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Each year certain MLB players rise to the top of the league in power hitting, batting average and RBIs; but few have the ability to dominate “The Bigs” year after year. What makes the members of the 500 Home Run Club® so remarkable is they each maintained their batting skills at the highest level for 15 to 20 years, or even longer. This despite the fact they faced some of the greatest pitchers the game has ever seen; each of whom was intent on shutting them down with their nastiest pitches, trickiest strategies and greatest concentration. After all, nobody wants to be remembered as the guy who gave up someone’s 500th Home Run…but everyone wants to be one of the guys who hit 500 career long balls!
So it’s no surprise that active players seek out the advice of 500
Home Run Club members (by phone, over dinner or any other way they can
get a few minutes to talk). And it only makes sense that teams looking
to amp up their hitting attack would pull out all the stops to bring in
these prestigious power hitters to coach their up ‘n coming hitting
stars.
St. Louis Lays Cards On The Table in Hiring McGwire As Hitting Coach
 The
St. Louis Cardinals organization recently honored team tradition and
bolstered their chances of dominating at the plate next season by
hiring 12-time All-Star Mark McGwire as their hitting coach. One of
the main reasons “Big Mac” agreed to take the job was due to his
longtime friendship with Cardinals skipper Tony La Russa who’s been
close with McGwire since managing him both in Oakland and St. Louis.
"Tony
(La Russa) thinks he'll be a great coach, and I think he's got a lot to
offer us in terms of tradition and commitment to success," said team
chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. "Mark is passionate about the game,
passionate about the Cardinals,"
 Big Mac played 4 1/2 seasons
with St. Louis, in which he hit 220 of his 583 career home runs and
briefly set the MLB single-season record with his 70 homers in 1998.
But what’s so impressive is he finished his career with a .263 batting
average and was among the team leader in OPS (on-base plus slugging
percentage).
McGwire has been invited as a Spring Training
instructor by the Cards several times in the past few years, but has
rejected these invitations. He did work with St. Louis outfielder Skip
Schumaker and free-agent Matt Holliday last winter, so the Cardinals
know he has the ability to help young players correct batting flaws and
make the most of each opportunity at the plate.
Reggie Jackson Puts the Special in Special Advisor
 Among
the celebration in the New York Yankees clubhouse after their recent
World Series victory, observers saw one of the most recognizable faces
in baseball history, with a big smile of satisfaction on his face: “Mr.
October” himself, Reggie Jackson.
Despite having
Philadelphia’s Chase Utley tie his record with five homers in a World
Series, Jackson reveled in seeing his Yankees play so well in the post
season, and is proud to have played in role in bringing another
Championship to New York. “I don’t mind that he (Utley) matched my
(World Series) mark because we won. I'm good to go with that,” Jackson
said.
As far as advice for the newest World Champion New York
Yankees sluggers, Jackson said: “I urged them to enjoy the experience
as players on a team that won it all together, because you never know
if it'll happen again."
So precisely what has Reggie been doing
in his role as “special advisor” to help the Yankees not simply make it
to the post season, but win it all. “I talk baseball with the young
guys and help them to realize how things are different this time of
year,” said Jackson, who shakes hands with VIPs and fans alike, and
carries himself as someone who has gone all the way before because, of
course, he has FIVE TIMES! He led the 1972, 1973, and 1974 Oakland
Athletics team to back-to-back-to-back World Series titles and then
switched coasts to anchor the 1977 and 1978 New York Yankees that won
it all for the Pinstripe nation.
Today “Mr. October” is
welcomed like royalty at the new Yankees stadium. “I’m always around
in the owners’ box, the general manager’s box and the clubhouse…and I
talk to The Boss (Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner) a couple of times
a week. I’ll be here until the family throws me out.”
Mr. Cub® Shares His Love Of The Game With Younger Players During
his 19 storied seasons with the Chicago Cubs, “Mr. Cub”® Ernie Banks
(512 career HRs) was known as much for his love of the game as for his
smooth swing and his Gold Glove fielding skills. Nowadays the two-time
MVP and 14-time All-Star, who brought smiles to Cubs fans regardless of
their win-loss record with the simple phrase “Let’s Play Two”, serves
as an Ambassador for Chicago north-siders and a elder statesman for
U.S. baseball as a whole.
When he’s not singing the seventh
inning stretch or mingling with the Wrigley Field faithful, Ernie
spends as much time as possible talking to today’s young players about
their approach at the plate and reminding them how lucky they are to
play in the Major leagues. “People ask me a lot about the values I got
from playing for the Cubs for so many years. The value I got out of it
was patience,” he explains. “A lot of people these days are not very
patient. They want things right now. It's a "now" generation. Fame
comes and it goes, but I think, with patience and good friendships, you
can make the most of everything that comes your way in life.” |
