Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa got his wish. He said weeks ago that he would gladly trade the chance to own the single-season home run record for a chance to play in the postseason, and that's exactly how it played out.
It took some doing. The Cubs had to take the regular season into overtime to earn a spot in the Division Series against the Atlanta Braves -- and they had to survive a nail-biting, ninth-inning comeback attempt by the San Francisco Giants -- but Sosa got to take his wonderful 1998 season into October.
How could anyone outside of Atlanta root against him? Sosa has conducted himself this season with the class and style to match much-revered Latin American Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. He has also negotiated the suspenseful home run chase with something you don't see enough of in professional sports anymore.
A smile.
Mark McGwire may have beaten him to the home run crown, but Sosa radiated class when he celebrated along with Big Mac on the day that Roger Maris' 37-year-old record went down.
OK, so there were some raised eyebrows because teammate Steve Trachsel had to stand on the mound and watch a teammate congratulate the guy who just hit a home run off him, but get over it. This was a once-in-a-lifetime event that transcended the usual competitive etiquette.
Who's going to remember who won the 1998 wild-card race 50 years from now? Everyone's going to remember McGwire lifting Sosa into the air and the two of them exchanging their signature home run salutes.
Take nothing away from McGwire, who handled himself wonderfully throughout a grueling season of unprecedented media attention. But there was something even more special about the way Sosa deferred to McGwire throughout the season and congratulated him during the Cubs' post-game celebration.
"Mark McGwire is the man," Sosa said, echoing a sentiment he had repeated countless times. "He has the home run record and anybody who wants to get to him will have to come through me first."
This isn't easy to do in the big-ego world of major-league baseball, but Sosa managed to pull it off: He made humble cool.
There are a lot of fathers dreaming that their kids will grow up to be just like Mark McGwire, and that's just fine.
McGwire is a great role model. But I'll take Sammy Sosa.
He's the man.
Davis stands tall
It might be difficult for Darryl Strawberry to count his blessings right now -- the day after surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his colon -- but he has every reason to be thankful that he has a friend like Eric Davis.
Davis was on the phone with him soon after the frightening diagnosis came in, reassuring him that he could beat the disease as Davis did. There will be many more of those phone calls as Strawberry works through the long treatment process.
"He knows I'll be there for him every day," said Davis, who has become an unofficial spokesman for colon cancer awareness.
Some are asking what the odds are of two thirtysomething athletes -- close friends since high school -- coming down with a non-contagious disease that is relatively rare in people their age.
"While the coincidence that my friend and I both contracted the same disease is amazing," Davis said in a statement on Thursday, "the reality of colon cancer potentially affecting all of us is something that we are hopefully helping people become aware of. "The one thing that we should all learn from this is that this disease can strike any of us at any time. Testing is a vital step in the prevention of colon cancer and I encourage everyone to talk to their doctor about a testing procedure."
Great manager?
Former Florida Marlins manager Jim Leyland is recognized as one of the best managers in the game, but he proved this year what club executives and owners should keep in mind when they evaluate the performance of their managers. He was only as good as his players.
The Marlins dismantled their 1997 store-bought, world championship team and they plummeted to the worst record that any team has ever compiled the year after winning the World Series.
That doesn't mean Leyland isn't a good manager, but it should put the performance of someone such as Oakland's Art Howe into perspective. Howe has not had a lot of success since replacing Tony La Russa in Oakland, but he has had a hand in the emergence of several exciting young players and has kept the club playing hard in an almost hopeless competitive situation.
Tough choice
Who should be the Rookie of the Year in the National League? Kerry Wood or Todd Helton?
Obviously, both are deserving, but Wood did something this year that only one other player has ever done -- striking out 20 batters in a game. He also finished an abbreviated season ranked third in the league with 233 strikeouts.
Helton had an outstanding season, but Wood's 20K one-hitter might have been the most spectacular single-game pitching performance in the sport's history.
Piazza ponderings
Free-agent catcher Mike Piazza warmed up to New York Mets fans during the final weeks of the 1998 season and they warmed up to him, raising the likelihood that he will re-sign with the Mets. But don't draw any conclusions until the dollar figures begin to surface.
Piazza fell out of favor with the Los Angeles Dodgers because he seemed married to the idea of becoming baseball's first $100 million player. That doesn't seem likely now, but he's still going to command a huge contract, and several teams are willing to throw money at him.
If the Mets don't make a splash in the next couple of weeks, look for the Colorado Rockies to emerge as the front-runner. The Orioles might be involved, but owner Peter Angelos seems more inclined to spread the wealth around than devote $12 million or more per year to one player.
There has been speculation that the Arizona Diamondbacks will make a big play for Piazza, but the organization might be coming to the realization that it makes little sense to spend that much on a player that might -- just might -- make them a .500 team.
Manager Buck Showalter favors Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams, but even he might be too expensive.
The team that fueled baseball's salary spiral by giving over-market contracts to several free agents last year is expected to show much more restraint this winter, though owner Jerry Colangelo still has plenty of money to spend.
If the D-backs concentrate on one big-name free agent, it might be Randy Johnson, who would figure to take a little less to play near home.
Dodgers talk
New Dodgers general manager Kevin Malone said recently that he hopes to have a new manager in place by the time club officials assemble for four days of organizational meetings in Vero Beach, Fla., on Oct. 28.
Malone has yet to receive permission from the Montreal Expos to talk to manager Felipe Alou, who has one year remaining on his contract, but that probably will be worked out soon.
Interim manager Glenn Hoffman, who was a respectable 47-41 after replacing Bill Russell at midsummer, apparently will remain with the major-league club in a coaching capacity.
Comeback player of '99?
Left-hander Jim Abbott left them wanting more in Chicago, where he went 5-0 for the White Sox in five September starts. He wants to return to the White Sox next season, but will be eligible for free agency in November.
Clemens locked in
The Toronto Blue Jays are thrilled to have Roger Clemens locked through the 2000 season, and why not? He won the Cy Young Award in his first year in Toronto and appears likely to win another one this year.
The question is whether Clemens wants to stay. He wasn't happy to see the club downsize at midseason, but the Blue Jays' late bid for the AL wild card might have illustrated the true potential of a growing team.
Clemens would like to see the front office fill some holes so that the team is positioned for another wild-card run next season. If not, he probably would prefer to go somewhere he could pitch for a winner.
"Yeah, I have a lot of wishes, but not a lot of say-so," Clemens said recently. "If there's not going to be a commitment to go out and do it well, that's why I came here. You understand? I came here to win and for them to go out and get the best possible team on that field."
Pub Date: 10/04/98