Editing Mark McGwire (section)

==Professional career==

===Draft and minor leagues===
After three years at USC and a stint on the [[Baseball at the 1984 Summer Olympics – Team squads#United States|1984 U.S. Olympic team]], McGwire was drafted tenth overall in the [[1984 Major League Baseball draft]] by the [[Oakland Athletics]]. In 1984 and 1985, he played for the [[Single-A]] [[Modesto A's]]. He began the 1986 season in the minors, with the [[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] [[Huntsville Stars]] and [[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] [[Tacoma Tigers]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mark McGwire Minor Leagues Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mcgwir001mar |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Oakland Athletics (1986–1997)===
McGwire debuted in the major leagues on August 22, 1986. He did not get a hit until his third game, on August 24. In 18 games with Oakland in 1986, he hit three [[home run]]s and had nine [[runs batted in]] (RBIs), but had a lowly .189 batting average.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mark McGwire 1986 Batting Game Logs |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=mcgwima01&t=b&year=1986 |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>

====Rookie home-run record and major-league leader (1987)====
Retaining his rookie status in 1987, McGwire hit four home runs in the month of April, but followed in May with 15 and another nine in June. Before the All-Star break arrived, he had totaled 33 home runs and earned a spot on the [[American League]] [[1987 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star team]]. On August 11, he broke [[Al Rosen]]'s AL rookie record of 37 home runs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/APAB/lib00581,122CA98E1CEF7498.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120708140841/http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/APAB/lib00581,122CA98E1CEF7498.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 8, 2012|date=August 10, 2008|title=Baseball Today}}</ref> Three days later, McGwire broke the major-league record of 38, which [[Frank Robinson]] and [[Wally Berger]] had jointly held. In September, McGwire hit nine more home runs while posting monthly personal bests of a .351 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]], .419 [[on-base percentage]] (OBP) and 11 [[Double (baseball)|doubles]] (2B). With 49 home runs and two games remaining in the regular season for him to reach 50 home runs, he missed the games in order to attend the birth of his first child. McGwire also totaled 118 [[runs batted in]], a .289 batting average, 97 [[Run (baseball)|runs]] scored, 28 doubles, a .618 [[slugging percentage]] and a .370 [[on-base percentage]] (OBP). McGwire's 49 home runs as a rookie stood as a major league record until [[Aaron Judge]] hit 52 for the [[New York Yankees]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/yankees-aaron-judge-sets-rookie-hr-record-mark-mcgwire/xyqbr125vm8k13f1ips4sg1nl|title=Yankees' Aaron Judge breaks Mark McGwire's rookie HR record|date=September 26, 2017|work=Sporting News|access-date=December 2, 2017|archive-date=November 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171130090645/http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/yankees-aaron-judge-sets-rookie-hr-record-mark-mcgwire/xyqbr125vm8k13f1ips4sg1nl|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Not only did McGwire lead the AL in home runs in 1987, but he also tied for the major-league lead with [[1987 Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs]] right fielder [[Andre Dawson]]. McGwire also led the major leagues in slugging, finished second in the AL in adjusted [[on-base plus slugging]] percentage (OPS+, 164) and total bases (344) and placed third in RBI and on-base plus slugging (OPS, .987). He was unanimously chosen as the AL [[Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award|Rookie of the Year Award]] and finished sixth overall in the AL [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player Award]] voting.

====More All-Star appearances (1988–1991)====
[[File:Mark McGwire 1989.jpg|thumb|left|McGwire with the A's, 1989]]

From [[1988 Oakland Athletics season|1988]] to [[1990 Oakland Athletics season|1990]], McGwire followed with 32, 33, and 39 home runs, respectively, becoming the first Major Leaguer to hit 30+ home runs in each of his first four full seasons.<ref name="BaseballRefMain">{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mcgwima01.shtml |title=Mark McGwire Statistics |website=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-date=February 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228203815/http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mcgwima01.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> On July 3 and 4, 1988, he hit game-winning home runs in the 16th inning of both games.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TOR/TOR198807030.shtml |title=July 3, 1988 Oakland Athletics at Toronto Blue Jays play by play and box score |website=Baseball-Reference.com |date=July 3, 1988 |access-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-date=November 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111101219/http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TOR/TOR198807030.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE198807040.shtml |title=July 4, 1988 Oakland Athletics at Cleveland Indians Jays play by play and box score |website=Baseball-Reference.com |date=July 4, 1988 |access-date=November 7, 2012}}</ref> Through May 2009, McGwire was tied for third all-time with [[Joe DiMaggio]] in home runs over his first two calendar years in the major leagues (71), behind [[Chuck Klein]] (83) and [[Ryan Braun]] (79).<ref>[https://nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=1633915 Sandler, Jeremy, "NL Weekly: The Notebook", National Post, May 27, 2009, accessed 5/28/09]{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

