t's often said that baseball is a game that will humble the people who play it. Mark McGwire understands that now.
Less than 24 hours after swatting a record 13 home runs in his first at-bat of the All-Star Home Run Derby, McGwire ran smack dab into a baseball legend, Ted Williams, and then into the game's most majestic pitcher, Pedro Martinez. Afterward, McGwire had trouble determining which Boston star had made a bigger impression.
''I got to go with Ted, and then the 13 home runs and Pedro,'' proclaimed the St. Louis Cardinals star. ''Pedro was dominating. And when you have a chance to meet one of the best hitters in the game, and you see tears running down his eyes because of the appreciation that the fans and all of us gave him, it becomes a very special time.''
McGwire had come to town as a baseball legend in his own right. The record 70 home runs he hit last season made McGwire one of the biggest drawing cards in All-Star Game history. Even though he didn't win the Derby Monday night, his long blasts overshadowed the victory of another long-ball star, Ken Griffey. Like his home run race partner Sammy Sosa has said, McGwire is the man.
But for McGwire, having a chance to meet a real legend, Williams, put his own stardom in perspective. Even a performance in which he struck out twice in three trips to the plate meant little to McGwire after he was able to meet the man proclaimed in the pregame ceremony as ''the greatest hitter of all time.'' McGwire never before had spoken to Williams. He never will forget his first conversation.
''He said he had something he's been wanting to ask me for a long time,'' said McGwire. ''When I foul the ball off, do I smell burned wood? `All the time,' I told him. And he smiled.''
Martinez struck him out in the first inning. In the fourth, he was walked by David Cone of the Yankees. In the fifth, McGwire was struck out by Baltimore's Mike Mussina. This was not unusual. In nine All-Star Games, seven as an American Leaguer, McGwire is 4 for 20.
''You come to expect this with Pedro,'' said McGwire. ''He takes the bat out of a lot of guys' hands. I got to face him in Montreal before he was traded and signed as a free agent. He has the most lively arm in baseball. He's got three pitches that are dominating. What can you say? There's a very good chance he could win 30 or more.
''When you see the best of the best, you know they're going to go right at you with nasty stuff. You face Pedro and Cone, and Mussina comes right after me with his fastball. I thought I'd hit him, but I guess I didn't. That's what happens. It's very rare that you see high-scoring games here in the All-Star Game, because you see the best of the best.''
His face-to-face meeting also was with the best of the best. It brought tears to his eyes, and when he looked down, Williams was crying, too.
''It wasn't just me,'' said McGwire. ''There were a lot of guys out there teared up. When you see Ted Williams and there are tears coming down his eyes, it has to be an emotional time. What a man. He's beloved in Boston and loved all over baseball.''
McGwire does have one regret about this visit to Fenway. Barring an unlikely World Series matchup between his Cardinals and the Red Sox, he won't ever play in the old ballpark again. It saddens him as much as the thought that his meeting with Williams was so short and had to end.
''I've had a lot of great moments here,'' said McGwire. ''It's one of the best ballparks to play in. So much history. It amazes me that they let it run down so that they can't refurbish it. I think the best thing they could have done was refurbish this place. Then you wouldn't have to build a new one. It definitely has a place in baseball.''
