Tuesday, September 8, 1998 - At Busch Stadium II (Kent Mercker - Starting Pitcher) - Opponent: Chicago Cubs (Steve Trachsel - Starting Pitcher) - Attendance: 43,688
Mark McGwire became the first player in major league history to hit 62 home runs in a single season - and he did it tonight, in a nationally televised game between the Cards and Cubs. Oh yeah - the Cardinals won the game by a score of 6-3, to improve to 71-73 on the season. Not exactly in contention for postseason play - but the story of the year - especially for Cardinal Nation - was the quest for 62.
Not since 1961 - when both Maris and Mantle were in hot pursuit of Babe Ruth's 60 - had two players seriously challenged for the new and improved record - in the same season. Of course, it just so happened that the other guy in hot pursuit of the record - Sammy Sosa - was stationed out in right field when McGwire's hot shot cleared the left field wall. He even jogged in from his post to offer awkward hugs and forearm bashes to his friendly rival - as the nation collectively sighed.
So this was a big deal. People who weren't really that interested in baseball found the pursuit of 62 home runs a fascinating subject. The two rivals seemed to embrace the challenge of breaking the record - and the surviving Maris family members were gracious enough to be on hand for handshakes and hugs when Big Mac smacked Number 61 on Monday - and Number 62 tonight. He would go on to hit an unfathomable total of 70 - a record certain to last - possibly forever - until it was broken in 2001, that is.
In the wake of the Steroids Scandal, along with the new Barry Bonds home run record of 73 - McGwire's accomplishment has diminished in the eyes of many of the fans and media that originally lauded him, along with Sosa - for "saving baseball".
Those who claim McGwire "cheated" by taking performance enhancing drugs seem to forget that the substance he used - referred to as "Andro" - was legal. There's no telling how many major league players were using some form of PEDs at the time - but I'd venture to guess it was over half of them.
McGwire, Sosa and Bonds are being singled out because they were far more successful than the other guys. They were also more entertaining - which is why this otherwise meaningless game was televised for the world to witness. I know I saw it - and so did you. What other games do you remember watching on television that year? Aside from the game on Monday.
Meanwhile, after all the hoopla with the McGwire home run subsided, the Cardinals put together a five-run sixth-inning to take control of the game. Back-to-back home runs by Ray Lankford - a three-run shot - and Ron Gant were also featured - but few remember.
Strangely enough, the Cardinals closed out the '98 season with a 12-6 record - so they actually had a respectable 83 win season. In 2006, that would've won the NL Central!
Showing posts with label mark mcgwire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mark mcgwire. Show all posts
Monday, September 8, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
September 5, 2001 - Woody Williams Nearly Perfect in Blankng Padres
Wednesday, September 5, 2001 - At Qualcomm Stadium (Woody Williams - Starting Pitcher) - Opponent: San Diego Padres (Kevin Jarvis - Starting Pitcher) - Attendance: 19,075
Woody Williams shut out his former team - the San Diego Padres - on two hits, as the Cardinals completed a three-game sweep of San Diego, with a 2-0 win - featuring solo home runs from Mark McGwire and Albert Pujols.
Williams was the big story tonight, however - flirting with a perfect game until D'Angelo Jiminez led-off the seventh-inning with a base hit to center field - but when he tried to stretch it into a double, he was nailed at second on a strong throw by Jim Edmonds.
Williams - who struck out six and walked none - surrendered just one other hit in the game - a ninth-inning lead-off single by Ben Davis. After pinch hitter Tony Gwynn was retired on a fly ball to right field, Woody induced another pinch hitter - Wiki Gonzalez - into grounding one sharply to Pujols - a defensive replacement for McGwire at first base - who fired a strike to Edgar Renteria, covering the bag at second. Renteria's return throw to Pujols completed the 3-6-3 double play - and just like that - the game was over.
Cardinal pitching had dominated this series - limiting the Padres to just one run on ten hits in three games. In pitching a compete-game shutout, Woody Williams faced the minimum - 27 batters. There probably aren't more than a handful of pitchers in franchise history that have managed this feat.
Williams - who came over to the Cardinals in a trade for Ray Lankford on August 2 - pitched brilliantly in eleven starts for his new team - winning seven with just one loss. Without his late season contributions, it's doubtful the Redbirds would have qualified for postseason play. With this victory, the Cardinals (76-63) were in third place in the NL Central - six games behind the Houston Astros. The two teams would finish the 2001 season with identical 93-69 records - but the tiebreaker went to the Astros - winning nine of sixteen games in head-to-head competition with the Cardinals.
