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Oct. 12, 1998 Sosa & McGwire:
Two Synonymous Names
Probably the best season in baseball history has
nearly come to an end. The home run race was, for sure,
the highlight of the 1998 season. The two front-runners
of this race were Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. In this
essay I will compare their lives. I will tell about how
different their childhoods were. I will explain how
differently the media treated each player during the
season, and I will tell about each player's accomplishments,
and who I think should win the MVP award.
Sammy Sosa grew up in the Dominican Republic.
His family lived in poverty. His father was a farmer,
and passed away when Sammy was only 7 years old. Many
people helped Sammy's mother with food and clothing for
he and his 5 siblings, something Sammy would never
forget. He helped his family by shining shoes, and
working as a janitor in a shoe factory. Mark McGwire
grew up in suburban southern California, the son of a
dentist, so money was never an issue. He had the support
of his father throughout his entire career, unlike Sosa.
Sosa is probably much more grateful for his accomplishments
than Mcgwire because he came from such poverty.
It was surprising how different the media treated
both of the players. It seemed their focus was on
McGwire, with Sosa just a tag-along in a fluke season.
When Mark McGwire hit homer number 62, the game stopped,
the red carpet rolled out, a podium set up, and a 30
minute ceremony ensued. Then a few days later, when
Sammy hit number 62 to put his team ahead in the late
innings of a very important game, play resumed like it
was just another day at the ol' ballpark. Mark, after
hitting his homerun, was congratulated by Roger Maris's
family (the man who set the record of 61 homeruns), the
commissioner of baseball, and many other baseball greats.
On the other hand, Sammy was content with a few
insincere phone calls, and a pat on the back by his
teammates. They each accomplished the same feat. Why
such a diverse acknowledgment?
At the completion of the 1998 regular season McGwire
finished with 4 more homeruns than Sosa, but this was
the only category that he led Sosa in. Sammy batted
.308 compared to Mark's .299. Sosa drove in 158 runs,
while McGwire drove in 147. Sosa finished with an
astounding 198 hits, and McGwire managed only 152.
Sammy scored 134 runs and Mark only 130. The numbers
are very clear, that Sammy Sosa is a much better
all-around player, not to mention that he led his
Chicago Cubs to their first postseason appearance in
9 years. Any person who thinks Mark McGwire is a more
valuable player than Sosa is completely unreasonable.
Mark Mcgwire's and Sammy Sosa's childhoods were
tremendously different, but it seems the game of
baseball has brought them together. If Sosa, clearly
having better statistics than McGwire, does not win MVP,
I will have to ask myself Was it because he was
black? I hope the sports writers will save us the
controversy and vote for the Most Valuable Player;
after all, that is what MVP stands for.
Word Count: 538
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