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Mariners vs. Yankees |
Mets vs. Cardinals
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Saturday, October 14
MacZilla continues to loom large
By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com
NEW YORK -- He lurks in the hidden tunnels of New York, kind of like King Kong.
Mark McGwire is coming. The New York Mets just don't know when.
So Saturday afternoon, in the latest installment of MacZilla Pinch Hits, the Mac Man Monster popped out of the St. Louis Cardinals' dugout in the fourth inning, as 55,693 people screamed in horror.
|  | | In his first chance to swing the bat in the NLCS, Mark McGwire flew out in a pinch-hitting role. |
The bases were loaded at the time. The Cardinals already held a 5-1 lead. Glendon Rusch was on the mound. And there's no telling how terrified the citizens of New York would have been if they'd know McGwire was 4 for 6 off Rusch in his career, with two doubles, a mammoth home run and a 1.500 slugging percentage.
There were shrieks. There were boos. There were cheers. There were tears. But the buzz this man injects into a stadium just by stepping onto the field is unmatched by the response to any other man in either uniform.
He's just a pinch hitter -- or so he keeps saying. But he is more. He's a phenomenon.
"I thought I wouldn't get any attention just being a pinch-hitter," McGwire said Saturday. "And here I am, getting all this attention."
It's a compliment, of course. He understands that. But it's still fascinating to see how a man who never plays is still able to dwarf all the people who do play.
It's not because of what he does, you see. It's because of what he might do. And what he might do is hit a ball that clanks off one of those planes circling LaGuardia.
He didn't do that Saturday. All he did was take a first-pitch fastball, hit a changeup for a long foul ball and then get jammed into lofting an innocent, inning-ending high fly to left.
But hey, at least the Mets weren't able to intentionally walk him this time -- not with the bases loaded.
"I was just trying to add to the lead," said his manager, Tony La Russa. "They had a lot of game left, but that's one of the situations that works best with Mark. There's two outs. You don't have to worry about a double play. One of these days, I'll hit it with one out. But we had a lot of things going for us. So I took a shot."
It's a fascinating game within each game -- waiting for that moment. The crowd waits. The Mets wait. La Russa waits. McGwire waits.
Asked if he was surprised the moment came this early, McGwire grinned.
"I just work here," he said. "He tells me to get ready, I get ready."
Many times, when he lumbers out there, he never sees a pitch anywhere near the plate. This time, he said, "was my first at-bat in a week where I got a pitch to hit."
He may not have hit it too far, but "I love to swing the bat," he said. "I don't get a hit every time. But I love to swing it."
These situations he swings it in these days are so different, however, from the situations he has been hitting in all his career. One swing. One at-bat. After sitting around for two hours waiting. It's a lifestyle McGwire is still trying to get used to.
"It's not easy," he said. "I'd rather get four or five at-bats a game to do something. But I can't. So I'm cramming four or five at-bats into one at-bat. But to get something to hit is difficult. And with the way people build it up, it's tough."
Asked if all of this has made him appreciate the art of pinch-hitting, the King of Swing made it clear he has no interest in appreciating it.
"I hope I never have to do it ever again," he said. "I don't want to make this a career. I'm just doing it to be part of the team. But believe me, I do not want to do this the rest of my career."
People continue to speculate that he may be able to start a game at first base before this series is over. McGwire continues to respond: "I don't know where they're getting that from."
But if the Cardinals can scramble into the World Series, it's another story. Then DH-ing is not out of the question, even with his bad knee.
Asked if he could run the bases if he got on, McGwire laughed again.
"You saw Andy (Benes) run today, right?" said MacZilla. "If he can run, I can run."
Jayson Stark is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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