McGwire's most famous home run with the A's was likely his game-winning solo shot in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 of the [[1988 World Series]] against the [[1988 Los Angeles Dodgers season|Los Angeles Dodgers]] and former A's [[Closer (baseball)|closer]] [[Jay Howell]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK198810180.shtml |title=October 18, 1988 World Series Game 3 at Network Associates Coliseum Play by Play and Box Score |website=Baseball-Reference.com |date=October 18, 1988 |access-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-date=November 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111101233/http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK198810180.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> McGwire's game-winner brought the A's their only victory in the 1988 World Series, which they lost in five games; however, McGwire and his fellow [[Bash Brothers|Bash Brother]], [[José Canseco]], played a large part in the 1989 championship club that defeated the [[1989 San Francisco Giants season|San Francisco Giants]] in the famous "[[1989 World Series|Earthquake Series]]."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1989_WS.shtml |title=1989 World Series – OAK vs. SFG |website=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-date=November 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071130235404/http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1989_WS.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>

Working diligently on his defense at first base, McGwire bristled at the notion that he was a one-dimensional player. He was generally regarded as a good fielder in his early years, even winning a [[Gold Glove Award]] in 1990, the only one that the [[New York Yankees|Yankees]]' [[Don Mattingly]] would not win between 1985 and 1994. In later years, his mobility decreased along with his defensive ability. His batting averages after his rookie season plummeted to .260, .231, and .235 from 1988 to 1990. In 1991, he bottomed out with a .201 average and 22 homers. [[List of Oakland Athletics managers|Manager]] [[Tony La Russa]] sat him for the final game of the [[1991 Oakland Athletics season|season]] to avoid causing his batting average to dip below .200. Despite the declining averages during this time of his career, McGwire's high [[bases on balls|base-on-balls]] totals allowed him to maintain an acceptable on-base percentage. In fact, when he hit .201, his [[On-base plus slugging|OPS+]] was 103, just over the league average.

McGwire stated in an interview with ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' that 1991 was the "worst year" of his life, with his on-field performance and marriage difficulties, and that he "didn't lift a weight" that entire season. With all that behind him, McGwire rededicated himself to working out harder than ever and received visual therapy from a sports vision specialist.<ref>[http://www.sdccd.edu/events/we/wepdf/we-sp99.pdf] https://web.archive.org/web/20150701040841/http://www.sdccd.edu/events/we/wepdf/we-sp99.pdf</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://vault.si.com/vault/1992/06/01/most-happy-fella-oaklands-mark-mcgwire-is-smiling-again-now-that-hes-hitting-homers-at-a-record-pace |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=June 24, 2020 |title= Most Happy Fella|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104193550/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/features/mcgwire/flashbacks/060192/ |archive-date=November 4, 2012 }}</ref>

====Career resurgence (1992–1997)====
The "new look" McGwire hit 42 homers and batted .268 in 1992, with an outstanding OPS+ of 175 (the highest of his career to that point), and put on a victorious home-run-hitting show at the [[Home Run Derby]] during the [[1992 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1992 All-Star break]]. His performance propelled the [[1992 Oakland Athletics season|A's]] to the American League West Division title in 1992, their fourth in five seasons. The A's lost in the [[1992 American League Championship Series|playoffs]] to the eventual [[1992 World Series|World Series]] champion [[1992 Toronto Blue Jays season|Toronto Blue Jays]].

Foot injuries limited McGwire to a total of 74 games in [[1993 Oakland Athletics season|1993]] and [[1994 Oakland Athletics season|1994]], and just nine home runs in each of the two seasons. He played just 104 games in [[1995 Oakland Athletics season|1995]], but his proportional totals were much improved, as he hit 39 home runs in 317 at-bats. In [[1996 Oakland Athletics season|1996]], McGwire belted a major-league-leading 52 homers in 423 at-bats. He also hit for a career-high .312 average and led the league in both slugging and on-base percentage.

