Sosa Ties (the) Mark

Nearing twilight of a historic day, Sammy Sosa left for San Diego and the second stage of the Great Home Run Chase while his bat and uniform jersey were en route to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Meanwhile, the ball that was hit out of Wrigley Field in the ninth inning Sunday, the one that enabled the Cub outfielder to tie Mark McGwire’s five-day-old record of 62, was in custody at a nearby police station.

More accurately, it was in the possession of a man who was in police custody, either for his own protection or because he was accused of stealing it after a scrum on Waveland Avenue. It was the second such free-for-all on the street behind the left-field fence.

Four innings earlier, after Sosa drove a two-run shot off Milwaukee Brewer rookie Bronswell Patrick for No. 61, several people ran over Wade Hurt, spilling him out of his wheelchair. John Witt, 29, emerged with the ball but declined to return it, at least not before negotiating with the player and the Cubs.

Those were merely postscripts to one of the most memorable games in the history of Wrigley Field.

Not only did Sosa surpass Babe Ruth and Roger Maris on the same afternoon, but he did so in the final game of the Cub homestand, then paid tribute to the fans in the same way McGwire did for St. Louis Cardinal fans with No. 62 at Busch Stadium last Tuesday night.

On top of everything, Chicago rallied with a second run in the ninth after Sosa’s home run and then claimed an implausible 11-10 victory in the 10th on Mark Grace’s two-out home run.

Such was the tenor of the afternoon that Grace later apologized for hitting the game-winner because it prevented Sosa, the next batter, from getting another at-bat. “I’m sorry I hit the home run and Sammy couldn’t come up to the plate,” Grace said with a straight face. “Everyone wanted to see Sammy come up again. Me, too.”

Sosa didn’t appear to mind. He joined in the celebration at home plate and then got an impromptu ride back to the dugout on the shoulders of catchers Tyler Houston and Scott Servais. It was the least his teammates could do. Actually, it was about all baseball did do.

There were none of the pregame preparations that had been made for McGwire’s record-setting blow. Not only was the Maris family not in attendance, as it was for the two-game Cub-Cardinal series in St. Louis, but neither was Commissioner Bud Selig, whose team was the opponent here and whose office is 90 miles away in Milwaukee. Randy Maris, one of Roger’s sons, and Selig telephoned their congratulations to Sosa while he was attending a postgame interview session.

Furthermore, the balls used by Milwaukee pitchers against Sosa were not specially marked by baseball so they could be authenticated. That’s a particular problem at Wrigley, where a high percentage of home runs leave the stadium entirely. “There’s no way to tell it’s the right ball anymore,” Mike Hill, the Cubs’ director of security, said with a shrug.

That disappointed John Ralph and Jeff Idelson, representing the Hall of Fame. They had hoped to place the ball and bat alongside those of McGwire on display in an exhibit called “March on Maris.” Instead, they departed Chicago with the bat he used for home runs 58 through 62 and his uniform shirt.

“I don’t want to give up my bat today,” Sosa said. “I feel greedy about that. But I will. It will be an honor to be with the legends who played before me. It’s nice to be with Mark.”

Only five nights earlier, in St. Louis, he had asked McGwire “to wait for me.” And McGwire complied, long enough for Sosa to draw even. “The number [people will remember] is not going to be 62,” Cub Manager Jim Riggleman said. “It’s probably going to be 64, or 67, or something.”

The chase is on again.

“I think Mark listened to me,” Sosa said, “and now we’re together. We’ll see how it goes. This is not over yet. We have more to go.”

For the record, his first home run traveled 480 feet and came on an 0-and-1 count against Patrick, a 28-year-old right-hander who was acquired by the Brewers as a minor-league free agent in the off-season and was appearing in his 30th game. The second was a solo shot on a 2-and-1 delivery by Eric Plunk, 35, a veteran of 12 seasons. It also landed 480 feet from the plate, according to estimates.

Sosa put his head down and ran the bases both times without a handshake or a slap on the back from any of the Brewers. He took a curtain call after each.

“God,” Grace said, “it’s been a whole lot of fun watching him improve during the course of his career.”

Even Hurt, the guy in the wheelchair who suffered a spinal cord injury in a fall from a fire escape 12 years ago, said he was happy to be part of the festivities after being manhandled by souvenir hunters.

“I want to personally thank Sammy,” he said, “for bringing back dignity and fun to baseball.”

Of all the people inside and outside the ballpark Sunday (did we mention it was Beanie Baby Day and the handout was Gracie the Swan?), perhaps only Sosa was able to remain in control. Even after roaring ovations before and after his home runs from the Cubs’ largest crowd of the season (40,846) and another when he crossed the field from his dugout to the interview room 15 minutes after the game, he understood better than anyone that the moment was transient. When a reporter asked him if this was the best day of his life, he smiled and paused knowingly.

“The best day of my life,” Sosa replied, “was the day I was born.”

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Making History: 62

All-Time HR Leaders

Mark McGwire, 1998: 62

Sammy Sosa, 1998: 62

Roger Maris, 1961: 61

Babe Ruth, 1927: 60

Babe Ruth, 1921: 59

Jimmie Foxx, 1932: 58

Hank Greenberg, 1938: 58

*Mark McGwire, 1997: 58

* Combined total with Oakland and St. Louis