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The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 10, 1998 - 17A
Chasing home run records
nothing new for Big Mac
By Valerie Mendoza "One of the things that helped me the most that
Daily Trojan (U. Southern California) summer was that my coach never benched me for
a game - even if I was playing poorly," he told
"My wish is to leave here with my name on Touchdown Illustrated in 1983. "He let me work
something. I want to get over it, I'm really over my way out of any slumps. He also made a few
the tough part - getting up to tying it. Now it's adjustments in my swing -which gave me a short,
just hitting one more. I'm pretty sure I can." fast stroke.
- Mark McGwire, Daily Trojan, 1983 "The environment in Alaska really helped me. I
was away from home for the first time in my life
LOS ANGELES (U-WIRE) - Before Mark with a group of people I didn't know. But instead
McGwire chased Roger Mans and Babe Ruth, he of quitting and going home, which would have
chased Dave Hostettler and Kent Hadley. been the easy thing to do, I stuck it out. As a
On Tuesday night, McGwire made history by result, I gained confidence in myself - and I
breaking Maris' 37-year-old major-league home grew up."
run record with his 62nd home run against the He developed new skills and improved defen-
icago Cubs at Busch Stadium. sively while leading the Pilots with a .403 batting
But chasing a home run record was nothing new average and 13 home runs.
to McGwire, who went after the Southern That spring at Southern Cal his heart was no
California single-season home run record 15 longer in pitching, and his mind was now focused
years ago. - on hitting. But at the beginning of the season he
In his freshman year at Southern Cal, after see- didn't hit many home runs. Then he hit two in a
ing former Trojan Hostettler's record of 17 home series, three in a series and even four in a series.
runs in 1978 match Hadley's 17 from 1956, But then McGwire went homerless for seven
McGwire made it a goal to break it. games after No. 17.
He told the Daily Trojan in 1983, "I'm going to Hostettler got many of his home runs early in
break that. Seventeen home runs looked like it the season, but McGwire soon learned how diffi-
*uld easily (be) broken." cult it could be to hit homers in the second half,
Amazingly, Southern Cal was the only school when everyone knows who the power hitter is.
that offered him a collegiate scholarship. He did "I know that people are learning that I've been
well his senior year at Damien High in Pomona, hitting the ball, so they are going to (pitch) me
Calif., where, as a pitcher, he hit a team-leading tougher," McGwire told Baseball America at the
.359 with five home runs and a 1.90 ERA. time. "But I really want to get this record. I would
Arizona State showed minimal interest and sent really like to put my name down here some-
him a letter saying that its scholarships had been where."
given out, but that he could come on as a walk-on. The pressure to break the record continued, but
"The second-to-the-last week of the season he went into a 1-for-12 slump. It was on his mind
(Southern Cal) gave me a call," McGwire said. all the time: The pitches were there, but his stroke
"The next thing I knew I was sitting at Dodger was gone. But then, fighting the wind on a late
*adium with (then-Trojan coach) Rod Dedeaux." Sunday afternoon in the second game of a dou-
He was drafted out of high school by the bleheader at Cal, he finally connected with a shot
Montreal Expos in the eighth round, but he chose over the wall in left center field.
to attend Southern Cal. "It was the first pitch they threw me and it was
"I ended up signing here because the money a slider right over the middle of the plate,"
wasn't enough to go professionally out of high McGwire told the Herald Examiner. "Right when
school," McGwire said. "I really wanted to sign, I hit it, I knew it. It was just a relief."
but the money had to be as much as a scholarship McGwire led USC in runs (46), hits (61), total
and it wasn't. I'm glad I came here. I now realize bases (127), RBI (59) and game winning RBI (6)
I was not ready at 17 for the minor leagues." and ended his sophomore season hitting .319.
.During his freshman year as a relief pitcher, he In his junior year of 1984, he finished with 32
{'d the team's second-best ERA (3.04). In 75 at- home runs and still holds the single-season
bats he hit .200 and had just three home runs. Southern Cal home run record. The Oakland A's
That summer he left as a pitcher, but returned to selected him as the 10th pick in the 1984 amateur
Southern California from an Alaska summer draft.
league as a first baseman and power hitter. There, In the spring of 1984 he told the Daily Trojan:
with the help of then-San Diego State coach Jim "I just believe (God) gives somebody on this earth
Dietz and the coach of the semi-pro Anchorage some special thing. He gave me the power to hit
Pilots, McGwire perfected his swing. .home runs."
field hockey freshmen to shine
The next Superfan: Do
q
Mark
SHTEN McGwire has
been breaking
home run
ANDrecords ever
since he was
a pitcher-
turned-
slugger at
Now Southern
California.
you have w
RAJU
Continued from Page 23A
practice, grabbing his crotch while
standing at first base or brushing his
teeth - he gets cheers.
All he would have to do is stand up
and turn around to the student sec-
tion, and everyone would go nuts.
And if that doesn't work, hell, he
could even suit up for the Wolverines
and play nose tackle or linebacker.
Not that there's anything wrong with
the ones Michigan has right now ...
Wait, nix that idea: Performance-
enhancing Andro is banned in the
NCAA. I guess he'll have to buy
three tickets - one for him and two
for his biceps - and cheer from the
stands.
