Rich Rieker
"H.P. Umpire 9/27/98 McGwire HRs 69/70"

I sent a request to Rich Rieker asking him to tell the story on a baseball about being the home plate umpire when Mark McGwire hit home runs 69 and 70 from his perspective and this is what I got:

"The home run race wasn't just a sports story, it was a human interest story."
"With earlier controversy in the season, the goal was to have a fairly played series for both teams and have the "race" decided on its merits."
"An exciting year for baseball!!"
"The weather was warm and being from STL, had family in the stands."