The McGwire Signing

St. Louis Sports Online

A Drama in Four Parts: Big Red's Big Day

Mark McGwire Signs With the Redbirds...and Homers Later that Night

I. Calling All Stations

The fax rolled in at about 10:00 am on Tuesday, September 16.

"MEDIA ADVISORY: CARDINALS TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE" shouted the all-caps headline.

The text that followed was brief and to the point, and included just two simple sentences: "The St. Louis Cardinals will hold a press conference today at 3:00 pm CT. The press conference will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room at Busch Stadium."

Experience has shown that the newsworthiness of a sports-related press conference is generally inversely proportional to the size of the press release that publicizes that conference.

In other words, tiny PR releases generally mean big news.

Indeed, a phone call to Busch Stadium confirmed what countless St. Louis-area and national media outlets were already trumpeting.

Namely, a press conference was in order because Mark McGwire and his agents had come to terms with Cards' GM Walt Jocketty on a new contract that will most likely keep McGwire in a Cardinals' uniform for at least the next three baseball seasons.

And what a press conference it was.

But that's getting ahead of the story.

II. Calling The Psychic Hotline...

From the time that the Cardinals acquired McGwire from Oakland (in a trade for pitchers Blake Stein, TJ Mathews, and Eric Ludwick), St. Louis baseball fans were attempting to decipher McGwire's statements concerning his baseball future.

Sometimes it even seemed that Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa was carefully monitoring McGwire's public pronouncements for information about where the slugging first baseman was looking to continue his baseball career.

Surely, La Russa was tickled by what McGwire had to say on the Cardinals' radio network pre-game show that aired on Friday, September 12...100 some-odd hours prior to the press conference.

"This place really appreciates baseball," McGwire told broadcaster Jack Buck.

"I wish I was here my whole career...but it's better late than never. Hopefully something will work out [regarding a contract with the Cardinals]. Like I said, the Cardinals will get the first shot and the best shot. Hopefully in the near future we'll be able to work something out...and people will have something to be excited about.

"I'm still getting acquainted with lots of [my new teammates]. Hopefully I'll get to join them in spring training...there's a pretty damn good chance I'll be a St. Louis Cardinal."

And thousands of Cardinals fans, with visions of batting orders dancing in their heads, made like Dionne Warwick and began trying to predict the future...

III. The Announcement is Made

ACT I: Bill DeWitt Speaks

Just a minute or two after 3 pm, the man that appears to be at the top of the Cardinals ownership pyramid, Bill DeWitt, opened the press conference with the following words:

"On behalf of our ownership group, I'm very pleased and excited to announce that Mark McGwire will return to the Cardinals for the next three years at a minimum...and we fully expect him to finish his wonderful baseball career here in St. Louis.

"Mark is [applause] reminiscent of the great Cardinals of the past, players like Johnny Mize, Red Schoendienst, Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, [and] Ozzie Smith. All impact players, but also great team players, with a burning desire to win.

"He has high integrity, is very community oriented, and we believe a classic Cardinal, who the fans of St. Louis will continue to enjoy for many years to come.

"Mark will talk about this more later, but he has designated a significant amount of money to establish the Mark McGwire Cardinal Community Charitable Foundation, a testament of his commitment to the St. Louis community and to the Cardinals organization.

"I want to thank Mark, on behalf of our ownership group and on behalf of the organization, for putting his trust in the Cardinal organization, and for the professional manner in which he and his advisors, Bob Cohen and Jim Milner, handled the negotiations.

"Thank you."

ACT II: Walt Jocketty Speaks

Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty followed DeWitt to the microphone:

"[August of this year] was the beginning of the Mark McGwire era. As Bill [DeWitt] announced, we have extended that era into the 21st century. I am very proud to announce that Mark has agreed to a three year contract with an option for a fourth year.

"And I might add that, in this time, in sports as well as in a lot of different industries, there's a lot of money being passed around...a lot of questions about how much a guy's being paid...and people who are looking for the last dollar

"I can assure you that Mark McGwire did not do that. Mark accepted less money to play in St. Louis than he probably would have gotten on the free agent market. I think that's an indication of the type of person that we have here.

"As Bill also stated, Mark is going to establish the Mark McGwire Foundation, in which he will contribute a significant amount of money each year which will benefit charities not only here in St. Louis but also in southern California.

"I've had the pleasure of knowing Mark since we drafted him and signed him in Oakland. He is truly one of the finest players of the game today...and probably in the history of the game. He is also a great individual and a great person. You have all seen that in the past few weeks and will certainly see that in the next few years.

"There's a lot of people to thank...including Mark and his advisors Bob Cohen and Jim Milner, Tony for his assistance in getting this thing done, and all the people who work for me in the baseball department.

"But probably more importantly [thanks should go] to the St. Louis Cardinals fans because I think that really got to Mark. We thought all along that if we got Mark here for awhile...that if we showed him what's it's like to play here...the tradition....and the history of this organization. I think we won him over.

"I'm proud to introduce Mark McGwire."

ACT III: Mark McGwire Speaks

Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire followed Jocketty to the microphone:

"I think the best word that I've been saying since I came to St. Louis is 'overwhelmed'. I'm definitely overwhelmed with the contract that I've just signed...and I don't think it was too hard to fall in love with the city of St. Louis. It's been outstanding...and now I know what everybody's talking about when I came over here...that this is what you can expect.

"A town that supports baseball the best......and I tell you what it makes me feel...everytime I come to the ballpark to play in this stadium [and to] play in front of these fans...I get overwhelmed but then again when the first pitch is thrown I've gotta concentrate on playing the game of baseball.

"It wasn't really hard to convince me...and I'm proud to be a Cardinal."

IV. The Real Deal: Mark McGwire Concentrates on the Game of Baseball

Just over four hours later, Mark McGwire came to the plate in his first at-bat since signing the new deal.

The fans in attendance at Busch Stadium responded with an extended standing ovation that carried through several pitches to their favorite slugger...and the fans did not return to their seats until after McGwire answered their curtain call.

A curtain call was necessary because, on Ramon Martinez' fifth pitch, McGwire launched what is believed to be the longest home run in Busch Stadium history. Estimated to have traveled 517 feet, the solo shot hit the facade that separates the upper and lower decks, above the scoreboard in left-center field.

It wasn't just the Busch Stadium fans that were standing when McGwire hit his 52nd HR of the season. As it was hit, McGwire's blow literally lifted all of that evening's press box occupants out of their seats...because in addition to the sheer dramatics of the event, McGwire's poke wasn't dropping all that much when it hit the facade.

At least it seemed that way at the time.

For more than one reason, September 16, 1997 will be a day long remembered by St. Louis-area baseball fans.