Of course, the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Cardinals in a five-game NLDS - before ultimately beating the Yankees in a classic seven-game World Series.
Nevertheless, 2001 was still a successful season for St Louis - and with the emergence of NL Rookie of the Year - Albert Pujols - the Cardinals would become the most successful franchise of the current millennium - even after Pujols' departure following the 2011 world championship season.
Woody Williams shut out his former team - the San Diego Padres - on two hits, as the Cardinals completed a three-game sweep of San Diego, with a 2-0 win - featuring solo home runs from Mark McGwire and Albert Pujols.
Williams was the big story tonight, however - flirting with a perfect game until D'Angelo Jiminez led-off the seventh-inning with a base hit to center field - but when he tried to stretch it into a double, he was nailed at second on a strong throw by Jim Edmonds.
Williams - who struck out six and walked none - surrendered just one other hit in the game - a ninth-inning lead-off single by Ben Davis. After pinch hitter Tony Gwynn was retired on a fly ball to right field, Woody induced another pinch hitter - Wiki Gonzalez - into grounding one sharply to Pujols - a defensive replacement for McGwire at first base - who fired a strike to Edgar Renteria, covering the bag at second. Renteria's return throw to Pujols completed the 3-6-3 double play - and just like that - the game was over.
Cardinal pitching had dominated this series - limiting the Padres to just one run on ten hits in three games. In pitching a compete-game shutout, Woody Williams faced the minimum - 27 batters. There probably aren't more than a handful of pitchers in franchise history that have managed this feat.
Williams - who came over to the Cardinals in a trade for Ray Lankford on August 2 - pitched brilliantly in eleven starts for his new team - winning seven with just one loss. Without his late season contributions, it's doubtful the Redbirds would have qualified for postseason play. With this victory, the Cardinals (76-63) were in third place in the NL Central - six games behind the Houston Astros. The two teams would finish the 2001 season with identical 93-69 records - but the tiebreaker went to the Astros - winning nine of sixteen games in head-to-head competition with the Cardinals.
Of course, the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Cardinals in a five-game NLDS - before ultimately beating the Yankees in a classic seven-game World Series.
Nevertheless, 2001 was still a successful season for St Louis - and with the emergence of NL Rookie of the Year - Albert Pujols - the Cardinals would become the most successful franchise of the current millennium - even after Pujols' departure following the 2011 world championship season.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
June 15, 2001 - Big Mac, Bobby Bo Crush White Sox
Friday, June 15, 2001 - At Busch Stadium II: The Cardinals used the long-ball to facilitate a 10-3 bashing of the Chicago White Sox - as an injury-plagued Mark McGwire had the type of game reminiscent of 1998 - four hits (including a pair of home runs), three runs scored and four runs driven in.
Cardinals starter Andy Benes (6-4) held the White Sox to three runs in 6.2 innings - good enough to win - especially when pinch hitter Bobby Bonilla turned a slim 4-3 St Louis advantage into an 8-3 blowout, with an eighth-inning grand slam home run.
White sox starter Jon Garland (2-3) only allowed three runs himself, in five innings pitched. But he was tagged with the loss thanks to a bullpen that was clobbered for seven runs over the final three innings.
Edgar Renteria and Placido Planco had driven in two of the four runs for the Redbirds, prior to Bonilla's bases loaded blast.
McGwire's second home run of the night - an eighth-inning two-run shot - closed out the scoring for the Cardinals (34-32) - who had been struggling to stay above .500 for most of the season.
That struggle would continue all the way to the All Star break. After salvaging the last game of a three-game series at Cleveland, St Louis was in fact, just a .500 ball club, with a 43-43 record. A strong second half (50-26) got them in the postseason - as a wild card.
Cardinal fans are no doubt hoping for similar results in 2014. Don't worry. They'll start hitting again.
Cardinals starter Andy Benes (6-4) held the White Sox to three runs in 6.2 innings - good enough to win - especially when pinch hitter Bobby Bonilla turned a slim 4-3 St Louis advantage into an 8-3 blowout, with an eighth-inning grand slam home run.
White sox starter Jon Garland (2-3) only allowed three runs himself, in five innings pitched. But he was tagged with the loss thanks to a bullpen that was clobbered for seven runs over the final three innings.
Edgar Renteria and Placido Planco had driven in two of the four runs for the Redbirds, prior to Bonilla's bases loaded blast.
