Mark McGwire

One of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history, McGwire hit 583 home runs during his career, which ranked 5th-most in MLB history at the time of his retirement and currently ranks 11th.

Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals.

He was drafted in the 8th round by the Montreal Expos in the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign.

He played college baseball at the University of Southern California (where he was a teammate of Randy Johnson, Jack Del Rio, and Rodney Peete) under coach Rod Dedeaux.

McGwire was selected by the Athletics with the 10th overall selection in the 1984 MLB draft.

After three years at USC and a stint on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, McGwire was drafted tenth overall in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft by the Oakland Athletics.

McGwire debuted in the major leagues in August 1986, hitting three home runs and nine runs batted in in 18 games.

Retaining his rookie status in 1987, McGwire took center stage in baseball with his home-run hitting.

He hit just four in the month of April, but followed in May with 15 and another nine in June.

Before the All-Star break arrived, he had totaled 33 home runs and earned a spot on the American League All-Star team.

On August 11, he broke Al Rosen's AL rookie record of 37 home runs.

Three days later, McGwire broke the major-league record of 38, which Frank Robinson and Wally Berger had jointly held.

In September, McGwire hit nine more home runs while posting monthly personal bests of a .351 batting average, .419 on-base percentage (OBP) and 11 doubles (2B).

With 49 home runs and two games remaining in the regular season for him to reach 50 home runs, he missed the games in order to attend the birth of his first child.

McGwire also totaled 118 runs batted in, a .289 batting average, 97 runs scored, 28 doubles, a .618 slugging percentage and a .370 on-base percentage (OBP).

Not only did McGwire lead the AL in home runs in 1987, but he also tied for the major-league lead with Chicago Cubs right fielder Andre Dawson.

McGwire also led the major leagues in slugging, finished second in the AL in adjusted on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS+, 164) and total bases (344) and placed third in RBI and on-base plus slugging (OPS, .987).

He was unanimously chosen as the AL Rookie of the Year Award and finished sixth overall in the AL Most Valuable Player Award voting.

From 1988 to 1990, McGwire followed with 32, 33, and 39 home runs, respectively, becoming the first Major Leaguer to hit 30+ home runs in each of his first four full seasons.

On July 3 and 4, 1988, he hit game-winning home runs in the 16th inning of both games.

McGwire's most famous home run with the A's was likely his game-winning solo shot in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 3 of the 1988 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and former A's closer Jay Howell.

McGwire's game-winner brought the A's their only victory in the 1988 World Series, which they lost in five games; however, McGwire and his fellow Bash Brother, José Canseco, played a large part in the 1989 championship club that defeated the San Francisco Giants in the famous "Earthquake Series."

Working diligently on his defense at first base, McGwire bristled at the notion that he was a one-dimensional player.

He won two World Series championships, one with Oakland as a player in 1989 and one with St. Louis as a coach in 2011.

McGwire led the major leagues in home runs in five different seasons, and set the major-league record for home runs hit in a four-season period from 1996 to 1999 with 245.

He demonstrated exemplary patience as a batter, producing a career .394 on-base percentage (OBP) and twice leading the major leagues in bases on balls.

McGwire also led the league in runs batted in once, on-base percentage twice, and slugging percentage four times.

Injuries cut short even greater potential, as he reached 140 games played in just eight of 16 total seasons.

He holds the major-league career record for at bats per home run ratio (10.6), and is the former record holder for both home runs in a single season (70 in 1998) and home runs hit by a rookie (49 in 1987).

McGwire was one of several central figures in baseball's steroids scandal.

With the Cardinals in 1998, McGwire joined Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa in a chase for the single-season home-run record set by Roger Maris in 1961.

McGwire surpassed Maris and finished with 70 home runs, a record that Barry Bonds would break three years later with 73.

Injuries particularly cut into his playing time in 2000 and 2001 and factored into his decision to retire.

A right-handed batter and thrower, McGwire stood 6 ft tall and weighed 245 lb during his playing career.

Through May 2009, McGwire was tied for third all-time with Joe DiMaggio in home runs over his first two calendar years in the major leagues (71), behind Chuck Klein (83) and Ryan Braun (79).

In 2010, McGwire publicly admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during a large portion of his career.

McGwire was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Pomona, California.

His father was a dentist.

He attended Damien High School in La Verne, California, where he played baseball, golf, and basketball.

McGwire's 49 home runs as a rookie stood as a major league record until Aaron Judge hit 52 for the New York Yankees in 2017.