majors in walks with 75 (11 intentional) and his combined on-base pct. (.483, 2nd in NL) plus slugging pct. (.749, 1st) was tops in the Majors at 1.232, 29 points ahead of the Rockies Todd Helton (1.203)... was also leading the NL in both AB/HR ratio (7.3) and AB/RBI ratio (3.2)... voted starting NL first baseman for the All-Star game, his eighth start and 12th selection overall. He was forced to miss the Mid-Summer Classic due to a knee injury and was replaced on the roster by teammate Edgar Renteria... placed on the 15-day disabled list on 7/13, retroactive to 7/7, due to patella tendinitis in his right knee. He would remain on the DL until 9/8, and he never returned as a regular, as injury limited him to just one at-bat a game... returned to action on 9/8 at MIL, appearing in each of the three games of that weekend series as the team's starting 2B. He never took his place in the field once he completed his first inning at-bats. He made a total of five "starts" on that roadtip, four as a second baseman, one in left field and one as a shortstop... homered (No. 31) on 9/11 at PIT for the first time since 7/1 with a drive to dead CF... hit his 7th career pinch-HR (No. 32) in 9/15 win over CHI with a go-ahead solo blast in the 8th inning of 3-2 win. It was his 32nd and final HR of the season. He batted .333 (5-for-15) with two HR, three HBP and one walk (intentional) following his return from the DL... surpassed the 30-HR mark for the 11th time in his career, doing so for the fifth straight season. His 32 HR ranked 15th on the teams' all-time single-season HR list... finished the year ranked 7th on baseball's all-time HR list (554), just nine back of Reggie Jackson (6th, 563)... is currently 5th (191) on the Cardinals all-time HR list, trailing 4th place Rogers Hornsby (193)... passed Jimmie Foxx (10th, 534), Mickey Mantle (9th, 536) and Mike Schmidt (8th, 548) this season on baseball's all-time HR list... became the Majors' first player to hit 30 HR prior to the All-Star break in four different seasons when he homered on 7/1 vs. HOU... became Busch Stadium all-time HR leader (105) on 6/30, passing Ray Lankford... finished the year with 106 career HR at Busch Stadium, seven back of Lankford (113), who has since regained the lead... had a season-best 10-game hitting streak (.343, 5 HR) snapped on 6/27 at CIN... homered for a 3rd-straight game on 6/24 vs. LA, belting career HR No. 550 while taking over the Majors' HR lead with 28 and tying R. Lankford (103) for the Busch Stadium all-time mark... joined Mike Piazza on 6/12 as the only visiting players to have homered twice into the loge level at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium... homered in record 37th ballpark on 6/11 at DET, passing Fred McGriff on all-time list. He also tied Jim Bottomley (181) for 5th on the Cardinals all-time HR list. McGriff has since tied the ballparks record... had pair of singles on 6/10 at DET and stole his 12th career base (1st since 8/20/98)... cracked HR No. 21 on 5/31 at ARI giving Cards an NL-record 100 HR in 52 games. The HR ended his longest (20 AB) dry spell of the season... hit 20th HR in his 35th game played. Became the fastest to 20 HR, bettering both his own (1998) and Mickey Mantle's (1956) prior mark of 41 games... posted 5th career 3-HR game on 5/18 at PHI, his 64th career multi-HR game... finished the game with a season-high 7 RBI... had a pair of HR on 5/14 vs. LA, the 2nd traveling an estimated 487 ft... pounded a 473-ft HR (No. 11) to the red seats on 5/5 at CIN, the longest HR on record at Cinergy/Riverfront Stadium.

