Sammy Sosa tied Mark McGwire for the MLB HR lead,
hitting Nos. 64 and 65 yesterday against the Brewers before
45,338 at County Stadium. McGwire went homerless against
the Astros in front of 38,997 at Busch Stadium (THE DAILY).
SOSA SPEAKS: Tricom, S.A., a telecom service in the
Dominican Republic, signed Sosa to help promote its long-
distance voice, data and video products and services. Sosa
will be featured in a variety of sales and marketing
initiatives for the company (Tricom).
HR MARKETING RACE: In DC, Thomas Heath writes that some
sports marketers say Sosa "may not hit a home run in the
endorsement game." ISI Exec VP Fred Fried: "It's a delicate
and unfortunate issue ... but because of some drawbacks to
classic marketability, i.e., an all-American image or all-
American background, (Sosa) will need to win the [HR] race
either in dramatic or decisive fashion in order to achieve
the level of marketability McGwire would hold if he were to
win the title." Fried adds, "Marketers market to the
broadest audience. And the broadest audience is typically
accepting of the all-American image." adidas Dir of Sports
Marketing Robert Erb, on the HR race: "The story is, who was
first? ... The end of the story isn't written. And this is,
'Who will hit more home runs?'" Agent Don Nomura, who reps
Japanese and Latin American athletes: "Being a foreigner
does not represent well in the United States. It's the
impact. If you're not an American, (the athlete) doesn't
have the impact" (Thomas Heath, WASHINGTON POST, 9/24).
A SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER: MLB, its 30 clubs, the MLBPA
and ESPN launched "Big League Blast," a HR sweepstakes which
will award a three-day, two-night trip for four (October 30-
November 1) to the Players Choice Awards at Disney's Wide
World of Sports Complex in Orlando, FL. The grand-prize
includes four tickets to the Awards, where the winner will
get to meet MLB's new single-season HR record holder. Entry
forms can be found on Bigleaguers.com, majorleaguebaseball.
com and espn.com (MLB)....USA Today reported a 21% increase
in paper sales the day after McGwire broke Roger Maris'
single-season MLB HR record. Street sales for the Chicago
Tribune were up 15% the day he broke the record, while they
increased 32% the day after Sosa surpassed Maris' mark.
Jones adds that last week The Sporting News doubled its
normal press run of 140,000 (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/23).