McGwire's second home run of the night - an eighth-inning two-run shot - closed out the scoring for the Cardinals (34-32) - who had been struggling to stay above .500 for most of the season.
That struggle would continue all the way to the All Star break. After salvaging the last game of a three-game series at Cleveland, St Louis was in fact, just a .500 ball club, with a 43-43 record. A strong second half (50-26) got them in the postseason - as a wild card.
Cardinal fans are no doubt hoping for similar results in 2014. Don't worry. They'll start hitting again.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Steroid Era Not Quite Over in MLB
As another new PED revelation unfolds, it's safe to say more MLB players will be implicated in the use of banned substances, and that list may grow quite large upon further investigation. This should come as no surprise to anyone, based on what transpired nearly fifteen years ago.
In the immediate aftermath of that PED-aided-homer-happy 1998 MLB season, which saw Roger Maris' single season home run record of 61 obliterated by both Mark McGwire (70 HR) and Sammy Sosa (66 HR), a voice of reason tried to warn the world of baseball of serious trouble brewing.
The voice of reason belonged to Texas Rangers pitcher, Rick Helling, during the '98 MLBPA winter meetings in Nashville. Helling saw what was happening; the use of performance enhancing drugs had become so widespread, it was forcing normally honest players to jump on the bandwagon just to keep up with the pack. Helling realized this was making it impossible to maintain a "level playing field" between the users and the non-users; something had to give.
Of course, nobody listened. Taking the sort of action Helling was recommending would be terribly inconvenient; worse yet, it would be terribly costly. Sacrificing revenue was a preposterous notion; especially since the fans were clearly enjoying the pumped-up performances throughout The Show. While the McGwire - Sosa home run spectacle got most of the national attention, attendance throughout MLB was clearly on the rise, along with the home run totals. The infamous players' strike of '94, which not only wiped out the last couple of months of the regular season, along with the postseason, also alienated millions of faithful fans; many of whom vowed to never attend another game again. However, all that animosity seemed to fade away with every September home run smashed by the two friendly rivals. By the time the New York Yankees completed its four-game sweep of the San Diego Padres in a somewhat anti-climactic World Series, baseball was back, with its image restored, quickly regaining its pre-strike popularity.
As the seasons rolled by, the unprecedented power surge continued, as more and more players were mysteriously muscle-bound, hitting balls farther than anyone ever dreamed possible. It was no mystery to Rick Helling; he continued voicing concerns about PED use at the winter meetings, and the MLBPA continued to ignore him. By 2001, a brand-new single season home run record had been established (73) by an amazingly pumped-up Barry Bonds, while fans were flocking to games in record numbers. In the July 2001 issue of Playboy (of course I read the articles), sportswriter Allen Barra suggested MLB was experiencing a new "golden age". After all, he concluded, "there's never been an era with so many outstanding performances at every level." How true.
Few seemed to care what caused all those "outstanding performances". Strangely enough, in that same July 2001 Playboy, there was another article, written by Scott Dickensheets (no kidding), exploring the growing popularity of steroid use among young men ("Steroids - All the Rage"). The author observed that steroid use had become mainstream, since so many "athletes" (role models) were users. Although baseball players weren't singled-out, they clearly had the motivation to use performance enhancing drugs; for some, it was a competitive desire to perform better than their peers. For others - as Rick Helling warned back in 1998 - it was simply an attempt to keep up with the pack; from their perspective, the only way a level playing field could be maintained. Baseball had reached a tipping point right around the start of the new millennium; there were more forces than ever nudging players toward steroid use, and fewer considerations urging them to just say no.
In the meantime, even Lance Armstrong - the all-American boy with an impecable image - was routinely using PEDs to win seven consecutive Tour de France cycling marathons. He had become the world's greatest athlete; a courageous cancer survivor who battled back to reach the summit of his profession, and stay there for an unprecedented reign of supremacy. He was Superman, with a girlfriend even hotter than Lois Lane. When allegations of PED use surfaced, Armstrong steadfastly denied them, citing hundreds of clean drug tests as proof. He even went so far as to sue anyone who had the audacity to accuse him of what was actually true; and he fraudulantly won many millions of dollars in court over the years, to maintain his squeaky-clean image. Here's what he had to say during a 2005 interview with Kevin Cook:
"All I can say is thank God we're tested. When baseball players were charged with using steroids, what was their defense? Nothing. Whereas my defense is hundreds of drug controls, at races and everywhere else."