1999

Hit 65 home runs to lead all Major Leaguers for the fourth straight season. Finished two homers in front of Chicago's Sammy Sosa, the only other Major Leaguer to reach 50 homers, and became the first player since Dale Murphy (in 1984 and '85) to lead the NL in home runs for two consecutive seasons... homered in six of his last seven games to conclude the season with 522 career home runs, 10th on baseball's all-time list... led the National League with 147 RBI, matching a career high established in 1998. Became the first Cardinal to top the league in RBI since Joe Torre drove in an NL-high 137 runs in 1971... hit his 60th homer of the season on 9/26 at CIN, joining Sosa as the only other player to hit 60 or more home runs in consecutive seasons. The home run was McGwire's 400th of the 1990s, making him only the third player to hit as many as 400 in one decade, after Babe Ruth (467 in the 1920s) and Jimmie Foxx (415 in the 1930s). Finished the decade with 405... with a home run in the first game of an 8/22 doubleheader at NY, extended his record for consecutive 50-homer seasons to four. Also joined Ruth as the only other player to hit 50 or more homers in four different seasons. Concluded the year with an average of 61 homers over the last four seasons, an all-time high... set Major League records for home runs over a two-season (135), three-season (193), four-season (245) and five-season (284) span... joined the exclusive 500 career home run club on 8/5 vs. SD, clouting a pair of homers off Andy Ashby: No. 500 was a 451-foot solo blast to center field; No. 501 was a 479-foot solo drive, his longest of 1999, to left-center. Became only the second player, after Harmon Killebrew, to have a multi-homer game while reaching 500 homers... reached 500 homers in the fewest at-bats, 5,487, in history. Also became the first player to hit his 400th and 500th career homers in back-to-back seasons... hit his 494th career homer as a first baseman on 9/1 vs. FLA, breaking Lou Gehrig's all-time record for first-sackers. Finished the season with 507 career homers while in the lineup as a first baseman... posted his 62nd career multi-homer game (ninth of the season) on 9/19 vs. HOU, tying Hank Aaron for third on the all-time list... became the first player in big-league history (min. 100 RBI) to have more RBI (147) than hits (145) in one season. (Seattle's Jay Buhner came close in 1995 with 121 RBI and 126 hits.)... hit his 13th career grand slam on 9/17 vs. HOU. The blast was the first of three consecutive home runs the Cardinals hit during a nine-run fourth inning... became the 15th player to hit at least 100 home runs in both the American and National Leagues when he connected for a grand slam off Greg Maddux on 5/4 at ATL... tripled on 8/2 vs. SD (off Trevor Hoffman), ending his record span of 4,618 at-bats without a triple, dating to 6/20/88... clubbed a pair of three-run homers on 7/16 vs. CWS to equal a career high with six RBI... became just the third player (after Willie Stargell, twice, and Mike Piazza) to hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium with a 484-foot blast over the left-center-field pavilion on 5/22... homered on Opening Day for the second straight season, connecting off the Brewers David Weathers on 4/5... hit his 55th career homer at Busch Stadium on 5/12 vs. PHI, tying George Hendrick for third on the all-time Busch Stadium home run list... blasted a 427-foot homer into Big Mac Land on 5/27 off the Giants Mark Gardner; it marked the second straight year he homered into Big Mac Land, both off Gardner... scored his 1,000th career run with a solo homer off Russ Ortiz on 7/10 at SF... hit his first career homer at Atlanta's Turner Field on 5/4, his first regular season homer at Dodger Stadium on 5/22 and his first at Cincinnati's Cinergy Field on 7/22, increasing the number of ballparks he'd homered in to 34... voted the starting first baseman on the NL All-Star team for the second consecutive season, his 11th career All-Star selection and fifth in a row... staged an eye-popping extravaganza during the Home Run Derby festivities before the All-Star Game; clubbed 13 first-round homers, eclipsing Cal Ripken's one-round record from 1991. McGwire's home runs traveled a combined 5,692 feet, including a 488-foot blast high over Fenway Park's Green Monster to conclude the first round... averaged one home run every 6.3 at-bats (37 HR/232 AB) following the All-Star break... homered in four straight games, 7/30-8/2, a Club high he shared with Craig Paquette... set an NL record and tied a Major League mark for most home runs (16) in July. Earned NL Player of the Month honors with a .295 average, 16 homers and 30 RBI... tied Sosa for the NL home run lead with his 61st homer on 9/27 at CIN. Took the lead on 9/29 vs. SD by homering in both games of a doubleheader (Nos. 62 and 63). It was McGwire's first time on top since 8/18, when he led 48 homers to 47... blasted his final home run, No. 65, in a rain-shortened season finale on 10/3 vs. CHI, his first homer on a 3-0 count as a Cardinal... increased his Busch Stadium career totals to 88 homers and 191 RBI in 182 games (one homer every 6.9 at-bats)... finished second on the team in games played with 153. Leads the team over the last two seasons with 308 games... despite another record-setting performance, finished fifth in NL Most Valuable Player voting and was left off the postseason All-Star and Silver Slugger teams... in an announcement at the World Series, was named to baseball's All-Century Team, joining Cal Ripken Jr., Roger Clemens and Ken Griffey Jr. as the only active players to receive such honors... selected as St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year for second straight season by St. Louis BBWAA Chapter; was also named to Cardinals All Half-Century team that was selected by St. Louis BBWAA... on 11/18, he and the Cardinals agreed to exercise his mutually held option for the 2001 season.

