Mark McGwire was a late season call up by the Oakland Atheletics in 1986, appearing in 18 games (.189/3HR/9RBI). But by 1988, Big Mac was one of the games premier players; winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1987. He would go on to play in 12 All Star games while winning a Gold Glove and three Silver Slugger awards, plus a World Series ring in 1989.
Even with his record 49 home runs as a rookie, I don't think any of us thought that this skinny fellow would turn into the cartoonish character he became by the late 1990s.
McGwire retired after 16 seasons at the end of the 2001 season. His home run totals are a bit misleading and his career numbers aren't what you'd think they were. His 583 home runs account for a third of his career hits. But one thing the numbers don't tell us is how exciting he was to watch. Even with the idea of steriods in the back of your mind, watching he and Sosa bash it out in 1998 was a lot of fun.
But I don't know how inviting Cooperstown will be. Thus far he's well below the needed votes to get in. Time will tell.
Looking at the card itself you see how vastly different this insert set is from the base release. These cards have a high gloss finish on the front and much of the back is taken up by a head shot. The cards have a quote by various front office execs about each player and a run down of some of their accomplishments. In terms of photography, these cards are every bit as good as the base release.
Mark McGwire's career statistics
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