Wednesday, Sept. 2, 1998 | 11:07 a.m.
TIM GRAHAM is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His media column appears Wednesdays. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]
Joe Garagiola hates to think where baseball would be if not for the big home run chase.
The legendary baseball broadcaster was tired of watching the National Pastime slip further and further into the background. But now he claims the push by Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to break Roger Maris' hallowed single-season record may have saved the game.
Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961. McGwire has 57 with 24 games remaining, and Sosa has 55 with 23 games to go. Garagiola predicted both will surpass Maris this season.
"Baseball was so fortunate to have the home run race," Garagiola said during a visit to Cashman Field last week. He made an appearance on behalf of the National Spit Tobacco Education Program, an organization geared toward preventing the use of chew.
"There was a time, not too long ago, when people saw a bubblegum card and tore it up. Now they're back to saving them. The fans have taken a tremendous beating in recent years."
Garagiola, 72, has been around professional baseball since World War II. He played nine major-league seasons as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and New York Giants.
McGwire and Sosa already have belted more home runs this year than Garagiola hit in his career (42). Garagiola's highest single-season total was 11 in 1951.
That's why it was behind the microphone Garagiola found fame. He was inducted into the broadcaster's wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 after decades of work as a color commentator, most notably on NBC's "Game of the Week."
Garagiola currently does part-time announcing for the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he has been able to appreciate this year's run at history first-hand.
"For the first time in a long time," he said, "fans are talking baseball rather than money, contract negotiations, agents and everything else."
He also noted how unfortunate it was that McGwire has come under fire for using the performance enhancing drug androstenedione. The drug has been banned by the NFL and NCAA but is accepted by Major League Baseball.
There has been talk in the media of placing an asterisk next to McGwire's name if he sets the record.
"To me, it's kind of sad," Garagiola said. "For some people to try to take away the significance of what McGwire has done ... You still have to put the bat on the ball. He's been hitting home runs for years.
"An asterisk after his name, that would be a tragedy."
Garagiola did, however, have reservations about the overall impact of McGwire's use of androstenedione.
"I know Mark well enough that if he's taking a supplement, he has a good idea of what he's doing," Garagiola said. "He has a trainer and a doctor working with him.
"The bad thing about it is young people will emulate him, just like we're seeing with chewing tobacco. Kids want to be big leaguers, and when they see that can in a player's back pocket, they think it's the key to open the safe.
"But I have to believe in my heart McGwire knows what he's doing."
Local football flavor
Now that the NFL has returned to CBS, local affiliate KLAS Channel 8 offers "Football Sunday with Chris Maathuis" beginning Sunday at 11:15 p.m. The 15-minute expanded sportscast features highlights from every contest, interviews and the early betting line for the next week's games.
Also, "Monday Night Quarterback" is back on KTNV Channel 13. The show, which comes on immediately after "Monday Night Football" is hosted by KTNV sports anchor Ron Futrell. Other contributors include weekend anchor Mario Diaz and reporters Robin Burke and Tanja Anguay.
Static
To thoroughly chronicle Sammy Sosa's run at Roger Maris and the National League wild-card race, WGN is adding five Chicago Cubs games to its schedule. The bonus coverage includes Tuesday's game against Mark McGwire's St. Louis Cardinals, two games at San Diego and two games at Milwaukee. ... Because of Jerry Lewis' annual Labor Day Muscular Dystrophy Telethon on KLAS, "Gametime with UNLV Football" airs at 5:30 p.m. this Sunday instead of its usual 11:30 p.m. ... KRLV 1340-AM carries a twice-weekly football handicapping show, airing from 4-5 p.m. Sundays and Mondays. The program is hosted by Ralph Siraco and Rod Stowell.
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