The famed home-run hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals is
playing the role of hero again, but this time he's not doing it on the
baseball diamond. The Mark McGwire Foundation for Children this week sent
out the first four checks of $175,000 each to two charities in Missouri and
two more in Southern California as part of McGwire's pledge to donate $1
million a year for three years to help abused children.
"God gave me the ability to make people happy and help them out," McGwire
said. "This is the start of something I plan to be involved with for a long
time to come." McGwire gained fame earlier this year when he hit his 70th
home run of the year, breaking the Major League Baseball home-run record
set by Roger Maris in 1961.
