Meet Mark McGwire

MARK McGWIRE

"Big Mac"

Positions: First Baseman

Full Name: Mark David McGwire

Bats: Right - Throws: Right

Born: October 1, 1963 in Pomona, California, USA

Organizations: Oakland Athletics (12), St. Louis Cardinals (5)

MARK McGWIRE'S WALL OF GLORY

HONORS AND AWARDS

• All Star: 12 (1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
• Rookie of the Year: 1 (1987)
• Gold Gloves: 1 (1990)
• Silver Sluggers: 3 (1992, 1996, 1998)
• HR Derby Champ: 1 (1992)
• World Series Rings: 1 (1989)

BATTING

• HR Leader: 4 (1987, 1996, 1998, 1999)
• RBI Leader: 1 (1999)
• OBP Leader: 2 (1996, 1998)
• SLG Leader: 4 (1987, 1992, 1996, 1998)
• OPS Leader: 2 (1996, 1998)
• BB Leader: 2: (1990, 1998)

FIELDING

• Putouts: 1 (1990)
• Def. Games as 1B: 1 (1990)
• Putouts as 1B: 1 (1990)
• Assists as 1B: 1 (1991)

 

FACTS:

• An immensely popular player during his playing time, Mark McGwire's strength were HR and BB.
• Mark McGwire is one of the most prolific HR hitters is baseball history, holding the MLB career record for AB per HR ratio (10.6). Babe Ruth is in 2nd place with 11.76.
• Being still a rookie in 1987, "Big Mac" broke Al Rosen's AL rookie HR record of 37, and Frank Robinson and Wally Berger's MLB record of 38. McGwire stablished 49 HR as a new MLB record for a rookie (until it was broken by Aaron Judge in 2017 with 52 HR). He led the AL in HR and tied Cubs' Andre Dawson as MLB HR leaders. He was unanimously chosen AL ROY (.289 AVG, 49 HR, 118 RBI and 97 Runs)
• Between 1988-1990 he became the first MLB player to hit +30 HR in each of his first 4 full seasons.
• A good fielder in his early years, he won an AL Gold Glove Award in 1990, the only one Don Mattingly didn't get between 1985 and 1994.
• Mark McGwire was trade from the Athletics to the Cardinals during the 1997 season. Overall, he led the MLB in HR (58), and was 3rd in SLG (.646), 4th in OPS (1.039), 10th in RBI (123) and 9th in BB (101). In St. Louis he reunited with his former manager Tony LaRussa.
• In 1998 McGwire and Cubs' Sammy Sosa were in an epic race to break Roger Maris' HR record. "Big Mac" broke it first (Sosa hit 66 HR) and finished with 70 HR. Barry Bond would break it in 2001 with 73 HR. "Big Mac" would break the 60 HR barrier again in 1999 (65 HR) and led the NL in RBI (147).
• Many consider that the McGwire-Sosa HR chase in 1998 "saved baseball" after the 1994-95 MLB strike, attracting old and new fans.
• Injuries affected his playing time in 2000 and 2001 (just 89 and 97 games played) and he decided to retire after 16 seasons.
• His 583 HR were the 5th most at the moment of his retirement. He was the first player to hit +49 HR 5 times, and the first one to hit +50 HR in 4 seasons in a row (1996-1999)
• Sadly, McGwire was one of several important players in MLB's steroids scandal. In 2010 he publicly admitted having used performance-enhancing drugs during large portions of his career. According to him, he took steroids to recover from his frequent injuries. “Big Mac” apologized and expressed regrets for his actions.

STATS:

• 11x +30 HR (Career Hight: 70 in 1998)
• 6x +40 HR
• 4x +50 HR
• 2x +60 HR
• 7x +100 RBI (Career Hight: 147 in 1999)
• 5x +100 BB (career Hight: 162 in 1998)
• 9x +1.000 OPS (Career Hight: 1.229 in 2000, 236 AB. 1.222 in 1998 in 509 AB)
• McGwire finished his career with .263 AVG, 1626 Hits, 583 HR, 1414 RBI and 12 SB.

GALLERY:

 

BEST FIVE SEASONS:

* Played with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals.

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