Mark McGwire And The Record example essay topic

Mark McGwire is one of the most electrifying figures in sports today. This six-foot five inch, two hundred and fifty pound monster is a man on a mission. In fact, for the most part he is about as average as you and me. Almost except for one major thing, he is the record holder of the most prestigious record in all of pro sports.

His name is Mark McGwire and the record is his 70 homeruns, shattering the old record held by the Minnesota native named Roger Maris. McGwires mission began when he went on to play high school baseball for Damien High School in Claremont. After high school McGwire attend the University of Southern California to play college baseball. McGwire would then go on to break a few home run records while at USC.

The great work he did in USC earned him a spot on the US Olympic baseball team in 1984. This would be the beginning of a successful career. From there, McGwire became the tenth pick in the first round and signed with the Oakland Athletics. In McGwires first year with the Oakland As he became Rookie of the Year. Whether hitting home runs on the field or working with children, Mark proves he is dedicated, successful, and one of baseballs most popular players to watch today.

Whenever people walk into a ballpark to watch Mark McGwire on the field, people can believe he is a dedicated player to the game of baseball. McGwire has had much success because of all the hard practicing he does to get better each day. After reading the a book on Mark McGwire it stated, McGwire is always the last player to leave the field and he workouts a few extra hours a day in the weight room after practice (Rains 64). McGwires dedication also came When Coach Stanley hit ground balls to McGwire, he tried to hit them hard enough that it would hit McGwire on either th wrist or the shin (Rains 61). I believe the long hours of taking ground balls helped him become one of the best fielding first baseman and earned McGwire a few Gold Glove Awards during his career. McGwire has also shown his dedication When McGwire took countless ground balls on a patch of rocky ground, trying to practice some of the bad hops and unusual bounces (Rains 62).

Without a question McGwire was determined to work hard on his fielding. When McGwire wasnt fielding ground balls, he would be practicing his swing during batting practice. McGwire would make his adjustments in batting practice to find his right stance to hit a home run. Many players dont take the time to work on their stance to become a better hitter like McGwire does, which is why I think he has shown much dedication in hitting the big home run. With this dedication, Mark started this quest for the record early in spring training, setting his mind on accomplishing this one goal to be the king of all homerun hitters (Reily 37). When the season was all over McGwire accomplished this goal hitting a homerun every 7.3 at bats, which was a record pace (Reily 36).

McGwire has also shown a dedication off the field by setting up his own foundations for children. I found an article from the Sports Illustrated called Mark McGwire Is A Hero For More Than His Homers. In this article I found out a lot of important information which McGwire does off the field when hes not playing baseball. When McGwire isnt hitting homeruns on the field, hes spending his time off the field interacting with the kids from The Mark McGwire Foundation for Children, which is a foundation he has committed three million dollar of his salary to help physically and sexually abused children in local hospitals in St. Louis and around Los Angeles (McGregor 22). Without a doubt this homerun hero is more than what people think of him with the dedication he has off the field. McGregor states, His affinity for kids is evident when signing autographs, fulfilling Make-A-Wish dreams or meeting abuse victims (McGregor 22).

With this commitment to children, McGwire has been recognized by fans, media, coaches, players, and the abuse children themselves for his time and contribution towards these programs. McGwire has put much time into these programs for this main reason. In the article I was reading it states, According to the National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, last year protective service agencies confirmed more than one million cases of abuse, ranging from physical and sexual to neglect and emotional maltreatment (McGregor 22). With these kinds of statistics, McGwire wanted to change these numbers and donate his time and money to support abuse child programs. McGwire shows how important kids are to him by signing autographs for his fans and by working with abused kids who need a role model to help them. Without a doubt McGwire has been known for achieving his goals and for being a public figure for what he has done for his community off the field.

As for me I see Mark McGwire as my role model in this situation because hes doing a great thing for these kids. McGwire also started up the foundation because he states, When you have a child of your own, you definitely look at things differently (McGregor 22). Since McGwire has a ten-year old son, hes changed in many ways emotionally to make sure his son grows up taught the right way to do things. In all with his busy schedule McGwire said, He wants to help people (Reily 45). Thats why I believe McGwire is such a dedicated player not just on the field but also off the field with his foundation. Finally to prove McGwire is such a dedicated player is when McGwire comes to the ballpark early to sign baseballs, hats, and cards for fans who await his arrival to the stadium and even after the game McGwire finds time to make his fans happy.

As McGwire continues his success in baseball it all comes down to the hard dedication he puts on the field during practice, and also off the field to be one of the best baseball players of all time. Mark McGwire has been a successful player throughout his career with Oakland and St. Louis. McGwire has become a successful by hitting home runs. His recent success came two months ago on September 8, 1998 when McGwire broke Roger Maris single season home run record of sixty-one homers. It wasnt one of his long homers either; however, it barely cleared the 330 foot fence. After all was said and done Mark hit 62 homeruns in 145 games, his homeruns traveled a total of 26394 feet or 4.99 miles, for an average of 427.7 feet per homerun.

McGwire also set the home run record for rookies at forty-nine homers in 1987. When McGwire steps into the batters box he is feared by pitchers and by coaches. McGwire has set all kinds of records since his college years at USC. McGwire is also the first player in his first four years to hit thirty of more homers in each season. Mark has also been proven to be one the most successful players of all time with his great achievements he has had throughout his career. In 1995 McGwire led the Major League for average home run distance with 418 feet.

