Baseball player, born in Pomona, California, USA. A power-hitting first baseman, whose home-run race with Sammy Sosa during the 1998 baseball season transfixed the USA, his final total of 70 homers passed the previous seasonal record of 61 set by Roger Maris in 1961, and was overtaken in 2001 by Barry Bonds with 73 home-runs. McGwire was the most consistent hitter of homers since Babe Ruth. He was voted American League Rookie of the Year in 1987, after hitting 49 homers, the most ever by a rookie, for Oakland Athletics. In 1997 he was traded to the St Louis Cardinals, with whom he had his record season. He announced his retirement in 2001.
McGwire was a prolific power hitter during the 1990s. For his career, McGwire averaged a home run once every 10.61 at bats, the highest home run ratio in baseball history (Babe Ruth is second at 11.76). In 1998, McGwire broke Roger Maris's single season home run record of 61 by hitting 70 (Barry Bonds has since hit 73). McGwire was known for the distance of his home runs, hitting several over 500 feet.
Early career
McGwire was raised with his four brothers in a middle-class neighborhood in Claremont, California.
McGwire won a silver medal with America's amateur baseball team in the 1984 Summer Olympics;
Oakland A's career
McGwire began his career with the Oakland A's and played there until 1997, prior to joining the St. Louis Cardinals. Perhaps Mark McGwire's most famous home run with the A's was in Game 3 of the 1988 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In his first full Major League Baseball season in 1987, he hit 49 home runs, a record for most home runs by a rookie; McGwire hit 32, 33 and 39 homers the next three seasons, but his average, .289 as a rookie, plummeted to .260, .231 and .235.
McGwire worked hard on his defense at first base, and resisted being seen as a one-dimensional player.
St. Louis Cardinals and HR record chase
In 1997, he hit a major league-leading 58 home runs for the season, but did not lead either league in homers, as he was traded from the Oakland Athletics to the St. Louis Cardinals in midseason. It was widely believed that McGwire, in the last year of his contract, would play for the Cardinals only for the remainder of the season, then seek a long-term deal, possibly in Southern California where he lives. (It is also believed that McGwire encouraged Jim Edmonds, another Southern California resident who was traded to St. Louis, to sign his current contract with the Cardinals.)
As the 1998 season progressed, it became clear that both Mark McGwire and Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa were on track to break the late Roger Maris' single season home run record. On August 19th, Sosa hit his 48th home run to move ahead of McGwire. However, later that day McGwire hit his 48th and 49th home runs to regain the lead.
On September 8th 1998, McGwire hit a pitch by the Chicago Cubs' Steve Trachsel over the left field wall for his record breaking 62nd home run, setting off huge celebrations at Busch Stadium.
McGwire finished the 1998 season with 70 home runs, a record that has since been broken by Barry Bonds.
In 1999, McGwire drove in a league-leading 147 runs while only having 145 hits, the highest RBI-per-hit tally in baseball history.
McGwire ended his career with 583 home runs, which was then fifth-most in history. He hit 50 or more home runs four seasons in a row (1996-1999), leading Major League Baseball in homers all four seasons, and also shared the MLB lead in home runs in 1987, his rookie year, when he set the Major League record for home runs by a rookie with 49.
Controversy
Many of McGwire's accomplishments, particularly his home run surge late in his career, have come into question with his connection to the steroid scandal plaguing Major League Baseball.
At a Congressional hearing on the subject of steroids in sports, McGwire repeatedly and somewhat conspicuously refused to answer questions on his own suspected use. And hard work will produce strength gains and size gains."
McGwire repeatedly denied using illegal performance-enhancing drugs in television interviews, but he declined to answer under oath when he appeared before the House Government Reform Committee on March 17, 2005. if he answers 'Yes,' he risks public scorn and endless government investigations." During the hearing, McGwire repeatedly responded to questions regarding his own steroid use with the line, "I'm not here to talk about the past." McGwire also stated, "My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family, and myself." When asked if he was asserting his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, McGwire once again responded: "I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject."
Defenders of McGwire and other accused players point to the fact that steroids were not banned by baseball prior to 2003 thus they argue were not in violation of baseball's rules.
McGwire becomes eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in the election of January 2007.
Personal life
McGwire married Stephanie Slemer, a former pharmaceutical sales representative from the St. Louis area, in Las Vegas on April 20, 2002. Matthew was often a batboy for the Cardinals during summer vacations from school while McGwire was playing, and was present when his father hit his 62nd home run of the 1998 season.
He also created the Mark McGwire Foundation for Children to support agencies that work with children who have been sexually and physically abused.
His brother Dan McGwire was a quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks in the early 1990s.
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