Mark Mcgwire

Sammy Sosa is in the thick of baseball's home-run race without using androstenedione, the controversial testosterone-booster used by rival slugger Mark McGwire. Two members of the Assembly, one a physician and the other a champion drug-free power-lifter, think New Jersey's young people ought to follow Sosa's example. Herbert C. Conaway Jr. (D., Burlington) and Francis J. Blee (R., Atlantic) introduced a bill yesterday to ban the sale of "andro" to those under 18. It is believed to be the first such proposal in the country.

The Phillies came into lively Busch Stadium last night fearing Mark McGwire's lethal bat. As it turned out, Willie McGee's spikes did just as much damage. McGee knocked Garrett Stephenson out of the game in the bottom of the third inning when he spiked the Phils righthander on the right ankle in a close play at first base. Stephenson's untimely exit allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to get into the Phillies' bullpen early. Ultimately, the Cards feasted on relievers Matt Whiteside and Darrin Winston, battering them for three home runs and six runs in 2 2/3 innings.

A lovely full moon hung over the center-field wall of Three Rivers Stadium last night, peering in to get a glimpse of Sammy Sosa's pursuit of history, joining 37,711 excited fans. And Sosa didn't disappoint. The Chicago Cubs rightfielder socked his 58th home run of the season - his second in two nights and fifth in the last seven days - in the sixth inning of his team's 8-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The shot, which put Sosa two home runs behind Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals, served as further evidence of how delicious the riveting pursuit of Roger Maris' major-league record of 61 homers is. Sosa knocked one out of the ballpark on Friday night.

A Bucks County collectibles dealer whom authorities say sold baseball bats bearing bogus Mark McGwire autographs has agreed to pay $22,500 to settle a civil suit brought by the state of Missouri. Harris Bogdnoff, 47, of Doylestown, and his businesses, East Coast Collectibles and Sports Cards Etc., did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed to pay fines and court costs in that amount as part of a deal approved yesterday in a St. Louis court. He also agreed not to sell or market counterfeit memorabilia in Missouri, where the bats were eventually sold.

On one side of the Eagles' locker room, a TV flickers with replays of Mark McGwire bashing his way to within two home runs of Roger Maris' record. On the other side of the room, his back to the TV, defensive back Matt Stevens carefully tapes his ankles. The two men have something in common: androstenedione. Stevens took it last year and was cut by the Buffalo Bills and suspended by the NFL for four games. McGwire takes it and is the biggest star in sports right now. Stevens' reputation was smeared, while most of the baseball writers in America rushed to McGwire's defense.

One series. One series left in the season. One series left in the Great Home-Run Race of 1998. All those months. All those miles traveled. All those words spoken about the Babe and Roger. All those home runs flying through the baseball heavens. And now it all has come down to this. One series. On the green scoreboard at Busch Stadium last night, the numbers said it as eloquently as it needed to be said: McGWIRE 65. SOSA 65. And those numbers would stand unchanged through one more evening.

Watch your back, Mike Schmidt. Mark McGwire is gaining on you. The redheaded Bambino hit two more home runs Sunday afternoon, the 535th and 536th of his career, moving him into a tie for eighth place all-time with Mickey Mantle. McGwire, who comes to Veterans Stadium tonight with the St. Louis Cardinals, has cranked up his home-run stroke after missing several games in April with a sore back. He has 14 homers, and needs just 12 more to pull into a seventh-place tie with Schmidt, the Phillies Hall of Famer.

Technically, Veterans Stadium is the home of the Phillies. Last night, however, it belonged to Mark McGwire. Among those wasting away in McGwireville last night were Eagles coach Ray Rhodes, who came out of his office to see the behemoth St. Louis Cardinals slugger take batting practice, and Eric Lindros, who took in the game from a choice seat behind home plate. The Flyers captain was just one of the unusually large and pumped-up crowd of 22,777. They came to see one man do one thing.