McGwire has also hit homers that have gone 538 feet long. His longest has been said that it went 600 feet long that ricocheted off a Range Rover in the players parking lot in Denver (Reily 40). McGwire is a serious man when it comes to hitting the long ball far. On June 18th Mark sets a Major League Record with his thirty-three homeruns, giving him the most homeruns before July 1st in any season. On August 22nd Mark sets another record when he hits his 162nd homerun in the last three seasons beating Babe Ruth's record of 161. Finally on September 5th Mark finally hits his 60th homerun of the year joining Maris and Ruth as the only players in League history to hit sixty or more homeruns (Verducci 77).

With all this success many people dont know that, the biggest, strongest man in baseball is really a softy. His eyesight is 20/500, which means that without his contacts, he is Mr. Magoo (Verducci 76). This may not be important but how does a man with poor eye sight hit a home run so far. The question may be solved. With all the hard work McGwire does, he also has tremendous strength which gives him the power to hit the ball so far. McGwires name has also came up throughout the media of his announcement of taking supplements to pursue Roger Maris home run record.

However; this season in the year 2000 the media is saying that this big homerun hero isnt taking his supplements this year. However; whether its true or not we will have to find out towards the end of the season where McGwire will try to reach his milestone of seventy-homeruns again. However; it is to believe McGwire became involved in lifting weights and taking care of himself when his brother Jay moved in with him. Mark learned how to lift weights the right way and stay flexible.

Mark would work out six days a week in the off season, four during the season. He lifts after home games now and is routinely the last to leave the clubhouse (Reily 40). This has shown why McGwire has broken many records and has been a successful player throughout his career. McGwire strength also comes from the supplements he takes such as: Muscle Nitro, Met Max, Lean Gainer and the famous Androstenedione (Reily 40). These supplements are legal and is also a major part of the success McGwire has had the past couple of years. Without a doubt McGwire will continue to hit many more home runs in his career with his strength and maybe this year he might break his home run now of seventy home runs.

Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, viewed from Waveland, McGwires batting practice is the greatest show above earth (Big Verducci, 76). Mark was now becoming the biggest draw all around the majors, teams who normally couldn't give tickets away were now selling out there stadiums when Mark came to town. The Minnesota Twins couldn't get 50,000 over 150,000 people. Everyone was swarming to ballparks all around the league to get a chance to see Mark hit a homerun.

When ever people come to the ball park to watch the game everyone is out to watch Mark McGwire a very popular baseball player in todays society. McGwire has brought out many new fans to the game of baseball ranging from little kids to senior citizens. With the attendance records doubling in numbers this past year because of the Roger Maris home run chase; millions of people have came to see McGwire hit a home run. A few years back when the Major League Baseball was on strike many people didnt bother to come to the baseball games (Rains 89). With McGwires record breaking home run record many people have came back out to the ballparks to watch America favorite pastime.

It is also amazing what one guy can do, to make such a difference in the game of baseball. For example, many people come out early to the stadium to watch McGwire take batting practice. During batting practice people line up along the leftfield fence and along the sides to take many pictures of McGwire. McGwire is a man who loves to sign autographs, cards, and baseballs for kids.

McGwire comes out early to the ballpark and stays also late to please his fans. It also said when McGwire steps into a batters box, a sea of screaming red and white-clad of St. Louis fans, with thousands of flashbulbs sparkle like fireflies on a late summer evening (Bragg 1 A). With this much pressure at every at-bat, McGwire manages to see the small white baseball and hit it a long way. With all the attention McGwire gets hes a man who doesnt do shoe deals. In his fourteen years as a pro McGwire has yet to do a shoe deal with any company. McGwire said, Its too distracting (Reily 35).

Even though McGwire is such a popular player, He has turned down Letterman, Leno, sixty-minutes, book deals and movie deals (Reily 35). During McGwires fourteen years in the pros he has signed a few major contracts in his career with Oakland and also with St. Louis. While McGwire was in Oakland he signed a five-year, twenty-eight million dollar contract that included a seven million dollar signing bonus (Rains 155). Being a popular player like McGwire can have many advantages and disadvantages.

With the many awards, records, and deals McGwire has done, have proven to turn McGwire into one of the most popular players to watch in baseball. McGwire popularity has also came from the many All-star games he has appeared in and the trendmendous home runs he has hit throughout his career so far. Many people say when McGwire retirees he will be one of the players to make it into the Hall of Fame with Babe Ruth, Roger Maris and with many other great baseball players that are there now. As the 1999 baseball season came to an end Mark McGwire accomplished many goals and shattered many records.

In 2000 we can probably expect a bigger, stronger, and smarter hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals. When the season just kicking off, we can also expect many people to come watch McGwire play and shot for the new record of seventy home runs. As we look back on the years McGwire has played in, he has gone through a lot of problems. That why I believe Mark McGwire is one of baseball greats. While I was doing my research on McGwire I got to learn more about Mark McGwire and what he done for baseball and what he does off the field in the community. Thats why whether hitting home runs on the field or working with children, Mark McGwire proves he is dedicated, successful, and one of baseballs most popular players to watch today..