Mark McGwire's Tremendous Success
Mark McGwire is one of the most electrifying figures in
sports today. This six-foot five inch, two hundred and fifty
pound monster is a man on a mission. McGwire's mission began
when he went on to play high school baseball for Damien High
School in Claremont. After high school McGwire attend the
University of Southern California to play college baseball.
McGwire would then go on to break a few home run records while at
USC. The great work he did in USC earned him a spot on the US
Olympic baseball team in 1984. This would be the beginning of a
successful career. From there, McGwire became the tenth pick in
the first round and signed with the Oakland Athletics. In
McGwire's first year with the Oakland A's he became Rookie of the
Year. Whether hitting home runs on the field or working with
children, Mark proves he is dedicated, successful, and one of
baseball's most popular players to watch.
Whenever people walk into a ballpark to watch Mark McGwire
on the field, people can believe he is a dedicated player to the
game of baseball. McGwire has had much success because of all
the hard practicing he does to get better each day. McGwire's
dedication came "when Coach Stanley hit ground balls to McGwire,
he tried to hit them hard enough that it would hit McGwire on
either the wrist or the shin" (Rains 61). I believe the long
hours of taking ground balls helped him become one of the best
fielding first baseman and earned McGwire a few Gold Glove Awards
during his career. McGwire has also shown his dedication "when
McGwire took countless ground balls on a patch of rocky ground,
trying to practice some of the bad hops and unusual bounces"
(Rains 62). Without a question McGwire was determined to work
hard on his fielding. When McGwire wasn't fielding ground balls,
he would be practi...