1998

Inspired a renaissance of the National Pastime as he blasted his way to a Major League record 70 home runs, eclipsing Roger Maris' 1961 record of 61 homers... received a bevy of postseason awards and honors... named The Sporting News Sportsman of the Year (co-winner with the Cubs Sammy Sosa), Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year (co-winner with Sosa), Associated Press Player of the Year, Players Choice Player of the Year (chosen by Major League players), Baseball America Major League Player of the Year, Baseball Weekly Player of the Year, ABC Wide World of Sports Man of the Year, Time Magazine Hero of the Year, St. Louis Baseball Man of the Year (selected by St. Louis BBWAA chapter), the Missouri Athletic Club Personality of the Year, Sid Mercer Player of the Year (New York BBWAA chapter)... named NL first baseman on Louisville Slugger's "Silver Slugger" team (his third Silver Slugger award, emblematic of the best offensive player at each position), The Sporting News Major League All-Star team and Baseball America's Major League All-Star team... finished second to Sammy Sosa in NL Most Valuable Player balloting (438-272), as selected by the BBWAA... also chosen one of People Magazine's 25 Most Intriguing People of the Year, one of Vanity Fair's People of the Year and one of Barbara Walters' 10 Most Memorable People of 1998. Received ESPY awards as Professional Baseball Performer of the Year, Male Athlete of the Year and Baseball Performer of the Year. On the season's final day, received the 'St. Louis Award,' a civic honor presented to individuals who bring distinction to the city... also received a Key to the City of St. Louis, the RCGA Right Arm of St. Louis award, the Pierre Laclede Award and numerous other city and state honors... honored as the NL Player of the Month in April, May and September... coupled with his Player of the Month honor in September 1997, he became the first player to receive the NL award in three consecutive months... voted NL Player of the Week for the weeks ending April 5, May 24 and Sept. 27... became the first player to hit at least 50 homers in three consecutive seasons... set a Major League record for most home runs in two consecutive seasons, 128, breaking Babe Ruth's record of 114 homers in 1927-28... averaged one home run every 7.27 at-bats (70 HR/509 AB), breaking his previous single-season Major League record of one homer every 8.13 at-bats (52HR/423AB) in 1996... improved his career AB/HR ratio to a Major League best 11.23:1, surpassing Babe Ruth's career mark of one homer every 11.76 at-bats... moved into 20th place on the all-time home run list with 457 homers... started the season in 30th place... reached the 400-homer plateau in the fewest at-bats (4,726) in Major League history... broke his own Major League record for hitting 40 homers in the fewest at-bats (281 AB) and tied his record for fewest at-bats to 50 homers (390 AB)... set an NL record for most home runs at home (38), breaking Ted Kluszewski's 1954 record of 34...tied a Major League record for most homers hit on the road (32), equaling Babe Ruth's 1927 mark and breaking George Foster's NL record of 31 in 1977... set Major League records for most home runs before June 1 (27), before July 1 (37), before August 1 (45), before September 1 (55, tied with Sosa), and through September 30 (70)... tied an NL record for most homers before May 1 (11)... tied a Major League record for most home runs in May (16), equaling Mickey Mantle's 1956 mark... the monthly total eclipsed his Cardinals club record for most homers in one month, bettering his mark of 15 homers in September 1997... tied a Major League record shared by 11 other players with two three-homer games in one season (4/14 and 5/19)... had 10 multi-homer games (eight 2-homer, two 3-homer), increasing his career total to 53 multi-homer games, sixth on the all-time list (see chart)... had two back-to-back two-homer games: 9/1-2 and 9/26-27... homered in 12 straight series, beginning 5/8 at NY through 6/18 at HOU... homered against every opponent except DET (seven at-bats)... hit his first career homers at Montreal (4/21), Philadelphia (4/25), New York's Shea Stadium (5/8), Arizona (6/12) and Houston (6/17)... drove in a career-high 147 runs and set a Cardinals club record for most RBI by a first baseman (145)... set an NL record with 162 walks, breaking Barry Bonds' 1996 mark of 151... led all Major Leaguers with a .752 slugging average, second in NL history to Rogers Hornsby's .756 average in 1925... fell one hit short of hitting .300, concluding the year at .299... stole his only base of the year in the second game of an 8/20 doubleheader at NY... was selected to his 10th All-Star Game as the Cards lone representative in Denver... the Cardinals were 34-24 when McGwire homered... he hit 25 homers with the Cards trailing (six tied the game and five put the team ahead), 25 with the game tied and 20 with the Cards leading... hit more homers, 11, on the first pitch than on any other pitch count... hit none on a 3-0 count, the only pitch count on which he failed to go deep... hit more homers, 13, in the fourth inning than in any other inning... hit none in the second inning, the only inning (1 through 12) in which he failed to go deep... hit more homers, 13, on Saturday than on any other day of the week... hit the fewest, five, on Monday... he and Sosa homered on the same day 21 times... hit 33 solo homers, 28 two-run homers, seven three-run homers and two grand slams... hit 21 homers with no outs, 22 with one out and 27 with two outs... hit 55 homers off right-handers and 15 off left-handers; 38 at home and 32 on the road; and 21 in day games and 49 at night... his longest homer-less spell was 29 at-bats (twice)... homered against 65 different pitchers... ended the season on a tear, hitting 23 home runs in his last 40 games (one homer every 5.39 at-bats), including five round-trippers on the final weekend... became the first Cardinal (and 20th Major Leaguer since 1901) to hit a grand slam on Opening Day, connectng for a fifth-inning blast off LA's Ramon Martinez on 3/31 at Busch. The slam was the 10th of his career... homered in the season's first four games, tying Willie Mays' 1971 Major League record for most consecutive games homered in to start a season... named NL Player of the Week for the season's first week after batting .400 (8-for-20) with four homers and 12 RBI... collected his 1,000th career RBI on a bases-loaded walk 4/11 at SF... became the ninth Cardinal to belt as many as three home runs in one game and the first to do so at Busch with a 3-for-3 performance 4/14 vs. ARI. Became the ninth Major Leaguer to have a three-homer game in each league (see chart)... hit his first career homer at Montreal's Olympic Stadium, a two-run shot off Trey Moore on 4/21... hit his first career homer at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, a two-run homer off Jerry Spradlin on 4/25... hit career homer 400 in the fewest at-bats in Major League history (4,726) on 5/8 at NY, a two-run blast off Rick Reed in the third inning (his first career homer at Shea Stadium). Became the 26th player to reach the 400-homer plateau... crushed what could briefly be called the longest homer ever hit at Busch Stadium, a 527-foot bomb off Milwaukee's Paul Wagner on 5/12. The ball landed in Sec. 389, Row 4, Seat 4, above the left-center-field scoreboard... launched the longest estimated home run in Busch Stadium history, a 545-foot moonshot off Florida's Livan Hernandez on 5/16. The ball caromed off the Post-Dispatch sign in dead center field