Dominican fans go wild at No. 62
Posted: Sunday September 13, 1998 11:32 PM
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In Sosa's hometown of San Pedro de Macoris, residents flooded into the streets to celebrate after Sosa hit a pair of balls out of Wrigley Field AP |
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) -- In the Sebelen bowling alley,
the crowd watched transfixed as the tiny white speck on the television
screen shot skyward.
"It's going, going -- and it's gone!" shouted someone, and the bowling
alley erupted in screams of joy. Across the Dominican Republic, sports fans
went wild Sunday as native son Sammy Sosa
homered twice to reach 62 and tie Mark McGwire
for the record.
"This is incredible," said Kevin Nunez, a 19-year-old college student. "I
still can't believe that in one week I've seen two men break 61 home runs
in a season. This is something to tell my grandkids."
In Sosa's hometown of San Pedro de Macoris, residents flooded into the
streets to celebrate after Sosa hit a pair of balls out of Chicago's
Wrigley Field.
"We're all as if we had hit that home run ourselves," said Julio Reyes, a
newspaper reporter in San Pedro de Macoris.
Politicians quickly went on television to congratulate Sosa.
"This is a splendid feat in Latin American sports that fills us all with
pride," Sen. Milagros Ortiz Bosch said. "Sammy has shown us he is a great
athlete and a formidable competitor."
"Sosa and McGwire are giving us a great example of how competitions
should take place," said Antonio Camilo Gonzalez, the Roman Catholic bishop
of La Vega.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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