McGwire's total of 363 home runs with the Athletics surpassed the previous franchise record. He was selected or voted to nine [[American League]] All-Star teams while playing for the A's, including six consecutive appearances from [[1987 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1987]] through [[1992 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1992]]. On April 21, 1997, McGwire became the fourth and final player to hit a home run over the left-field roof of [[Detroit]]'s [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Tiger Stadium]], joining [[Harmon Killebrew]], [[Frank Howard (baseball)|Frank Howard]] and [[Cecil Fielder]].<ref>The Final Season, p.90, Tom Stanton, Thomas Dunne Books, An imprint of St. Martin's Press, New York, 2001, {{ISBN|0-312-29156-6}}</ref> The blast was estimated to have traveled 491 feet.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/McGwire-Has-a-Blast-in-Loss-2843682.php |title=McGwire Has a Blast in Loss |publisher=SFgate.com |first=Steve |last=Kettman |date=April 21, 1997 |access-date=September 8, 2021 |archive-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128101420/https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/McGwire-Has-a-Blast-in-Loss-2843682.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

===St. Louis Cardinals (1997–2001)===
On July 31, having already amassed 34 home runs in the [[1997 in baseball|1997 season]], McGwire was traded from the [[1997 Oakland Athletics season|Oakland Athletics]] to the [[1997 St. Louis Cardinals season|St. Louis Cardinals]] for [[T. J. Mathews]], [[Eric Ludwick]] and [[Blake Stein]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/THE-BIG-DEALS-THE-A-S-McGwire-finally-traded-2831502.php|title=THE BIG DEALS / THE A'S / McGwire finally traded – to Cards|newspaper=Sfgate|date=August 1997|access-date=June 25, 2020|archive-date=June 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627015338/https://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/THE-BIG-DEALS-THE-A-S-McGwire-finally-traded-2831502.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite playing just two-thirds of the season in the American League, he finished ninth in home runs. In 51 games with the Cardinals to finish the 1997 season, McGwire compiled a .253 batting average, 24 home runs, and 42 RBI. Overall in 1997, McGwire led the majors with 58 home runs. He also finished third in the major leagues in slugging percentage (.646), fourth in OPS (1.039), fifth in OPS+ (170), tenth in RBI (123), and ninth in walks (101). He placed 16th in the NL MVP voting.

It was the last year of his contract, so there was speculation that McGwire would play for the Cardinals only for the remainder of the season, then seek a long-term deal, possibly in Southern California, where he still lived; however, McGwire signed a contract to stay in St. Louis. It is also believed that McGwire later encouraged [[Jim Edmonds]], another Southern California resident who was traded to St. Louis, to forgo free agency and sign a contract with the Cardinals in 2000.

====Single-season home run record chase (1998)====
{{Main|1998 Major League Baseball home run record chase}}
[[File:Mark McGwire follow-thru Piazza catching-53.jpg|thumb|left|McGwire batting during a May 1998 game]]

As the [[1998 St. Louis Cardinals season|1998 season]] progressed, it became clear that McGwire, [[1998 Seattle Mariners season|Seattle Mariners]] outfielder [[Ken Griffey Jr.]], and [[1998 Chicago Cubs season|Chicago Cubs]] outfielder [[Sammy Sosa]] were all on track to break [[Roger Maris]]'s single-season home run record. [[1998 Major League Baseball home run record chase|The race to break the record]] first attracted media attention as the home-run leader changed often throughout the season. On August 19, 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.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rosenbloom|first1=Steve|date=August 20, 1998|title=GOOD MORNING, CHAIRMAN REINSDORF: [NORTH SPORTS FINAL Edition]|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