before falling into the shrubbery below... belted three homers on 5/19 at PHI, becoming the 12th player (13th time) to record two three-homer games in one season. The third homer was No. 20 for the season, breaking Ken Griffey Jr.'s record for reaching 20 earliest in a calendar year (May 20, 1997) and tying Mickey Mantle's record for reaching 20 in the fewest games played (41). Also matched a career high with six RBI... became the first player to hit a home run into Busch Stadium's "Big Mac Land" on 5/22 vs. SF, entitling 47,549 ticket holders to a free Big Mac hamburger at McDonald's restaurants the following day... recorded his third multi-homer game of the season by belting Nos. 22 and 23 on 5/23 vs. SF... named NL Player of the Week for the week ending 5/24. Batted .423 with eight homers and 15 RBI in six games... became the first player to hit 25 homers before June 1 and tied a Club record for most homers (17) at Busch Stadium with a first-inning solo shot on 5/25 vs. COL... set a Cardinals club record for most home runs (16) in a month on 5/30 at SD, tying Mickey Mantle's 1956 Major League record for most home runs in May... established a single-season Club record for most homers (18) at Busch Stadium on 6/5 vs. SF, breaking the mark shared by Richie Allen (1970), Ted Simmons (1979), Jack Clark (1987) and Ron Gant (1996). The homer, No. 28 of the season, came in his first at-bat after missing three games with back spasms... reached the 30-homer plateau in the Cardinals 64th game, sooner than any other player except Babe Ruth (63 games in 1928), on 6/9 at CWS... hit his first homer at Arizona's Bank One Ballpark when he connected for his 11th career grand slam, 6/12 against Andy Benes... recorded his first-ever Astrodome homer, 6/17 off Houston's Jose Lima... hit his 33rd homer on 6/18 at HOU (the 11th to reach the Astrodome's upper deck) to break Ken Griffey Jr.'s Major League record for most homers before July 1... homered in both of the Cardinals interleague games at Cleveland, 6/24-25, including a 461-foot homer (No. 35) on 6/25, the second-longest in Jacobs Field history, after his 485-foot blast in April '97 while with Oakland... belted homer No. 37 into the left-field upper deck (472 feet) 6/30 vs. KC, tying Reggie Jackson's 1969 record for most homers before the All-Star break... pounded a dramatic 11th inning, two-run homer into Busch's upper-deck (485 feet) off Houston's Billy Wagner on 7/11, capping a 4-3 win. The homer was his 38th, but his first home run and RBI of July... with a two-homer game 7/12 vs. HOU, reached 40 homers in the fewest at-bats (281) and games (90) in Major League history... posted his second two-homer game in less than a week on 7/17 vs. LA, tying Rogers Hornsby's 1922 Club record for homers by a right-handed batter (42) while breaking Babe Ruth's and Jimmie Foxx's Major League record for most homers before August 1. The first homer traveled an estimated 511 feet... tied Johnny Mize's 1940 Club record with his 43rd homer on 7/20 at SD. Also matched a career high with four hits... established a single-season Club home run record with No. 44 on 7/26 at COL, ending an 0-for-16 skid at the plate... snapped a 29 at-bat homerless drought and set a single-season Club record for most homers at home (26, breaking Mize's 1940 record) with No. 46 on 8/8 vs. the Cubs... hit No. 47 on 8/11 vs. NY, eclipsing Hack Wilson's NL record for home runs before Sept. 1 (46 in 1930)... drew his 27th intentional walk on 8/12 vs. NY, breaking Stan Musial's 1958 Club record for intentional walks in a season... on 8/19 at CHI, less than an hour after Sammy Sosa hit his 48th homer to take over the NL lead in the fifth inning, McGwire tied the game with his 48th homer in the eighth, then hit a game-winning shot (No. 49) in the 10th to reclaim the lead... hit No. 50 in the first game of an 8/20 doubleheader at NY, becoming the first player to hit at least 50 homers in three successive seasons and the oldest player to hit 50 (34 years, 324 days, compared with Mize's previous mark of 34 years, 256 days). Tied Major League records for fewest at-bats (390, which he set in 1996) and games played by team (125, set by Ruth in '21 and matched by Maris in '61) to reach 50 homers... hit No. 51 in the second game of an 8/20 doubleheader at NY, setting a Club record for most homers (24) hit on the road in one season... hit No. 52 on 8/22 at PIT, setting Major League records for most homers before Sept. 1 and most homers in three consecutive seasons (162), an NL record for home runs by a first baseman (breaking Mize's 1947 mark), and a Club record for most homers in two consecutive seasons (76)... hit No. 53 and walked twice on 8/23 at PIT, breaking Jack Clark's 1987 Club record of 136 walks in one season. Also broke his own Major League record for most homers by a right-handed batter in consecutive seasons with his 111th since the start of play in 1997 (110 in 1996-97)... became the first NL player since Ralph Kiner in 1949 and only the third National Leaguer to hit as many as 54 homers in one season, blasting a 509-foot smash off the hitter's backdrop on 8/26 vs. FLA... hit Nos. 56 and 57 on 9/1 at FLA. The second homer broke Hack Wilson's 1930 NL record for most home runs in one season and Ruth's Major League record for homers in consecutive seasons (114 in 1927-28)... smashed Nos. 58 and 59 in a 9/2 win at FLA, his second-straight two-homer game. The second homer enabled him to surpass Jimmie Foxx, Hank Greenberg and his own 1997 total for most homers by a right-handed batter, and Greenberg's Major League record for most homers by a first baseman... belted a two-run, first-inning home run off Cincinnati lefty Dennis Reyes on 9/5 at Busch, reaching 60 homers in the team's 142nd game, 12 fewer games than Ruth (154) and 17 fewer than Maris (159)... tied Maris' mark of 61 homers with a first-inning solo homer off the Stadium Club against Cubs righthander Mike Morgan on 9/7. Hit 61 in 19 fewer games than Maris (144-163)... connected for historic No. 62 at 8:18 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, 9/8 vs. CHI. With nobody on, two outs and the Cards trailing, 2-0, in the fourth inning, McGwire lined the first pitch from Cubs righthander Steve Trachsel an estimated 341 feet over the left-field wall, his shortest homer of the year. The ball cleared the wall 15 feet to the right of the foul pole and was retrieved under the stands by grounds crew worker Tim Forneris. The home run came in the Cardinals 145th game and McGwire's 451st at-bat. The game was delayed 11 minutes by the ensuing celebration... drew walk No. 152 on 9/12 at HOU, breaking Barry Bonds 1996 NL record... poked his 63rd homer (450th career) and his only pinch homer of '98 (sixth career) in the ninth inning of the first game of a 9/15 doubleheader vs. PIT... pounded his 65th homer in the first inning 9/20 at MIL and had another apparent homer ruled a double due to fan interference. Tied Ruth's 1927 Major League record for most homers on the road (32) and broke George Foster's 1977 NL mark... kept pace with Sosa on 9/25 by belting his 66th HR, off Montreal's Shayne Bennett at Busch, just 45 minutes after Sosa hit No. 66 at HOU... regained the homer lead with Nos. 67 and 68 on 9/26 vs. MON. No. 67 was his 35th homer at Busch, breaking Ted Kluszewski's 1954 NL record for most homers at home... in the 9/27 season finale vs. MON, singled in the first inning, hit a solo homer (No. 69) off Mike Thurman in the third, walked in the fifth and blasted No. 70 off Carl Pavano in the seventh, a three-run shot to left in his final at-bat of the year.

