Mark McGwire gives his take on Aaron Judge's run at history and former teammate Albert Pujols' push for 700, in the latest notebook from BNightengale
McGwire, who originally broke Maris’ single-season record with 70 homers during the great home-run race in 1998 that mesmerized the entire country, insists that Judge will accomplish even greater feats before his career ends.
If Judge breaks Bonds’ record one day, it will squash any debate whether he should be considered the single-season home-run champion once he hits 62. The three National League players who eclipsed Maris were all linked to performance-enhancing drugs: Bonds, McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Only McGwire admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs.
There can be all sort of fake asterisks on home-run records. Babe Ruth played before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Maris set the record during an expansion season. There was the PED era, although Bonds, McGwire and Sosa were all facing plenty of pitchers who were juiced, too. “I think the world of him,’’ McGwire says, “just that quiet confidence he has. He’s obviously an imposing figure, and doesn’t do all of the stuff these kids are doing now to show how good you are. He’s so fun to watch and carries himself so well.’’
“Look, homers come in bunches,’’ McGwire said. “He could get two or three in a few games. When I got 70, I hit five in my last three games. It just happens. I truly believe he’s going to get past 700.’’ McGwire, whose last year in baseball in 2001 was Pujols’ rookie season in St. Louis, knew that Pujols had a chance to be a special player – but one of the greatest hitters in history?
“That’s what makes it such an honor,’’ Stewart says, “because they would never retire numbers unless they were Hall of Famers. They broke tradition to honor me. “I just told them that stuff has got to stop,’’ Stewart says. “If it doesn’t, I’m going to do a 2-for-1 special. One of our guys go down, two of yours go down. “He did in his way, saying it so calmly,’’ McGwire says, “and watching them say, 'Oh, [bleep].' That was Dave protecting his players and understanding what was going on. I just loved the stare down he had, that the pure intimidation factor.
He parlayed it into four consecutive 20-victory seasons beginning in 1987, averaging 36 starts with 1,061⅔ innings and finished in the top 4 in Cy Young voting each year. He became a member of the"Black Aces," the fraternity of African-American pitchers who won 20 games, formed by former Minnesota Twins starter Mudcat Grant.
“This guy somehow looked through everything else that nobody could see,’’ Stewart says of La Russa, “and gave me the opportunity to start the first game of the season with the Oakland A’s. He looked past a lot of mess. He decided to reach into his pocket, and say, “You’re going to be our guy.’’ – Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa, sidelined him since Aug. 30, is telling the White Sox that he’s ready to return this week.
Ultimately, White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf will make the decision, likely deciding that it would be unfair to keep La Russa, 77, from returning if he’s feeling healthy. – There’s no deadline trade that has had a greater impact this year than the St. Louis Cardinals’ grand theft of starter Jordan Montgomery.
“But our strategy all along was to find some pitching, add some innings, and we’ve done that with [Jose Quintana] and Montgomery.’’ His defensive metrics should improve next year too with the new rules that will ban shifts. The Dodgers shift 71.4% of the time against left-handers, second behind only the Toronto Blue Jays. Yet, against right-handers with no shift, Turner's defensive numbers outweigh everyone but fellow free agent Dansby of Atlanta. The Red Sox would do anything to switch places with any team to get out of the AL East.
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