The powerful hands of home-run king Mark McGwire are best associated with the thin end of a Louisville slugger. Rarely will they be found holding an autograph pen. But McGwire's signature is appearing these days on a lot more objects than he ever signed, collectors and law-enforcement authorities say, as some vendors try to profit from the home-run record of a star who in recent years has signed memorabilia only for fans who come to watch him...

Boy, were the fans at Veterans Stadium ever disappointed last night. The frustration in the stands had nothing to do with the Phillies absorbing their fifth straight defeat, an 8-5 setback at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals. It had everything to do with Cardinals manager Tony La Russa deciding to give Mark McGwire the night off. What was he thinking? Last night's crowd of 21,347 was stoked - McGwire had hit three homers the night before. How could he sit the slugger?

ST. LOUIS - Long before he was an oft-doubted manager, Charlie Manuel was a no-doubt hitting coach. He had a kind, supportive manner, enjoyed the same kind of passionate support that Mark McGwire now receives and, like the St. Louis hitting coach, had developed his theories over decades of trial and error. We should remember this amid our winter of discontent, after Manuel's boss, Ruben Amaro Jr., questioned both the approach and batting averages of his entire lineup after the Phillies' latest aborted playoff run, putting either the manager or some players on notice, depending on your view.

It's the most perplexing time of the year. A Hall of Fame ballot will soon arrive at my home and I will once again stare at the names of some of the greatest players in baseball history, trying to decide if they are worthy of a trip to Cooperstown, N.Y., that will jack up the price of their signatures and solidify their status as legends. This has never been an easy task, and many would argue that baseball writers have no business deciding who should and should not be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tongue-lashing via Cooperstown The Marlins' Hanley Ramirez is a huge talent, a 26-year-old shortstop with a seemingly limitless ceiling. Two Hall of Famers, Andre Dawson and Tony Perez, took him aside Tuesday and tried to remind him of that. Ramirez had found himself on the bench Monday night after failing to hustle after a booted grounder. On Tuesday, he ripped into Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez for singling him out. Dawson and Perez, both Marlins employees, met with Ramirez behind closed doors later Tuesday.

Before Monday, Mark McGwire had never seen Ryan Howard play in person. He has seen the Phillies' slugging first baseman plenty of times on TV, but said he waits to pass judgment on a player until he sees him in the flesh. Having been around St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols since the beginning of spring training as the Cardinals' hitting coach, McGwire is comfortable making statements about Pujols. "There's nobody better in the game than Albert," McGwire said. "That's all I can say. The guy does everything.

THIS WEEK, one of my childhood heroes makes a pit stop on his road to redemption right here in Philadelphia. As a youngster who came of age in the waning greatness of Mike Schmidt and the patchwork teams put together with free-agent busts in the late '80s, I sought out greatness to emulate in the former Philadelphia team now on the West Coast, the Oakland A's and their Bash Brothers, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. Before that, I looked for guidance on the ball field and, I guess, in life to Pete Rose, whose nickname, Charlie Hustle, I tried to make my own. I can hear you laughing right now, saying, "Man, this guy picked some heroes, didn't he?"

A-Rod passes McGwire Alex Rodriguez has passed Mark McGwire for sole possession of eighth place in career homers. His first shot of the season brings him to 584. Rodriguez homered off the Texas Rangers' Doug Mathis in the fourth inning Saturday, a solo drive to right-center for a 7-0 lead en route to the Yankees' 7-3 home win. A-Rod had gone homerless in his first 41 at-bats, his longest homerless streak at the start of a season since...

Home-run king Barry Bonds said he is "proud" of slugger Mark McGwire for returning to baseball as the St. Louis Cardinals' hitting coach and for admitting his use of performance-enhancing drugs. "I have a really good friendship with Mark McGwire. I'm proud of him," Bonds said yesterday. "We've had a great relationship throughout our entire lives. " In January, McGwire ended more than a decade of denials and finally acknowledged he used steroids and human growth hormone during his career.