Boom Towns

Like everyone else in the Illinois town of Centralia, 70 miles east of St. Louis, Gary Gaetti’s baseball allegiance was forged in the cradle.

“There’s a line around Decatur [Ill.], the break-off point between Cards fans and Cubs fans,” Gaetti said. “Anything south is Cardinal territory, and anything north, you’re a Cub fan. We were Cardinal fans.”

Gaetti’s childhood dreams came true when the Cardinals signed him as a free agent in December 1995. After they released him last month, the 40-year-old third baseman signed with the Cubs. Playing in both places confirmed his belief that Chicago and St. Louis, which have rich sports histories and a long-standing rivalry, are marvelous baseball cities and superb backdrops for the historic home run race between Cub outfielder Sammy Sosa and Cardinal first baseman Mark McGwire.

“It’s kind of like I saved the best for last,” Gaetti said. “I loved St. Louis. Those people were baseball-crazy. They’ve got one baseball team to root for, and Chicago has two, so everyone focuses on the one team. . . . For me, coming to Wrigley Field, it’s like old-time baseball and a great place to play. The old Comiskey [Park] was great too. I’ve always liked coming to Wrigley because of the atmosphere. Both places are great baseball towns, and what these guys are doing is great.”

The intensity in each city has common roots. Both draw from vast areas because until expansion and franchise shifts changed baseball’s map, St. Louis was baseball’s western- and southernmost outpost and the Cubs were the only National League team in the upper Midwest. Both play in baseball-only stadiums and on grass, which the Cardinals restored to Busch Stadium after Anheuser-Busch sold the team to a group headed by businessman William DeWitt in 1996.

In addition, both owe much of their popularity to broadcaster Harry Caray, whose flamboyant style helped turn each into America’s team long before the Dallas Cowboys claimed that title or Ted Turner thought of TBS. Caray called Cardinal games from 1945 to ’69 and moved to the Cubs’ TV booth in 1982, in time for WGN’s emergence as a superstation that beamed images of Wrigley Field’s quaint, ivy-covered walls into living rooms everywhere.

“These are two great baseball cities whose settings are classic and the fans are appreciative,” said NBC sportscaster Bob Costas, a St. Louis resident since 1974. “The whole home run race would be a good deal less awe-inspiring if it had happened at some anonymous domed stadium.

“St. Louis is the best baseball city there is. It’s now that almost by consensus. I’ve thought that for years and years. A handful of cities might match it for passion, but no one can match its combination of passion and civility.”

For longtime fans, the rivalry has deeper layers. Chicagoans will never forget the trade that sent Lou Brock to St. Louis for pitcher Ernie Broglio at midseason in 1964, a deal that backfired when Brock led the Cardinals to the World Series title and became one of the best base stealers in history during a Hall of Fame career. There are probably still some Cardinal fans who recoiled at seeing Dizzy Dean in a Cub uniform after the famous broken toe that ruined his pitching career with the Cardinals.

What makes their rivalry unique, however, is their mutual respect.

When McGwire broke Roger Maris’ record of 61 home runs on Sept. 8, he victimized the Cubs. Sosa was among the first to congratulate McGwire, which endeared him to Cardinal fans.

“That was one of the few times in the history of the Cardinal-Cub rivalry I’ve seen Card fans cheering a Cub, except maybe Lou Brock,” said Billy Williams, the Cubs’ dugout coach and a Hall of Famer who spent 16 seasons with them. “It’s really ironic that one of our rivals, a player on that particular ballclub, is matching our guy. It’s exciting to have both cities involved, and to have both cities pulling for each other.”

And when Sosa was honored by the Cubs last Sunday, McGwire sent a telegram that read, “We have shared an exciting and historic season that will be remembered for years to come. You have handled yourself with class and dignity and are to be commended for a fantastic 1998 season.” When McGwire hit his 65th home run and pulled two ahead of Sosa, the Cub outfielder was impressed, not upset. “That’s why he’s the man,” Sosa said.

