1997 SEASON  
 Mark McGwire hit 58 homers in 
 1997, 24 after he was traded to the 
 Cardinals in late July. That was the 
 highest total of homers in a season 
 since the 1961 campaign, when 
 Roger Maris stroked his record-setting 61.He drove in 
 123 batters and slugged .646. 

 1996 SEASON 
 McGwire hit 52 HR, only the 14th player to break the 50 
 HR barrier and he hit number 50 in fewer at bats than 
 anyone in history. His 52 homers were the most hit since 
 1977. He is the only player to hit 50 or more homers in 
 less then 140 games. He did so by hitting a record one 
 home run in every 8.13 at bats matching his mark from last 
 year which is a Major League record. He now has a 
 career average of one in every 12.41 at bats second only 
 to Babe Ruth (11.76). He also led the Major Leagues in 
 slugging (.730) and on-base pct. (.467). He hit a career 
 best .312 and drove in 113 runs. His home run against the 
 Tigers on June 25 was his 300th career home run. He set a 
 new Major League record by homering in 20 consecutive 
 series. In 162 games, from June 2, 1995 to Aug. 13, 1996 
 he hit 70 HR. 

 1995 SEASON  
 In his 10th Major League season hit .274 with 39 HR and 
 90 RBI in 104 games...his HR-per-AB ratio of 8.1 was 
 the best in Major League history, topping Babe Ruth's 
 mark of 1 HR for every 8.5 at-bats in 1920...became just 1 of 7 players in history to hit 30 HR in fewer than 400 
 at-bats...his 39 HR are the most ever by a player with 
 fewer than 392 at-bats...his average distance of 418 feet 
 per HR was the best in the majors...his .685 slugging 
 percentage bettered his own club record by 67 points and 
 his team-high 88 walks led to a .441 on-base percentage, 
 the second-highest in club history...hit more HR (39) than 
 singles (35)...had a career-high 18-game hitting streak,the 
 fourth-longest in Oakland history...on 6/10 and 6/11 at 
 Boston combined to hit 5 HR, tying a Major League 
 record for HR in consecutive games that he already 
 shared...hit his sixth career grand slam on 6/30 vs 
 California off Lee Smith, a shot in the bottom of the ninth 
 that gave the A's an 8-5 win...was named an All-Star for 
 the seventh time but did not play. 

 CAREER HIGHLIGHTS  
 Mark David McGwire was selected by Oakland in the 
 first round (10th overall) of the June 1984 free-agent 
 draft...re-signed with the A's as a free agent on 
 12/24/92...originally was drafted by Montreal in 1981 but 
 chose to attend USC...his six 30-HR seasons are the most 
 by an A's player...joins Foxx and Canseco as the only 
 players in club history with two 40-HR seasons (49 in 
 1987, 42 in 1992)...has three 100-RBI seasons and six 
 90-RBI seasons...had his best season as a rookie in 1987, 
 when he was the consensus American League Rookie of 
 the Year after hitting .289 with 49 HR and 118 RBI, all 
 career highs...became only the second player to win the 
 award unanimously (Carlton Fisk, 1972)...his 49 HR were a club single- season record and Major League record for a rookie...his .618 slugging percentage that season also  was a club record...finished sixth in the MVP voting that  year...in 1990 became the first player ever to hit at least 30 HR in each of his first 4 seasons...also in '90 won his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award ...on 6/10/92 at Milwaukee off Chris Bosio hit his 200th career HR in his 
 2,852nd career at-bat...only Ralph Kiner, Babe Ruth, 
 Harmon Killebrew and Eddie Mathews reached 200 HR 
 in fewer at-bats...in 1993 had just 84 at-bats because of an  injury, but his 9 HR that season were the second-most in history for a player with fewer than 100 at-bats (Ted Williams had 13 HR in 91 at-bats in 1953).