Editing Mark McGwire (section)

====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>