1997

Tied the Major League record for most home runs in one season by a right-handed batter with 58 round-trippers, the most in the Majors since Roger Maris hit a record 61 homers in 1961... broke Jimmie Foxx's record for most home runs by a right-handed batter in two consecutive seasons (106 in 1932-33) with 110 home runs... became only the second Major Leaguer, after Babe Ruth, to hit 50 or more homers in consecutive seasons... concluded the season with a career average of one home run every 11.94 at-bats (387/4622), second in Major League history to Ruth's ratio of one homer every 11.76 at-bats... had eight multi-homer games in 1997 (four with Cards) and concluded the season tied for 14th on the all-time list with 43 multi-homer games... became the first player to hit 20 home runs with two different teams in one season... after arriving in a July 31 trade from Oakland, hit 24 homers as a Cardinal, including a Club single-month record 15 home runs in September. Overall, 24 of his 44 hits as a Cardinal were homers... homered once every 7.3 at-bats as a Cardinal and wound up second on the team in home runs behind Ray Lankford (31)... went deep 11 times in April, eight in May, 10 in June, five in July, nine in August and 15 in September. Homered in 12 consecutive series to finish the year... established career highs with 123 runs batted in (topping his best of 118 RBI as a rookie in 1987) and three stolen bases, and finished one short of his career best in doubles (28 in '87)... homered against every opponent except BAL in 1997... hit home runs in a record 17 ballparks... matched his previous single-season high for home runs (52) on 9/16 vs. LA, when he launched a 517-foot blast off the facade above the left-center-field scoreboard, the longest estimated homer at Busch Stadium, McGwire's longest as a Cardinal and his fifth 500-foot effort of the season; earlier in the day, he'd signed a contract extension with the Cardinals through the year 2000... homered in the second at-bat of his Busch Stadium debut on 8/8 vs. PHI, a 441-foot drive off the left-field foul pole at the Stadium Club level; the homer ended a 71 at-bat homerless drought, the second-longest such streak of his career after his 102 consecutive homerless at-bats spanning the 1990 and '91 seasons... in his first game against the Marlins on 8/22, became the first player to hit two upper-deck homers at Florida's Pro Player Stadium... hit his second-longest homer as a Cardinal (and 44th of the season) on 9/2 against the White Sox, a 504-foot blast off Busch's left-field scoreboard... matched a career high with four hits 9/5 at COL, including two home runs... hit a game-tying, two-run homer off Tom Glavine in the ninth inning 8/15 vs. Atlanta, setting up the Cards 3-2, 12-inning victory... was named the National League's Player of the Week 8/11-17, when he hit .421 with four homers and eight RBI... was named the National League Player of the Month for September, when he blasted 15 home runs and recorded a .729 slugging average... left Oakland as the Athletics franchise leader with 363 home runs, 941 RBI, 563 extra-base hits and a .551 slugging average. Ranks second in runs scored (773), walks (847), total bases (2,451) and on-base average (.380)... ranks No. 1 in franchise history, with Jimmie Foxx and Sam Chapman, with nine career grand slams... in four months with the A's, McGwire's 34 homers ranked as their season high and he tied Jason Giambi for the team lead with 81 RBI... tied an Oakland record with his fifth career pinch-homer on 4/16, equaling the mark held by Mike Aldrete, Jeff Burroughs and Terry Steinbach... concluded the season with one homer and an .800 (4-for-5) average in pinch-hit appearances... his 11 homers in April were the most ever hit during the month by an Oakland player... reached base in all seven plate appearances 4/26 vs. KC to tie an A.L. record for most times reached base in an extra-innings game without being retired; his five walks in the game (three intentional) tied an A's club record... hit his longest homer to date and the longest in Seattle Kingdome history (538 feet) off Randy Johnson on 6/24... became the fourth player (after Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard and Cecil Fielder) to clear the left-field roof at Tiger Stadium with a 514-foot home run on 4/20... had two four-game homer streaks with the A's: 4/19-23 and 5/24-28... named to the American League's All-Star Game team for the ninth time... was named 1997 Sportsman of the Year by The Sporting News and was selected by his peers as the Players Choice Man of the Year for leadership and commitment on and off the field.