Sosa and McGwire’s remarkable race is also something of a reward for Cub and Cardinal fans, who have endured varying degrees of frustration. The Cardinals have had more success than the Cubs, having also won the World Series in 1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967 and 1982 before losing in 1985 and 1987. Cub fans have been loyal in the face of incredible futility: The Cubs haven’t won the World Series since 1908 and haven’t been in the Series since 1945. They were overtaken by the New York Mets for the NL East title in 1969, lost the best-of-five NL championship series to San Diego in 1984 after winning the first two games and lost again to the Giants in 1989.

Their fervor this season has been focused on Sosa, who loves it. “The fans motivate me every day,” he said. “I never forget how the fans have been behind me 100%. I love the way the fans are supporting me here and all over the United States.”

In a sense, Sosa and McGwire aren’t swinging merely for the record books. They’re swinging for Wrigley’s Bleacher Bums and for families that drive hundreds of miles to Busch Stadium to make a holiday out of a weekend series and join the sea of red shirts in the stands. The Cardinals’ attendance this season has exceeded 3 million for the third time in club history, while the Cubs’ home attendance of 2,583,444 was the second-largest in club history.

“In both cities the fans are rabid and knowledgeable,” said Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa, who has also managed the Chicago White Sox. “In Chicago, I think there’s more impatience. If you don’t do well, they’ll hoot you. Here, you can catch some slack as long as you’re trying hard.”

McGwire’s popularity is evident throughout St. Louis. A traffic sign at Tucker Boulevard and Market Street that usually warns motorists about hazards instead flashes the message, “Thanks Big Mac for 65 and counting.” Downtown office buildings and restaurants track his home run total on placards in their windows, and the hotel that looms over Busch Stadium posted a huge sign that reads, “65-Go Mark.” Said La Russa: “They’re great fans and they’ve been great to Mark.”

Of course, Chicagoans think they’re better fans. And they say if the Cubs ever win the World Series, the revelry would make the celebrations of the Bulls’ six NBA championships look like a child’s tea party.

“Remember, the Cubs played their first game within a week or so of Custer’s last stand [in 1876]. You have Cub fans all over the country waiting for this,” said Steve Stone, a former Cy Young Award winner who has been part of the Cubs’ TV broadcast team for 16 years. “Everywhere we go around the country, I have people come up and ask on a daily basis, ‘When will the Cubs win the World Series? Will they win in my lifetime?’ I always say, ‘How long do you plan to live?’

“Great as the Bulls are and as tremendous as Michael Jordan is, there are more Cub fans than Bull fans. There are people whose great-grandparents took their grandparents to Wrigley Field, and the grandparents took their kids, and those kids took them. Now, they take their children and grandchildren. It’s been passed down from generation to generation. We have the most loyal and patient fans anywhere.”

Cardinal fans, however, get points for hospitality. St. Louis became a sanctuary for Maris, who hated the scrutiny and big-city hustle of New York. He finished his career with the Cardinals in 1967 and 1968, hitting .385 with seven runs batted in as the Cardinals won the 1967 World Series against the Red Sox in a thrilling seven-game series.

“It was a really great time in dad’s life, those last two years,” said Randy Maris, who accompanied his five siblings to St. Louis to see McGwire’s record-breaking home run and to Chicago for the Sosa tribute Sunday. “He had great years in St. Louis. The biggest thing was the fan support, as we’ve seen with Mark. The fans are very knowledgeable and they don’t get on a guy if he makes mistakes.”

Sosa often says he wouldn’t mind sharing the home run title with McGwire, and after all they’ve been through and the support the fans in Chicago and St. Louis have given them, that would be a fitting finish. If it occurs, it might not be a coincidence.

“You know,” Williams said, “some people are saying Harry Caray is up there talking to the Big Man and that’s why all of this is happening. I wouldn’t doubt it.”