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HOME RUN CHASESeptember 4, 1998Jack McKeonST. LOUIS, MISSOURI Q. Are you going to walk McGwire tonight or are you going to pitch to him? JACK McKEON: First of all I think the situation will dictate, the game situation, I can't tell you anything like that now. Q. How about in your previous series when you walked him so many times? JACK McKEON: The previous series, every time McGwire came up is a crucial situation. My pitchers and players have a lot of integrity, and they're trying to do the best to win a ballgame. And those particular situations he always seemed to come up with he had a chance to beat us. Q. Did you tell Harnisch anything different tonight? JACK McKEON: No, he's an integrity pitcher, and has experience, and I'm quite sure that he knows our gameplan, and he'll execute it properly. A lot of times, too, you know, you say like Murray said we walked the guy. A lot of times what goes through the pitcher's mind, I don't know. And what he does, he may not try to walk guys, but he's trying to pitch carefully, and they walk him unintentionally. I don't know the situation. You have to be on the mound. Q. When pitchers say things like they want to be a part of the history, and wouldn't mind giving up a homerun to Mark McGwire, do you think that chips away at the integrity of the game? JACK McKEON: I don't know what he says, and I don't know the response to that question. But the integrity of the game is at stake, too, and I'm quite sure Mark McGwire is a professional guy, and he's a proven his worth and a class individual, and he wants to do his best, and he wants the pitchers to go out there and he wants to earn it, just like any pitcher would want to get him out. Q. Are you going to use the shift on him? JACK McKEON: I don't know why we wouldn't use it tonight when we used it before. Q. There's a distinct possibility that he might make history against your team, is that good or bad? JACK McKEON: We're going to play our best, give a hundred percent. If he hits it more power to him. I'd be the first one to congratulate him. He earned it. Q. What's your gameplan? JACK McKEON: I'm not going to tip my hand, here. You guys will go back and tell him how we're going to pitch to him. Q. One time this year you walked him intentionally with nobody on base, would you consider doing that again? JACK McKEON: What was the score? You figure it out. 4‑4? Top homerun hitter in the game today, one guy that can take it out of the ballpark with any one swing, two outs, not going to steal second base. I think that answers itself. There's a few guys in this game today, Mark McGwire, Sosa, Barry Bonds, guys like that that you start the season off where you do your scouting before, and they say don't let this guy beat you, this is the one guy in the club that can beat you, so we try to follow that gameplan. Q. Is there any weapon for your young hitters in how Mark goes about his business during this stretch? JACK McKEON: I tell you, I am so proud of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa the way they've handled themselves and the tremendous attitude they've had during this stretch towards the record. And they're both class individuals. I hope, myself, both of them make it. And I have nothing but good things to say about both those guys. They're class guys, and they've done well under the circumstances. Q. Is your scouting report on McGwire and Sosa identical? JACK McKEON: No, they're different, because Sammy is pretty much a free swinger, and Mark's ‑‑ and Sammy has done a tremendous job to make himself a much more disciplined hitter. He's better today than he was earlier in the season. But he's susceptible of chasing more bad pitches than Mark is. Q. Where were you when Maris broke the record? JACK McKEON: I was managing the care line a League in 1961, and someone asked that question today, and asked if I knew Maris, and I was managing the Wilson club, and the owner of the club went and got Maris, Killebrew, Gentile, and someone else and gave them a huge amount of money to go around the Carolinas in a homerun hitting contest. And I was pitching ‑‑ we watched batting practice to them during the swing in the Carolinas, and I don't want to tell you the amount of money he got for those four days, but you wouldn't believe it today. You wouldn't get guys to walk across the street for the money he got (laughter.) Q. Did he hit a lot of balls off you? JACK McKEON: He hit quite a few, yeah. And Killebrew did, too. Q. How many guys have you seen in your life as strong as McGwire? JACK McKEON: I don't think I've ever seen a guy as strong as this guy. He's outstanding with the power aspect and I had the opportunity to manage Killebrew and see him in the minor leagues and the major leagues, and I've seen Ken. I don't understand and guys like that, but I don't believe there's a guy in the game of baseball who has played the game of baseball that has had as much power as Mark McGwire. All this crap about the vitamins that he takes, hey, he hit them just as far ten years ago as he's hitting them now. End of FastScripts |
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