On September 8, 1998, McGwire hit a pitch by the Cubs' [[Steve Trachsel]] over the left-field wall for his record-breaking 62nd home run, setting off massive celebrations at [[Busch Memorial Stadium|Busch Stadium]]. The fact that the game was against the Cubs meant that Sosa was able to congratulate McGwire personally on his achievement. Members of Maris's family were also present at the game.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/baseball/longterm/chase/articles/mac9.htm|title=McGwire Surpasses Maris With 62nd Home Run|first=Richard|last=Justice|work=Washington Post|page=C1|date=September 8, 1998|access-date=June 1, 2024|archive-date=October 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017231240/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/baseball/longterm/chase/articles/mac9.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The ball was given to McGwire in a ceremony on the field by the stadium worker who found it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17496912/after-18-years-tim-forneris-no-regrets-giving-away-mark-mcgwire-62nd-home-run-ball|title=The man who gave away McGwire's 62nd home run ball has no regrets|work=ESPN.com|first=Darren|last=Rovell|date=September 8, 2016|access-date=June 1, 2024|archive-date=June 2, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602011358/https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17496912/after-18-years-tim-forneris-no-regrets-giving-away-mark-mcgwire-62nd-home-run-ball|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Mark McGwire in Corvette-60 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|McGwire circling the field at [[Busch Memorial Stadium]] in a [[Chevrolet Corvette (C1)|Chevrolet Corvette]] after hitting his 62nd home run of the season.]]
McGwire finished the 1998 season with 70 home runs (including five in his last three games), four ahead of Sosa's 66, a record that was broken three seasons later in 2001 by [[Barry Bonds]] with 73.<ref name=Bonds-testified/>

McGwire was honored with the inaugural [[Babe Ruth Home Run Award]] for leading Major League Baseball in home runs.<ref name=harber>{{cite news|last=Harber|first=Paul|title=A statue fit for a home run king|date=July 22, 2001|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8659756.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602104753/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8659756.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 2, 2013|access-date=November 8, 2011|quote=The first award was given to Mark McGwire after his 70-home-run season in 1998.}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Although McGwire had the prestige of the home-run record, Sammy Sosa (who had fewer home runs but more RBI and stolen bases) won the 1998 [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|NL MVP award]], as his contributions helped propel the Cubs to the [[1998 National League Division Series|playoffs]] (the [[1998 St. Louis Cardinals season|Cardinals]] finished third in the NL Central). Many credited the Sosa-McGwire home run chase in 1998 with "saving baseball" by attracting new, younger fans and bringing back old fans soured by the [[1994–95 Major League Baseball strike]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/sports/myth-of-men-who-saved-baseball.html|title=Myth of men who saved baseball|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 30, 2005|last1=Leonhardt|first1=David|access-date=September 26, 2017|archive-date=September 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170927112914/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/30/sports/myth-of-men-who-saved-baseball.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Later playing career (1999–2001)====
McGwire kept his high level of offensive production from 1998 going in [[1999 St. Louis Cardinals season|1999]] while setting or extending several significant records. With 65 home runs, he led MLB for the fourth consecutive season. It was also his fourth consecutive season with at least 50 home runs, extending his own major league record. Sosa, who hit 63 home runs in 1999, again trailed McGwire. Thus, they became the first, and still only, players in major league history to hit 60 or more home runs in consecutive seasons. McGwire also set a record from 1998 to 1999 for home runs in a two-season period with 135. He also owned the highest four-season home-run total, with 245 from 1996 to 1999. In 1999, he drove in an NL-leading 147 runs while only having 145 hits, becoming the first player with more RBIs than hits in a season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1999/10/04/power-struggle-mcgwire-finishes-with-65-sosa-63/bf09193d-7a3a-4dc7-bc0a-76c67f4a8c42/|title=Power Struggle: McGwire Finishes With 65, Sosa 63|first=R.B.|last=Fallstrom|work=Washington Post|date=October 3, 1999|access-date=June 1, 2024}}</ref>

Following the 1999 season, McGwire and the Cardinals exercised a mutual option in his contract for the 2001 season which would pay him $11 million for the 2001 season. Shortly before the 2001 season, McGwire and the Cardinals agreed to another extension through the 2004 season for $30 million which, according to Phil Rogers in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', was far less than he could have made in free agency.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rogers |first1=Phil |title=McGwire's contract breath of fresh air |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114959096/mcgwires-contract-breath-of-fresh-air/ |access-date=December 21, 2022 |work=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=March 2, 2001 |pages=45 |archive-date=December 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221142155/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114959096/mcgwires-contract-breath-of-fresh-air/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Mark mcgwire.jpg|thumb|left|McGwire hitting a home run in St. Louis against the Tigers on July 14, 2001]]
However, in 2000 and 2001, McGwire's statistics declined relative to previous years as he struggled to avoid injury, hitting 32 home runs in 89 games in 2000 and 29 in 97 games in 2001. He retired after the 2001 season.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mcgwima01.shtml |title=Baseball-reference.om McGwire stats |website=Baseball-Reference.com |access-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-date=February 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228203815/http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mcgwima01.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>