1996

Hit an Oakland record and Major League-leading 52 home runs, becoming the 14th player (21 times) in Major League history to hit 50 home runs... the 52 homers tied for 11th most in Major League history, were the most in the Majors since George Foster hit 52 in 1977 and the most in the A.L. since Maris (61) and Mantle (54) in 1961... is the only player to hit 50 HR and play in fewer than 140 games... did it at a Major League record rate of one home run every 8.13 at-bats, matching his figure from 1995... in addition to leading the Majors in home runs, he also ranked first in slugging percentage (.730) and on-base percentage (.467)... became the 10th player (18 times) to lead the Majors in all three categories, the fourth since World War II (Mays in 1965, Yastrzemski in 1967 and Schmidt in 1981)... both figures also set Oakland records and the slugging percentage was 14th best in Major League history... batted a team leading .312 which was 60 points above his career average and 23 points above his previous best of .289, set in his rookie season of 1987... also had career highs in runs (104) and walks (116), falling two walks short of Sal Bando's single-season Oakland record... had his fourth career 100 RBI season (113) and reached the century mark in runs, walks and RBI in the same season for the first time in his career... named to the Silver Slugger Team, the Associated Press All-Star Team and finished seventh in the BBWAA MVP voting... missed the first 18 games with a foot injury before he was activated April 23... reached base via hit, walk or hit by pitch in each of his first 48 games and 62 straight dating back to 9/16/1995, setting an Oakland record... hit his first of two grand slams on 5/1 vs. California (other came on 9/22 at Seattle)... went 24 at-bats without a homer from 5/7-14, his longest homerless streak of the season... began his home run tear on 5/17 at Boston and, including that blast, he hit 21 home runs in a 36-game span through 6/27... hit .333 (41 for 123) over that span with seven doubles for a .902 slugging percentage... during the streak he hit the 9,000th home run in Athletics history on 5/28 vs. Boston and drove in his 790th career run on 6/16 at Milwaukee to break Sal Bando's Oakland career record... had three doubles in the latter contest, tying an Oakland record... belted his 300th career home run on 6/25 vs. Detroit (Olivares) to become the 73rd player in Major League history to reach that plateau... finished June with 14 home runs, one shy of his Club record for home runs in a month (May, 1987) and the Major League record for home runs in June... was named American League Player of the Month in June, hitting .329 with 25 RBI, six doubles, a .915 slugging percentage, 31 walks, a .513 on-base percentage and 26 runs in 26 games... was named to the American League All-Star Team for the eighth time in his 10-year career on 7/2 and celebrated by hitting his 303rd career home run that night in Seattle, breaking Jimmie Foxx's Athletics career record... hit his 30th home run on July 13 at Texas, giving him seven 30-homer seasons, tying Foxx's all-time A's record... recorded his 1,000th career hit on 7/22 at Chicago (Tapani), becoming the eighth Oakland player to reach the plateau... homered in four consecutive games from 7/23-26... also homered in three straight twice... he hit the longest home run ever by an opponent at the new Comiskey with a 470-foot blast 7/24... then on the 25th in Toronto he homered into the fifth deck for a 488-foot home run, the longest in the five years that all Major League home runs have been measured... he homered at least once in every series during the latter streak for a Major League record of 20 consecutive series with a home run... that streak ended when he missed five games with back spasms, 7/27-8/1... hit his 40th home run on 8/12 vs. Minnesota, his third 40-homer season, making him and Foxx the only two Athletics with three 40-homer seasons... hit his 40th in his 294th at bat, breaking Ruth's record for fewest at-bats to 40 homers (316 in 1928)... homered the next day to increase his 162-game total dating back to 6/2/95 to 70... hit his 145th career home run in the Oakland Coliseum on 8/18 vs. Baltimore (Yan) breaking Reggie Jackson's Coliseum career home run record... hit his 50th home run in the second game of a doubleheader at Cleveland on 9/14 (Ogea)... reached 50 in 390 at-bats, breaking Ruth's record of fewest at-bats to 50 homers (438 in 1921)... hit his final two home runs on 9/22 at Seattle, and both came in the fifth inning to tie a Major League record for home runs in an inning (28th player, 30th time)... that gave him 28 home runs on the road, tying the franchise record which he already shared with Canseco... homered at least twice against every team; hit six vs. Boston, Cleveland and Detroit... hit at least .321 each month from May through August, including .356 in May, his highest batting average ever in a full month... average improved to .359 with runners in scoring position, which ranked fourth in the league, and his .373 average off southpaws was seventh-best.