Candidate No. 4: James Earl Jones.
Current occupation: Actor/voice
guy/Darth Vader. Notable accom-
plishments: Exterminated the Jedi
Knights, captured Han Solo, graduat-
ed from Michigan.
He's a favorite of the administra-
tion. After last year's attempt by stu-
dents to have Jones' voice replace the
CRISP lady's voice, Jones has had a
resurgence in popularity at his alma
mater. And with the re-release of the
Star Wars Trilogy, Vader's galactic
influence is clear.
When asked about the possibility
of being the next Superfan, he crypti-
cally replied: "Impressive"
Couldn't you just see Jones/Vader
wielding his light saber to direct the
wave in the Big House? At least he
hat it takes?
could use the force to guide the foot-
ball through the uprights or deflect
McNabb's passes to a wide-open
receiver in the corner of the end zone.
Oh, how useful Vader would have
been in South Bend last week.
Candidate No. 5: You. Current
occupation: student/Michigan
fan/ordinary joe. Notable accom-
plishments: whatever notable thing
you've done recently.
If the Wolverines have 20,000 stu-
dents blindly rooting for their team,
not worrying about the consequences
of what that attractive person stand-
ing two feet away is going to think,
then an official Superfan is unneces-
sary.
Following a loss and returning to
their own stadium, the Wolverines
need rabid fans more than ever. If the
new Michigan Stadium is truly a
home field, then the crowd should
cheer regardless of the score, regard-
less of what happened last week or
last year.
This team is not a national champi-
on. That was last year's team. This
team is just trying to win its next
game - plain and simple. And with
or without a Superfan, they'll try.
But with you - yeah, you, reading
this silly column - cheering on the
Wolverines, that would make things
go a lot smoother.
If not, the administration is going
to go with Shatner. That's my pick,
and remember: You heard it here first.
- Sharat Raju can be reached at
sraju@umich.edu.
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total.
Several of the freshmen have
already begun to pick up the slack
resulting from the loss of Flachs. Both
atherine Foreman and Jessie Veith
ve seen significant action in
Michigan's first three games. Foreman,
from Australia, is starting at midfield-
er, while Veith has logged considerable
minutes.
"Jessica Veith is in there a lot at for-
ward," Pankratz said. "She's a pretty
speedy wing that can make things hap-
pen."
Two-year starting goaltender and
1997 team captain Amy Helber also
graduated and will be replaced in the
al by junior Kati Oakes. Although
Oakes has played in only two games at
Michigan, she has significant interna-
tional experience and Pankratz
believes that she has the potential to
become one of the best goaltenders in
the nation.
"She has had a fantastic season so
far, Pankratz said. "She has, fantastic
presence back there. She's very poised,
's got exceptional skills and really
going to break through and have a
very strong season for us this year.'
Despite the loss of several important
members from last year's team, the
Wolverines are not without some expe-
rience. Several returning players have
begun to make an impact this season.
Amy Philbrook has scored three of the
Wolverines' five goals so far this year,
including both goals in Michigan's 2-1
victory over Wake Forest on Monday.
SSophomore Kelli Gannon, last year's
'gig Ten freshman of the year, will also
see significant playing time this year,
along with senior forward Lindsay
Babbitt. Gannon and Babbitt each had
five goals last season, good for third
on the team.
Welcome back...
WOWi GrO AW4AYI
Michigan's leading returning scorer
is Loveita Wilkinson, a junior mid-
fielder. Wilkinson notched seven goals
last season - second most on the
Wolverines behind Flachs - and
recorded six assists.
Today's game should provide an
opportunity for the freshmen to see
some playing time. Southwest
Missouri State visited Ann Arbor last
year and suffered a 7-0 thrashing at the
hands of the Wolverines. In that game,
the Lady Bears managed only two
shots, including none in the second
half, while Michigan got off 42 shots.
Last season, Southwest Missouri
State posted a 5-11 record. The good
news for the Lady Bears is that they
return 18 of 19 players from last year's
team. Last year's team was outscored
68-20 and was oufshot 226-105 over
the course of the 16-game schedule.
Things have changed since last sea-
son, though. Southwest Missouri State
hired a new head coach, Dawn Porter,
to lead the team. The Lady Bears enter
today's game having started their sea-
son in a remarkably similar fashion to
the Wolverines. After opening the sea-
son with a 5-0 victory at home,
Southwest Missouri State lost its sec-
ond game and won its third game on
the road.
Despite their difficulties last season,
especially against Michigan, Pankratz
refuses to discount the Lady Bears.
"They've had a coaching change, so
we don't really know a whole lot about
them," Pankratz said. "I think that
we're well-prepared for them because
we've been practicing hard."
Southwest Missouri State's leading
scorer is Jamima Cameron, a freshman
midfielder from Australia. Cameron
has already scored four goals in the
Lady Bears' three games. Senior mid-
fielder Paula Pennington and senior
defender Maggie Grelle have scored
two goals apiece. Southwest Missouri
State has racked up 11 goals, over half
the number it scored all of last year.
Regardless, Michigan is ready for
the Lady Bears.
"We had a good preseason,"
Pankratz said. "I think we'll be ready
for whatever they throw at us."
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