Big Mac Keeps St. Louis Visit Far From Bush

This is a place where even non-baseball people become fans.

For at least three hours anyway.

There’s hype. There’s glamour. There are baseballs flying higher than birds.

There’s just something about having him in your city.

Mark McGwire steps to the plate at Busch Stadium and thousands of eyes fix on him - the way they do on their television screens for a news bulletin.

It’s as if the St. Louis Cardinals’ superhuman first baseman somehow is going to save the world.

Cameras flash in unison with every pitch.

Each strike called against the red-headed giant triggers deafening boos.

And walks are worse.

Bill Brooks doesn’t get to see every inning of every Cardinals home game. He doesn’t get to watch McGwire swat balls out in batting practice.

But he still sees plenty.

Brooks, 71, is an usher for the VIP suites and has been working at Busch Stadium for 11 years.

“It’s McGwire-mania,” he said before the Cardinals’ 9-8 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Friday. “People just like to see him bat. That’s all. They like to see the rest of the Cardinals, too, don’t get me wrong.”

But the 6-foot-5, 250-pound McGwire definitely attracts the most attention.

He poses with opposing players for pre-game photos.

On Friday, he teased the crowd by laying down a bunt in his first round of batting practice.

Fans arrive two hours early to see him warm up. And even then it can be tough to get in.

Lines push back well beyond the ballpark gates when a “main team like the Dodgers” is in town, Brooks says.

They come from all over. They tote video cameras, binoculars and baseball mitts.

They line the outfield fences, some dangling themselves so far over the railings that it’s surprising there aren’t more accidents. They holler at McGwire to hit one their way.

This is a place where red clothes rule. And red hair is hip.

It’s obvious some have put plenty of thought into their game-day attire, color-coordinating their outfits. Maybe it’s a bright red tank top and a matching hat. Maybe a Cardinals jersey.

“There are a lot of McGwire shirts on mothers, fathers and little ones,” Brooks said. “Most people wear red.”

This is a place that’s special if you come once or if you’re a season-ticket holder.

Dan Niemeyer usually makes the 3-hour trek from Edina, Mo., for one or two games a season.

He brought his 11-year-old son, Josh, and two of Josh’s friends for Friday’s game.

This is a big deal for these kids to come to the city from Edina, an agricultural town of 1,500 people 175 miles northeast of St. Louis.

“McGwire adds a lot of excitement,” Dan Niemeyer said. “How many stadiums do you get this many people to come just for batting practice? What amazes me is there are probably more people here for BP than Pittsburgh draws for a game.”

Josh Niemeyer, Paul Clark, 12, and 9-year-old Jonathan Clark had second-tier seats behind home plate. But their seats didn’t matter. They were witness to sports history.

They will be able to tell their children they saw McGwire hit Nos. 30 and 31 in the 1999 season - both three-run shots to center field.

The homers are what everyone waits for.

McGwire made contact on the first pitch he saw in the first inning.

The crowd just watched the ball as it sailed. There were a handful of premature cheers.

Would it or wouldn’t it go far enough?

It did.

And within seconds, the fireworks began to boom and the hit was shown again on the big screen.

McGwire repeated the performance in the seventh to pull his team within a run.

The fans stayed put.

This is a place where you don’t go home early.

Because Mac just might do something big at the end.

On this night he didn’t, but tomorrow …