The fans' initial frustration and the subsequent outburst of emotion likely had the same source a season of rage over the dismantling of the World Series champion Marlins and the strong belief in this area that these three days of the traveling Mark McGwire show were the season's only salvation. It all started in Pittsburgh a week ago when I got a curtain call, and I didn't think that would ever happen again, and then tonight I got two of them." "Just ride the wave, enjoy it while it's happening, because we don't know if this will ever happen again. "After I hit them, everyone in the dugout hugged me and congratulated me, and the fans in south Florida gave me two curtain calls, which is an unbelievable feat for an athlete, so it was pretty incredible. "When they started booing I was starting to think, I hope they understand, this is not an easy task," McGwire said. It was a sharp contrast to the boos unleashed in the third inning, after McGwire singled to center field. He then watched the screen as the television replayed the standing ovations from the 37,014 fans at Pro Player stadium and the two curtain calls they begged him to take. He knew it was coming, but when the white sneakers shot into the air again on a second replay, McGwire's hands flew to his face again, with another guttural "Oh!" for good measure. "Oh!" he said, putting his two meaty hands to his face, his mouth open in amazement. Watching a television monitor in the clubhouse after the game, even McGwire was transfixed as the two grabs across the tarp were replayed on sports highlight shows. As he grabbed for the concrete below him, all that could be seen were his white sneakers.įans learned their lesson and avoided the gaps in the tarp when chasing after the second blast, although by that point so many people were trying to grab a piece of McGwire's immortality that they left the tarp looking like a rumpled blue sheet over a bed of bright orange seats. And while the two home runs will be remembered in the book of McGwire's magnificent swats for their historical significance, that page also will be marked by the blue tarp and the unknown Marlins fan who leaped head-first across it to catch McGwire's first home run ball, only to fall through a seam in the plastic. 57, McGwire broke Hack Wilson's 68-year-old National League home run record and put himself two homers ahead of Chicago's Sammy Sosa in the race to break Maris's major league record of 61. Louis Cardinals' 7-1 win over the Marlins tonight, two late-inning blasts to almost the same spot in one of the sections behind center field still draped in blue plastic. ![]() McGwire hit his 56th and 57th home runs in the St. 1 The Florida Marlins took the tarp off 10 extra sections of seats at Pro Player Stadium to prepare for the crush of fan interest in Mark McGwire and his chase of Roger Maris's home run record. Louis Cardinals and Florida Marlins are available in Sports Across America.Ī determined fan at Pro Player Stadium falls through the tarp in an attempt to retrieve Mark McGwire's 57th home run ball. Tony Kornheiser: The real question is how many players will hit 60 homers.Sosa, McGwire will be forever linked by a generation of fans.McGwire Breaks 68-Year-Old Record With 57th HR
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