BaseballreapsbenelitslromMcGwireandcompany•

have hit 62 home runs and set a new record.

The new records are just a part of a season that anyone connected with baseball could only dream of back in April.

This past summer has been one for th~ books, literally. Almost anyone who has followed sports during the current baseball season knows that Roger Maris' 37-yearold home run record has been broken.

Up until this season, no major league baseball player has hit the necessary amount of home runs to tie the record at 6 I. Currently, two players, the St. Louis Cardinals' first-baseman Mark McGwire and the Chicago Cub's outfielder Sammy Sosa,

Ever since the strike of 1994 and the lack of a World Series in that year, baseball has been in serious trouble because of lessened fan interest. The television ratings fell, including the ratings of playoff games, as did the attendance figfiles in ballparks around the country.

One did not need to look any further than the 1997 World Champion Florida Marlins as an example of the attendance drop and lack of interest.

The Marlins made the playoffs after secfiling a wild-card spot in the last week of the regular season and then marched onto the World Series, where they won the title.

As one watched the Marlins making their run, you may have noticed that the Marlins' home field, Pro Player Stadium, had many empty seats during the playoffs.

The fact that a team in the World Series did not have a full house definitely shows a lack of interest.

In addition to the home run records, teams like the Yankees are setting records with their winning proficiency.

The Yankees, who have dominated the American League this season, clinched the AL East title on Sept.I 0, becoming the only team in over 20 years to win a division in that short of time.

The San Diego Padres have set a franchise record in wins by surpassing their old mark of 92.

The events of this summer have brought many fans back into the ballparks and in front of their television screens.

Thanks to McGwire, Sosa and the Yankees, baseball has made a step in the right direction in its re- tum to glory.

Teams like the Cardinals, who will not make the playoffs this season, are selling out their games because of the home run chase. The people of Chicago are getting a double bonus with Sosa and the playoff race that the team is involved in.

McGwire and Sosa have been the exact combination that the game of baseball needs: two powerhouses with class and sportsmanship. In a time when sports have been marked by greed and bad personalities, players like McGwire and Sosa are seen as the saviors of the major leagues.

The 1998 baseball season has come with many other surprises.

For the local fans, the Philadelphia Phillies, for a month or so, were neck and neck in the wild-card race and drawing large crowds to a once desolate Veterans Stadium.

The big trades of the season brought former Seattle Mariner

Randy Johnson to the powerful Houston Astros and longtime Los Angeles Dodger Mike Piazza to the now-playoff-contending New York Mets.

In Atlanta, the vaunted pitching staff looks mortal, especially in the case of staff ace Greg Maddux. Maddux has been hit around in a few starts this season, an event that was not often seen in any other season. Still, the Braves find a way to win and will be headed to the playoffs again.

If you like baseball at all, this was definitely a summer to remember.

Creatine or no Creatine, players like McGwire and Sosa have shown what the game of baseball is really about. Now if they can only continue to stay in our good graces.RonD'Oraziois a seniormajonngin English/Communication. Heis oneof Loquitur'ssportseditors.Hehopesto onedaychallengeMcGwire'srecord.