Mark McGwire's home runs did more than win games for the St. Louis Cardinals. Those 70 big swings won back fans for the whole sport.
For setting a record that may outlast him, and for helping save the game of baseball, Big Mac was picked Monday as The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year."It's America's pastime. And if it took one person to help get it back on the map, and people say it's me, that's great," McGwire said.
In a season considered by many to be the greatest ever, the 6-foot-5 redhead stood tallest of them all. From his grand slam on opening day to No. 70 on his final swing, McGwire captivated the nation.
"Did he hit one?" became the daily buzzwords among millions of fans and nonfans alike, especially as his riveting race with Sammy Sosa heated up near the end of the season.
And then came the best snapshot of them all: the night he hit No. 62 in St. Louis to break Roger Maris' 37-year-old record. After rounding the bases, an exuberant McGwire lifted his son, Matt, in a bear hug, embraced Sosa, whose Chicago Cubs happened to be playing against him, and then saluted the Maris family that was on hand to witness history.
That September evening at Busch Stadium, with fireworks exploding overhead and cheers coming from all around the globe, it seemed like baseball had -- at last -- broken free from its post-strike problems.
McGwire easily won the Male Athlete of the Year award with 332 points. Sosa was second with 177 in the annual voting by AP member newspapers and broadcast outlets. Ten points are allotted for every first-place vote, nine for second and so on.
Running back Terrell Davis of the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos was third with 63 points, Michael Jordan of the NBA champion Chicago Bulls was next with 54, followed by Broncos quarterback John Elway (50) and NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (42).
This marked the second straight time the AP's top male athlete was the subject of the AP's Story of the Year. In 1997, Tiger Woods won the individual award while his victory in the Masters earned Story of the Year honors.
AP FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: They have the same dynamic smile, the same knack for winning a major championship in unforgettable fashion. They both were trained in unorthodox manners by fathers obsessed with them becoming a champion.
Se Ri Pak and Tiger Woods now share something else in common.
Pak, the South Korean rookie who won two majors and took women's golf to its highest level of popularity in 20 years, Tuesday was named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in a close vote over Tennessee basketball star Chamique Holdsclaw.
The award comes one year after Woods became the first golfer in 26 years to win the Male Athlete of the Year.
"1998 is very special for me," Pak said. "I cannot forget this season."
Pak received 19 first-place votes and 156 points in voting by AP member newspaper and broadcast outlets. Holdsclaw, the top player on what many regard as the best women's college basketball team ever, got 142 points.
Tara Lipinski, who won the Olympic gold medal in figure skating, was third with 105 points. Sprinter and long jumper Marion Jones, undefeated in every event this year, was fourth with 101 points, followed by U.S. Open tennis champion Lindsay Davenport.
Holdsclaw (27), Lipinksi (21) and Jones (24) all had more first-place votes than Pak, but Pak was named on 85 of the 147 ballots, far more than anyone else.
Pak became the first golfer since Beth Daniel in 1990 to win Female Athlete of the Year, and the first rookie golfer since Nancy Lopez in 1978.