Mark McGwire: Home Run Hero [Mass Market Paperback]

Rob Rains (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1999

The powerhouse player who's revolutionizing the game...

In 1998, Mark McGwire made baseball history by breaking the legendary 61-home-run record set by Roger Maris in 1961. Not only did the outstanding Cardinals player break Maris' mark, he surpassed it by hitting 70 in one season! Find out all the facts on McGwire, from his childhood in Southern California to his time with the Oakland A's, to his major league comeback with the St. Louis Cardinals. Learn what it takes to make baseball superstardom-and how to hit a home run on all of life's playing fields.

With eight pages of photos, plus new information on McGwire's record-breaking season!

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's only natural in 1998's season of the slugger, with the focus on the race to break 61, that baseball's most prolific contemporary power hitter would be reduced to size with a quickie bio. The thing about McGwire is that he's soooo big--and not just in physical stature--that he can't be reduced, especially when his biographer produces what is essentially fans' notes.

Rains may have written nothing more than a routine biography, outlining McGwire's growth from Little Leaguer--he naturally hit a homer his first time at bat--to eventual major-league stardom, but his subject is anything but routine. The McGwire that Rains portrays is thoughtful and engaging--a man who, despite his outsized talent, grips priorities as well as a bat. Rains recounts how, on the last day of McGwire's monumental first season with Oakland, with the rookie record of 49 dingers already on the books, his wife went into labor. Instead of staying and going for 50, McGwire immediately flew back to California to take his place beside her. He can always get 50 another time.

McGwire approaches the hallowed home-run record with his trademark poise and perspective. He's only worried about one aspect of chasing the record: even if he fails to break Maris's mark, he will have accomplished something no one, not even Ruth, has done before: hitting 50 home runs in three consecutive seasons. "Is that failure," McGwire asks circumspectly. "Are people going to write that I failed?" Probably. But as Rains observes, "That thought passes after a moment.... Ever since his days growing up playing with friends at the end of a cul-de-sac in Claremont, California, McGwire has been in control of his own fate, just as he is now." --Jeff Silverman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Rob Rains is the co-author of eight sports books. He wrote The St. Louis Cardinals: The 100th Anniversary History, as well as co-authored Red: A Baseball Life (with Cardinal Hall of Farmer Red Schoendienst) and Jack Buck: That's a Winner! (with broadcaster Jack Buck). A frequent contributor to The Sporting News, Rains and his family live in St. Louis.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 241 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; 1st edition (April 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312971095
• ISBN-13: 978-0312971090
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,149,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Basic, covered alot of things twice and three times, July 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mark McGwire: Home Run Hero (Hardcover)

i think this was basic information and Rains touched on the same topics on more than one occasion, interesting for someone who just knows he played for the A's and is the HR king, like me, which is why i gave it 3 stars. if i was following McGwire from his rookie year, i would have hated it. so again, its basic, nothing spectacular

3.0 out of 5 stars A good book, sort of, March 10, 2000

By 

Sam - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mark McGwire: Home Run Hero (Hardcover)

This was a very good book, until I got to the last few pages. There, I found out that the famous 62nd and 70th homers were NOT included or reported about. Obviously, there wasn't much research done because the whole book was full of quotes moving the story along. I'd say that no more than 1/3 of the whole book was actual writing done by Rains himself. But, this was still a fairly good book. The pictures in the centerfold could have been a little bit better and more updated as well. But, the writing is what's important, right?

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT player, great biography -HIGHLY RECOMENDED, February 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Mark McGwire: Home Run Hero (Mass Market Paperback)

I have never actually finished a book over 100 pages EXCEPT for this one. That has to say something. Not only that i LOVE Mark McGwire and almost everything he does but that the author, Rob Rains must know what hes talking about. It is a pretty well detailed book the chapters could be a little shorter but otherwise a very interesting book!