1995

Despite having the schedule shortened to 144 games and missing 33 games because of two separate stints on the disabled list, McGwire hit 39 home runs in just 317 at-bats... became one of just seven players in ML history to hit 30 homers with fewer than 400 at-bats and his 39 HR are the most ever by a player with fewer than 392 at-bats (Hank Aaron, 40 HR in 392 at-bats in 1973)... much of the power came against left-handed pitching as he hit 14 HR off southpaws in just 79 at-bats (1 per 5.6 at-bats)... his average distance of 418 feet per homer was the best in the Majors... also topped the A's with 90 RBI... had more home runs than singles (35)... started the year 4-for-18 but then put together a career-high 18-game hitting streak (23 for 64, .359) from 5/3-21... had his first two-homer game of the season on 6/10 at Boston and followed that up by blasting three the next day to tie his career high (6/27/87 at Cleveland)... the five HR in consecutive games tied a Major League record (18 times) which he already shared... he and Ralph Kiner are the only two players who have done it twice... had five multiple HR games for the season... belted his sixth career grand slam vs. California on 6/30 in the bottom of the ninth off Lee Smith to give the A's an 8-5 win... 21 of his 39 HR and 31 of his 90 RBI either tied the game or put the A's ahead... was tied with Mo Vaughn for the Major League lead with 24 HR and 59 RBI when he was hit in the helmet by a David Cone pitch on 7/8 vs. Toronto... was hit by a pitch 11 times for the season which tied for 4th in the league... was named to his seventh All-Star Game but did not play because of the injury... missed five games following the Cone beaning and returned for three games before suffering a deep bruise in his left foot on 7/17, which landed him on the DL the next day... missed 12 games, was activated 8/2, played in three games, and then went back on the DL with a sore lower back... missed another 21 games before returning 8/26... finished the season by hitting 11 home runs in his last 18 games... included in that span was the 269th of his career on 9/14 vs. Kansas City (Gubicza) which broke Reggie Jackson's Oakland career record... stole second base as a part of a double steal at California on 9/30, his first steal since 8/6/91.

1994

Had his second consecutive injury-shortened season... after offseason left heel surgery, came to Spring camp healthy, but the injuries arrived almost as soon as camp started and persisted through much of his season... a stiff back kept McGwire out of the first three weeks of Spring games, but not out of the A's Opening Day lineup for the seventh consecutive year... stress fracture of the left heel was his second significant injury of the year and it landed him on the disabled list from 4/30-6/18 (43 games)... belted one of the most dramatic homers of the year 7/10 at Baltimore off Lee Smith, a two-run shot with the A's down a run in the 9th inning... but just a little more than two weeks later, on 7/26 in Anaheim, he re-injured his left heel... was placed on the disabled list the next day, missed the remainder of the season and eventually underwent surgery for a second time on the heel... Dr. Donald Baxter, who performed the first surgery on McGwire's heel to release the medial part of the fascia 9/24/93, performed the second surgery to release the lateral aspect of the fascia on 8/30... on the year, McGwire wound up appearing in 47 games, making 37 starts at first base which tied him with Troy Neel for the most starts on the A's at the position.

1993

Appeared in just 27 games due to an injured left heel... made just two pinch-hitting appearances after 5/14... eventually underwent surgery in September to repair the damage... was off to a great start with 28 hits, including 15 extra-base hits, and 24 RBI in his first 25 games before the injury shut him down... originally injured the heel during the A's series in New York 5/3-4... played in another nine games before he went on the DL 5/14... missed the next 100 games before he was activated 9/3... after grounding out in a pinch-hitting role vs. Baltimore at the Coliseum on 9/3, had to miss the A's next 3 games as he served a suspension for his part in the 8/24 rhubarb at Milwaukee... his last 1993 appearance was as a pinch-hitter at Toronto 9/9... underwent surgery on the heel September 24th in Houston as Dr. Donald Baxter corrected a partial tear of fascia in his left heel and also shaved a small bone spur... his season total of nine homers was the second-best figure in Major League history for a player with 100 or fewer at-bats... Ted Williams hit 13 in 91 at-bats for Boston in 1953.

