Sosa vs. McGwire

The Matchup: Sammy Sosa vs. Mark McGwire

The Question: Who has had the better season?

Sammy Sosa

Mark McGwire Pulling no punches Mark McGwire got the reputation as an injury-prone player, but in his first six years he averaged 150 games. Then he hit that horrible period, missing 242 games in a three-year period. When he was injured during those years, he used that time to sit with the scouts behind home plate, talking about pitchers and pitch patterns while he observed the game. Some of Doug Rader's lessons about taking what the pitcher gives the hitter have rubbed off. Rader was his batting coach in for awhile in Oakland, and he was always preaching for his hitters to take what the pitcher offers. In other words, don't try to hit his out-pitch. Look for a pitch in a zone where you can handle the ball. One of the things I have noticed since moving to the broadcast booth is that if a hitter is patient and waits for a mistake, he's generally going to get one every at-bat. As a player, I would get locked into a thought process in which I would give the pitcher too much credit and look to hit his best pitch. But you're not going to do much with a slider down and away even if you know that pitch coming. Tuesday, Sept. 22 I didn't see Sammy Sosa as the type of hitter who could finish with more than 400 total bases in a season. But I didn't think Larry Walker was capable of it last year, and he went on to become the first guy since Jime Rice in 1978 to finish with 400 total bases. Sosa's pair of home runs Wednesday gives him 406 total bases. The mark of 400 total bases combines power and hitting ability. It's not one of those marks that is elevated in the public eye. The single-season home run mark is the most magical record, and hitting .400 is the second most prominent benchmark as far as hitters go. The average fan doesn't realize the tremendous achievement it is to finish with 400 total bases. By sitting and observing for a couple of years, I think McGwire realized just how many mistakes pitchers make over the course of an at-bat. And one of the things you realize is that to be a successful hitter, you have to play to your own strengths. If the pitcher makes three great pitches, you tip your cap and think about next time. McGwire also revamped his swing a little bit. He found a way to shorten his swing and make it a little bit quicker. I see a little more discipline in Sammy Sosa this year, but he has made two very significant adjustments: He moved back off the plate -- not deeper in the box but closer to the dugout. He also instituted a toe tap, similar to the step Chipper Jones uses. It was Cubs hitting coach Jeff Pentland who suggested that Sosa use the tap as a timing mechanism. He has 10 home runs to right field this season, demonstrating an ability to use the whole field. That will be the key to the last week of the season to see who comes out on top in the home run race. In Wrigley Field last weekend, I think Sosa was too excited over all the honors and commendations he was receiving and with every swing he took, he was pulling off the ball. That's one thing they both have in common. When a hitter starts driving the ball down the left-field line consistently, it means he is pulling off the ball a little bit and the only pitch he is hitting is an inside pitch. That's exactly what was happening with McGwire when he got within a couple home runs of Roger Maris. Home runs 60, 61 and 62 were all down the left-field line, and he was hooking other balls foul. In the midst of his great streak of 12 home runs over 16 games, he was driving the ball to straight-away center. When Sosa was in San Diego, he struggled until the at-bat in which he hit a grand slam for home run No. 63. But that was a pitch that Brian Boehringer left ron the inside part of the plate. That's right where Sosa was opening up. It was a "hit-me" pitch. When Sosa returned to Chicago for the series against the Reds, Cincinnati worked him away and Sosa was still pulling of the ball. McGwire has made a little bit of an adjustment over the weekend in Milwaukee and he's starting to hit the ball to left-center field. I think that's a good sign for McGwire. The X factor will be how McGwire does at home against Montreal in the final weekend of the season. He has hit only one home run against that staff this season.