Before every game, thousands of fans and media turn out to watch McGwire take batting practice and do things to a baseball that just do not seem possible.

Yes, McGwire is the All-American, golden boy turned responsible father figure hero we all love.

So the only question that remains is this: Where does all this leave the former shoe-shiner from the Dominican Republic who has paced McGwire the whole year in the homerun chase and probably will put the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs for the first time in eons?

Sammy Sosa has had one of the most remarkable seasons in baseball history and has become an idol for an entire country.

So why is it that while the Dominican Republic adores Sosa to the point of wanting to name him president but America has shunned the Cub outfielder and focused all its attention on McGwire?

Not that McGwire does not deserve all the fame he is getting. He is a remarkable human being who plays the game with boyhood passion.

But Sosa has put together a better year than McGwire this season and has done something McGwire could not -- give his team a chance to compete in the postseason.

But the underlying question remains: Why did the American public and media name McGwire the national spokesman but allow Sosa to wallow in obscurity?

Is the message being relayed that just because Sosa, a minority, comes from a poor family and impoverished country, he does not deserve the same national attention McGwire basks in every single day?

It is sad to think that may be the case, but one can only hope Sosa bears no hard feelings.

Perhaps the lack of media scrutiny helped him in the long run to put together such a stellar year--a year that should land him the most valuable player trophy, no matter who wins the homerun race.