1992

Led the Major Leagues by averaging one homer every 11.1 at-bats, but a muscle strain in August forced him to miss 20 games and cost him a chance to win his second Major League homer title... McGwire's 42 homers were second only to the Rangers Juan Gonzalez, who homered on the final day of the season to finish with 43... Mark did lead the AL with a .585 slugging percentage... finished fourth to teammate Eckersley in the AL MVP balloting and was named to The Sporting News and UPI All-Star teams... also named by UPI as the Comeback Player of the Year... finished the year with a .268 average, 67 points above his 1991 figure... led the A's with 104 RBI as he also topped the Club with 29 multi-RBI games... Spring Training was a good indication of what kind of year McGwire was set for as he led the Major Leagues in hitting with a .453 Cactus League average... June 10th in Milwaukee was a big day in Mark's career as his 22nd home run of the 1992 season off the Brewers' C. Bosio was the 200th of his career... only four men in baseball history, Kiner, Ruth, Killebrew and Mathews, have reached the 200 mark faster than Mark, who hit his 200th in his 2,852nd at-bat... that homer also tied his total for 1991... reached the All-Star break with 28 homers and was named to the AL All-Star squad for the sixth consecutive year... it was the fifth straight year he was named a starter by the fans... in the All-Star home run hitting contest he belted 12 homers to top everyone and lead the AL All-Stars to an easy win... with 38 homers on August 21st he had a six-homer bulge over Gonzalez but strained a rib muscle on the right side of his rib cage that night at Camden Yards and went on the disabled list... when he came back 20 games later he had lost the homer lead... with one swing at Chicago 9/21 reached the 40-homer and 100-RBI plateaus... second time he had reached the 40-homer mark and third time for 100 RBI.

POSTSEASON:
In the playoffs vs. Toronto belted a two-run homer off J. Morris in his first at-bat, but then finished the postseason 2 for his last 19 with one RBI.

1991

Had his consecutive streak of 30 or more homers end at four years... his .201 average was a career low by 30 points... was again among the top fielding first basemen in baseball... made just four errors in 1,297 chances for a .997 fielding percentage... 22 homers was the third best total on the Club and his 75 RBI was fourth best... with 93 walks he finished second to Rickey Henderson on the A's and sixth in the league.

1990

Topped the A's in RBI (108) and games played (156) and led the Major Leagues in walks with 110... was second on the A's to Rickey Henderson in runs scored with 86... postseason numbers were not up to his standards... wound up with five hits... all singles... earned his first Rawlings Gold Glove for defensive excellence at first base... made just 5 errors in 1,429 total chances for a .997 fielding percentage... selected by the fans for the third consecutive season as the AL's All-Star starting first baseman... finished 11th in American League MVP voting.

POSTSEASON:
Hit .154 in the ALCS vs. Boston with 2 RBI... hit .214 in the Series with no RBI.

1989

Led the A's and ranked third in the AL with 33 homers... finished second to Parker on the A's and tenth in the league with 95 RBI... led the league with a homer every 14.8 at-bats and was second with an RBI every 5.2 at-bats... all this despite spending 15 days on the DL in early April with a herniated disc in his back... after returning missed just five games the remainder of the season.

POSTSEASON:
Hit safely in seven of the A's nine postseason games... overall hit .343 in the postseason with a homer and four RBI... amazingly, was the only A's regular not to homer in the Series vs. San Francisco.

1988

Finished second on the Club to Jose Canseco with 32 homers and 99 RBI... homer total of 32 was third-best in the loop and RBI total was eighth best... back stiffness caused Mark to miss nine of the A's last 16 games and his chance at 100 RBI for the second consecutive season... named as the AL's starter at first base in the All-Star Game at Cincinnati... more than a third of his RBI pulled the A's into a tie or put them ahead.

POSTSEASON:
Hit .333 in the ALCS vs. Boston with a homer and three RBI... recorded one of his greatest career moments when he homered off Jay Howell in the ninth inning of Game 3 in the World Series... the blast gave the A's a 2-1 victory... it was Oakland's only win in the Series and Mark's only hit in 17 at-bats.

1987

Was the consensus American League Rookie of the Year... selected unanimously by the BBWAA, only the second rookie to earn that distinction (after Carlton Fisk in 1972)... his 49 homers led the league and tied for the Major League high with the Cubs Andre Dawson... homer total also set a new Major League rookie record... set a new Oakland single-season standard, eclipsing Reggie Jackson's 47 hit in 1969... also topped the Major Leagues with a .618 slugging percentage, which was an A's record at the time... had at least 12 RBI in each month of the season and 20 or more in four months... his RBI total was the third best in the AL... finished sixth in the AL MVP voting... had a five-homer spree in Detroit May 8-10th... in a three-game series at Cleveland June 26-28, hit five homers, knocked in seven runs and scored runs in nine consecutive at-bats... named to the AL All-Star team for the game in Oakland... had 33 homers with 68 RBI at the break... tied Major League rookie homer record of 38 August 11th at Seattle with a solo shot off the M's Mike Moore... set the new mark with his 39th homer in Anaheim August 14th, a two-run homer in the 6th inning off the Angels Don Sutton.

1986

Started the year at Double-A Huntsville but moved up to Tacoma June 6th and then up to Oakland on August 20th... finished his Minor League season with a .311 average, 148 hits, 23 home runs and 112 RBI... picked up his first Major League hit on August 24th vs. the Yankees Tommy John... belted his first homer the next day off Walt Terrell at Detroit... never really found his groove with Oakland, batting .189 with 10 hits and three homers in 53 at-bats... fielding was a problem at third as he made six errors and fielded .833.

1985

Spent the full year as Modesto's starting third baseman... showed exceptional power... batted .274 in 138 games, and slugged 50 extra-base hits in 489 at-bats (23 doubles, 3 triples and 24 homers)... also had 106 RBI and 108 strikeouts... earned the California League's Rookie of the Year Award.

1984

Selected by the Oakland A's in the first round (10th player overall) of the June amateur draft... played 16 games for Modesto, batting .200 in 55 plate appearances.