When Armstrong finally came "truly clean" on Oprah recently, it was with little remorse. To him, his doping routine had become just that; a "routine" to prepare his body for the grueling challenge of competing in an event that requires extreme stamina, against a field comprised of other PED-aided rivals. To Armstrong, he was merely doing what he had to do to maintain a "level playing field".
The fact that he got away with it for so long, is almost as amazing as winning all those races. It makes me wonder if some of Armstrong's tricks of the trade have been used by more than a few MLB players over the years.
We may never know just how widespread PED use was throughout baseball during the peak of the Steroids Era. Rick Helling had the guts to come forward and voice his concerns. He saw what was going on; there was little attempt by the users to hide what they were doing. Surely, there are many others who saw what was going on in their own clubhouses throughout MLB and never said a word about it to anyone. To this day, they insist they never saw anything suspicious, and of course, all deny ever doing it themselves.
I have a difficult time believing any of them. Again, we may never know the actual percentage of players who have used performance enhancing drugs at one time or another. However, I suspect at least half of the players knew precisely what was going on, even if they weren't doing it themselves; and I suspect the players who weren't taking PEDs were in the minority - and probably had shorter careers than they had bargained for.
After all, it's hard to compete without a "level playing field". That's why the latest scandal brewing out of Coral Gables, Florida may be a disturbing trend; but it should come as no surprise to anyone that the Steroid Era may not quite be over in major league baseball.
In the immediate aftermath of that PED-aided-homer-happy 1998 MLB season, which saw Roger Maris' single season home run record of 61 obliterated by both Mark McGwire (70 HR) and Sammy Sosa (66 HR), a voice of reason tried to warn the world of baseball of serious trouble brewing.
The voice of reason belonged to Texas Rangers pitcher, Rick Helling, during the '98 MLBPA winter meetings in Nashville. Helling saw what was happening; the use of performance enhancing drugs had become so widespread, it was forcing normally honest players to jump on the bandwagon just to keep up with the pack. Helling realized this was making it impossible to maintain a "level playing field" between the users and the non-users; something had to give.
Of course, nobody listened. Taking the sort of action Helling was recommending would be terribly inconvenient; worse yet, it would be terribly costly. Sacrificing revenue was a preposterous notion; especially since the fans were clearly enjoying the pumped-up performances throughout The Show. While the McGwire - Sosa home run spectacle got most of the national attention, attendance throughout MLB was clearly on the rise, along with the home run totals. The infamous players' strike of '94, which not only wiped out the last couple of months of the regular season, along with the postseason, also alienated millions of faithful fans; many of whom vowed to never attend another game again. However, all that animosity seemed to fade away with every September home run smashed by the two friendly rivals. By the time the New York Yankees completed its four-game sweep of the San Diego Padres in a somewhat anti-climactic World Series, baseball was back, with its image restored, quickly regaining its pre-strike popularity.
As the seasons rolled by, the unprecedented power surge continued, as more and more players were mysteriously muscle-bound, hitting balls farther than anyone ever dreamed possible. It was no mystery to Rick Helling; he continued voicing concerns about PED use at the winter meetings, and the MLBPA continued to ignore him. By 2001, a brand-new single season home run record had been established (73) by an amazingly pumped-up Barry Bonds, while fans were flocking to games in record numbers. In the July 2001 issue of Playboy (of course I read the articles), sportswriter Allen Barra suggested MLB was experiencing a new "golden age". After all, he concluded, "there's never been an era with so many outstanding performances at every level." How true.
Few seemed to care what caused all those "outstanding performances". Strangely enough, in that same July 2001 Playboy, there was another article, written by Scott Dickensheets (no kidding), exploring the growing popularity of steroid use among young men ("Steroids - All the Rage"). The author observed that steroid use had become mainstream, since so many "athletes" (role models) were users. Although baseball players weren't singled-out, they clearly had the motivation to use performance enhancing drugs; for some, it was a competitive desire to perform better than their peers. For others - as Rick Helling warned back in 1998 - it was simply an attempt to keep up with the pack; from their perspective, the only way a level playing field could be maintained. Baseball had reached a tipping point right around the start of the new millennium; there were more forces than ever nudging players toward steroid use, and fewer considerations urging them to just say no.
