Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire, born in 1963, American professional baseball player. In 1998 McGwire hit 70 homers, breaking the single-season record of 61 set in 1961 by Roger Maris of the New York Yankees. McGwire's record was eclipsed three years later by Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, who hit 73 home runs.

Born in Pomona, California, Mark David McGwire began his baseball career as a pitcher—as did Babe Ruth, another famed home run hitter. After McGwire graduated from high school, the Montréal Expos drafted him, but he turned down their offer and instead attended the University of Southern California (USC). At USC McGwire began to concentrate on hitting rather than pitching, and in 1984 he broke the school’s single-season home run record. That year he also played on the United States national team during the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics of the American League (AL).

McGwire made his major league debut in 1986 but only appeared in 18 games that season. The following year the young first baseman played the full season with the Athletics and was named the American League rookie of the year after slugging 49 home runs—a record for a rookie. Over the next several years McGwire and fellow power hitter José Canseco became known as the Bash Brothers, as their heavy hitting led Oakland to three consecutive World Series appearances from 1988 to 1990. The Athletics won the title in 1989. In 1990 McGwire became the first major leaguer to hit 30 or more home runs in each of his first four seasons.

From 1993 to 1995, McGwire was hampered by foot injuries, but he regained his form as the strike-shortened 1995 season progressed, totaling 39 home runs in 317 at bats. McGwire increased his production over the next two years. He hit 52 homers in 1996 and 58 in 1997, despite being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League (NL) in mid-season.

In 1998 McGwire and Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa starred in one of the greatest home run races in baseball history, as both threatened Maris’s 37-year-old record. McGwire sustained a record-breaking pace throughout the season, with a steady number of home runs in March (1), April (10), May (16), June (10), July (8), August (10), and September (15). McGwire hit his 62nd home run on September 8, off Cubs pitcher Steve Trachsel, and broke Maris’s record. McGwire finished the season with 70 home runs—4 more than Sosa’s final total of 66. His home run total made him the first player to hit more than 50 homers in three consecutive seasons. In 1999 he extended his record by slugging 65 home runs. After struggling with injuries during the next two seasons, McGwire announced his retirement in late 2001.

The only stain on McGwire’s late-career success was the suspicion that he had been aided by performance-enhancing drugs such as steroids. During his record-breaking 1998 season, McGwire had admitted to using a steroid-like compound called androstenedione, which was legal in baseball at the time but had been banned in several other sports. The controversy over steroids in baseball grew in significance after McGwire retired, and his name continued to be linked to the issue. In March 2005 McGwire was part of a group of major league players and officials who testified before the United States Congress about the sport’s steroids problem. During his testimony, McGwire would neither confirm nor deny that he had taken performance-enhancing drugs during his career.