Mark McGwire

6 Pages 1569 Words

Mark McGwire’s Tremendous Success Mark McGwire is one of the most electrifying figures in sports today. This six-foot five inch, two hundred and fifty pound monster is a man on a mission. McGwire’s mission began when he went on to play high school baseball for Damien High School in Claremont. After high school McGwire attend the University of Southern California to play college baseball. McGwire would then go on to break a few home run records while at USC. The great work he did in USC earned him a spot on the US Olympic baseball team in 1984. This would be the beginning of a successful career. From there, McGwire became the tenth pick in the first round and signed with the Oakland Athletics. In McGwire’s first year with the Oakland A’s he became Rookie of the Year. Whether hitting home runs on the field or working with children, Mark proves he is dedicated, successful, and one of baseball’s most popular players to watch. Whenever people walk into a ballpark to watch Mark McGwire on the field, people can believe he is a dedicated player to the game of baseball. McGwire has had much success because of all the hard practicing he does to get better each day. McGwire’s dedication came “when Coach Stanley hit ground balls to McGwire, he tried to hit them hard enough that it would hit McGwire on either the wrist or the shin” (Rains 61). I believe the long hours of taking ground balls helped him become one of the best fielding first baseman and earned McGwire a few Gold Glove Awards during his career. McGwire has also shown his dedication “when McGwire took countless ground balls on a patch of rocky ground, trying to practice some of the bad hops and unusual bounces” (Rains 62). Without a question McGwire was determined to work hard on his fielding. When McGwire wasn’t fielding ground balls, he would be practicing his swing during batting practice. McGwire would make his adjustments in batting practice to find his right s...