In the meantime, even Lance Armstrong - the all-American boy with an impecable image - was routinely using PEDs to win seven consecutive Tour de France cycling marathons. He had become the world's greatest athlete; a courageous cancer survivor who battled back to reach the summit of his profession, and stay there for an unprecedented reign of supremacy. He was Superman, with a girlfriend even hotter than Lois Lane. When allegations of PED use surfaced, Armstrong steadfastly denied them, citing hundreds of clean drug tests as proof. He even went so far as to sue anyone who had the audacity to accuse him of what was actually true; and he fraudulantly won many millions of dollars in court over the years, to maintain his squeaky-clean image. Here's what he had to say during a 2005 interview with Kevin Cook:
"All I can say is thank God we're tested. When baseball players were charged with using steroids, what was their defense? Nothing. Whereas my defense is hundreds of drug controls, at races and everywhere else."
When Armstrong finally came "truly clean" on Oprah recently, it was with little remorse. To him, his doping routine had become just that; a "routine" to prepare his body for the grueling challenge of competing in an event that requires extreme stamina, against a field comprised of other PED-aided rivals. To Armstrong, he was merely doing what he had to do to maintain a "level playing field".
The fact that he got away with it for so long, is almost as amazing as winning all those races. It makes me wonder if some of Armstrong's tricks of the trade have been used by more than a few MLB players over the years.
We may never know just how widespread PED use was throughout baseball during the peak of the Steroids Era. Rick Helling had the guts to come forward and voice his concerns. He saw what was going on; there was little attempt by the users to hide what they were doing. Surely, there are many others who saw what was going on in their own clubhouses throughout MLB and never said a word about it to anyone. To this day, they insist they never saw anything suspicious, and of course, all deny ever doing it themselves.
I have a difficult time believing any of them. Again, we may never know the actual percentage of players who have used performance enhancing drugs at one time or another. However, I suspect at least half of the players knew precisely what was going on, even if they weren't doing it themselves; and I suspect the players who weren't taking PEDs were in the minority - and probably had shorter careers than they had bargained for.
After all, it's hard to compete without a "level playing field". That's why the latest scandal brewing out of Coral Gables, Florida may be a disturbing trend; but it should come as no surprise to anyone that the Steroid Era may not quite be over in major league baseball.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
HOF Class of 2013 Flunking Out
The list of former MLB players eligible for Hall of Fame consideration for the first time in 2013 includes a pair that are among the best to ever play the game - Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. They also happen to be among the list of players suspected of using performance enhancing drugs, so there's no way either one will be getting into Cooperstown this year.
In fact, it looks doubtful any of this year's new candidates - or holdovers from previous years for that matter - will be getting enough votes to be enshrined. At last check, even Craig Biggio - what many consider a HOF lock - is only hovering around 70% of the votes (75% is required to be inducted). It seems as though the voters are making a collective statement: Nobody gets in.
That's a shame, because there are at least a dozen (try fifteen) candidates that are worthy of Hall of Fame consideration; most notably:
Craig Biggio
Jeff Bagwell
Tim Raines
Alan Trammell
Fred McGriff
Larry Walker
Mike Piazza
Curt Schilling
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Lee Smith
Dale Murphy
Don Mattingly
Edgar Martinez
Mark McGwire
I suppose if I were actually voting, I'd have to leave five of these selections off my ballot (ten is the maximum number of players allowed). Even though Bonds and Clemens have no chance of getting in, I'd still be compelled to cast my ballot in their favor. I'm not sure how much the PEDs padded their numbers, but I believe they had HOF credentials before they started juicing; besides, they weren't alone.
Actually, I wouldn't want to drop any of the above off my hypothetical ballot, so it's probably a good thing I don't get to vote.
In fact, it looks doubtful any of this year's new candidates - or holdovers from previous years for that matter - will be getting enough votes to be enshrined. At last check, even Craig Biggio - what many consider a HOF lock - is only hovering around 70% of the votes (75% is required to be inducted). It seems as though the voters are making a collective statement: Nobody gets in.
That's a shame, because there are at least a dozen (try fifteen) candidates that are worthy of Hall of Fame consideration; most notably:
Craig Biggio
Jeff Bagwell
Tim Raines
Alan Trammell
Fred McGriff
Larry Walker
Mike Piazza
Curt Schilling
Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Lee Smith
Dale Murphy
Don Mattingly
Edgar Martinez
Mark McGwire
I suppose if I were actually voting, I'd have to leave five of these selections off my ballot (ten is the maximum number of players allowed). Even though Bonds and Clemens have no chance of getting in, I'd still be compelled to cast my ballot in their favor. I'm not sure how much the PEDs padded their numbers, but I believe they had HOF credentials before they started juicing; besides, they weren't alone.
Actually, I wouldn't want to drop any of the above off my hypothetical ballot, so it's probably a good thing I don't get to vote.
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