r 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. DAILY SPORTS. ARE YOU READY? 747-9400 1220 S. University Above McDonalds STUDENT n- T1. d"I yA w?£n M'II1ALS SVPEREYANS, l AP PHOTO Dail online. http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily Tanning all semester first 200 only!! + $1 per session c7 sessions 15 se- No service fees Expires 9/25/98 Cs YOUTH Continued from Page 13A 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." Ii I V Whiat's the with the 0 ' T I Union 8Bookstore ? " PRICE MATCHING PLUS g uaranteed lowest textbook prices " GUARANTEED EVYBACK you get the most money at buyback for our 4gpbooks r " REALLY COOL MICHIGAN - Dorm Supplies - School Supplies - Software - Gifts - Posters Munchies - And Much More STUFF If you haven't been in the Union Bookstore lately, you haven't been to the C iAor }w 7 nnr~tnn =I'