SAN DIEGO -- As if Mark McGwire needed another sign that this was his year, the St. Louis Cardinals slugger caught a foul ball in the fourth inning of the New York Yankees' World Series-clinching game last night after throwing out the first pitch.

Baseball's new home run king was in a front-row box seat on the third base side, next to commissioner Bud Selig, when the Yankees' Chuck Knoblauch hit a ground foul.

McGwire, whose 70 home runs this year set a major-league record, reached just beyond the railing and one-handed the ball. He proudly held the ball over his head before flipping it into the stands behind him.

Pub Date: 10/22/98