- Almost moments after number 62 left Mark
McGwire's bat, the question was asked to me again and again: is Mark McGwire's
home run record a conspiracy?
-
- Of course, you Konformers out there aren't
the only ones trying to find a secret story behind the Home Run derby:
the korporate media, doing their best impression of Matt Drudge, tried
to create a shocking scandal out McGwire's use of an over-the-counter food
supplement that helps the body boost its testosterone levels, a usage McGwire
never denied nor is against the rules. Jeered at their crude attempt to
find muck where there really wasn't any, the "scandal" was lost
in the eventual embrace of a story that was a healthy antidote to Peckergate
pap.
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- One person stated to me in the McGwire
Conspiracy quest: "I've seen the pitches he and Sammy Sosa have been
receiving, and they look pretty lame. Couldn't the major league owners
be ordering homerballs be thrown to boost attendance?"
-
- Well, maybe it's not that blatant. Still,
there is a "conspiracy" of sorts going on here: baseball had
been in a tailspin since 1994, when a strike led to the cancellation of
the World Series, an act that was viewed (rightly) as a betrayal of the
fans by greedy owners and players. The league definitely needed something
to boost itself, and a home run race to Maris and 61 certainly has become
the perfect cure. It sure has worked: baseball has resurrected itself
from the grave, and it is clear the main reason behind this is the bats
of McGwire and Sosa.
-
- The truth is, the home run race was planned
by design. Many baseball fans were predicting this event before the season
even started (including yours truly) on the basis that two expansion teams
were added. Two new teams means twenty more pitchers, which means a seven
percent dilution of pitching talent. Hence, the best players would have
their stats artificially raised. In 1994, the last season the league expanded,
there was the same explosion: most people forget that, until that season
went down as the worst year in baseball history due to the strike, it was
headed to being the greatest season in baseball history. There were numerous
batters in range of Maris' record (including Ken Griffey, Frank Thomas,
Jeff Bagwell, and Matt Williams), pitcher Greg Maddux was having an unreal
season, and, oh yeah, Tony Gwynn was hitting .395 and was red hot. Hey,
if it worked before, the owners must have figured, let's do it again.
-
- Add in the fact that, after two seasons
of being plagued with injuries, McGwire hit 52 in 1996 in only 430 at-bats
(an unheard of home run ratio of one every 8.3 at-bats) and last year hit
58, despite being traded mid-season from the Oakland A's to the St. Louis
Cardinals (thus having to adjust from one league's pitchers to another).
What does all this spell? A new major league record, which is what has
happened.
-
- Some commentators have tried to downplay
the expansion, stating that home runs are up only a fraction. True, but
an expansion isn't suppose to increase TOTAL home runs, but only cause
the best to feast on the increased mediocrity. Thus both a McGwire and
a Greg Maddux end up looking better statistically, as they both face greater
numbers of lesser talents.
-
- As for the supposedly weak pitches he's
been receiving, well, I saw McGwire blast one pitch out recently that was
barely three inches above the plate. I have trouble imaging any pitcher
agreeing to serve up homer balls: it's just that McGwire makes you pay
for your mistakes more than any player, thus making it more noticeable.
(If you make a mistake against Tony Gwynn, he hits a double; if you make
one against Mark McGwire, he hits it 500 feet.) Further, pitching against
someone like McGwire is so nerve-racking, it can increase mistakes, which
can explain some of the easier pitches he's feasted on.
-
- Of course, the fact he's even getting
any pitches at all is a "conspiracy" of sorts: McGwire is also
flirting with Babe Ruth's season record of 170 walks (a record that many
pitchers will be trying to help him break the rest of the month rather
than challenge him.) Some intentional walks came on with nobody on base
and with two out. This caused much legitimate grumbling from Cardinals
manager Tony LaRussa. It is very likely the league owners did agree to
put pressure on their teams not to intentionally walk him, as McGwire is,
after all, baseball's golden goose.
-
- In any case, expansion or not, creatine
or not, and league pressure or not, Mark McGwire is having an unreal season
by any measure. He is on pace to hit 70, or one less than every 7.5 times
at bat. For once, The Konformist has found something it refuses to be
cynical about. Congratulations, Mark, for providing the masses a pleasurable
and necessary opium. I tip my cap to you, as I'm sure Roger Maris and
Babe Ruth are doing right now as well.
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