 National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 31, No. 12 * June 21, 1999 Previous story | Table of Contents | Next story NACo’s taking you to the show at Busch Stadium By Kevin Wilcox
It’s NACo Night, and NACo President Betty Lou Ward will throw the first pitch. Hopefully Mark McGwire won’t be at the plate. If he is, ESPN tells us that the big man goes down swinging at offspeed stuff on the outside of the plate. Keep your fingers crossed. "Mistakes are treated to long rides," ESPN says. In 1998, St. Louis’ McGwire and Chicago’s Sammy Sousa found a lot of mistakes to take for a ride, rewrote the record books, and helped heal the black eye baseball had been wearing since a players’ strike cancelled the World Series in 1994. McGwire finished the season with 70 home runs, shattering the "unbreakable" record of 61 set by Roger Maris in 1961. Maris took the record away from Babe Ruth, who hit 60 in 1927. Ruth played 154 games that season. Maris played 163. There was an asterisk by Maris’ name to mark that fact. There won’t be an asterisk by McGwire’s name. He broke Ruth’s 60 in 143 games and Maris’ 61 in 144. This year, McGwire is back, he’s healthy and he’s swinging for the cheap seats. NACo’s president will be on the mound, trying to catch the outside corner with a sinker. What more could a county official want? |
