PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM; SOSA FOLLOWS MCGWIRE'S LEAD, PASSES MARIS WITH 62ND HOMER : CHICAGO CUBS 11, MILWAUKEE 10.

Byline: Associated Press 

Good-bye Babe, so long Roger. Slammin' Sammy ain't done yet.

Sammy Sosa hit home runs Nos. 61 and 62 on Sunday to tie Mark McGwire, rekindling a race for one of the most glamorous records in sports during one of baseball's most unforgettable seasons.

Sosa connected twice against the Milwaukee Brewers to lead the Chicago Cubs to an 11-10 victory in 10 innings on a wild afternoon at Wrigley Field. He and McGwire now have two weeks left in the greatest home run derby of all time.

``It's unbelievable. It was something that even I can't believe I was doing,'' Sosa said. ``It can happen to two people, Mark and I.''

Sosa, who trailed McGwire 24-9 in late May, homered off Bronswell Patrick in the fifth inning, sending an 0-1 pitch 480 feet into the street behind the left-field fence. He hit another 480-foot homer in the ninth, a solo shot off Eric Plunk.

That one dropped Babe Ruth into fourth place on the single-season list with 60, which he hit in 1927. Maris passed that mark with 61 homers in 1961. Now, amazingly, a record that had stood for 37 years has been passed twice in less than a week.

With tears and sweat running down his face as he sat in the dugout after his second triumphant tour around the bases, Sosa came out for three emotional curtain calls. Fans littered the field with paper cups and other debris while chanting ``Sam-mee! Sam-mee!'' causing a delay that lasted six minutes.

``I don't usually cry, but I cry inside. I was blowing kisses to my mother, I was crying a little bit,'' Sosa said.

``I have to say what I did is for the people of Chicago, for America, for my mother, for my wife, my kids and the people I have around me. My team. It was an emotional moment.''

Randy Maris, one of Roger's sons, phoned to congratulate Sosa.

``He wished me good luck and said he was going to watch me,'' Sosa said.

Commissioner Bud Selig, who was in St. Louis last week for McGwire but was not at the Cubs game, also phoned. The Rev. Jesse Jackson and comedian Bill Murray were at the game to offer congratulations.

In Sosa's hometown of San Pedro de Macoris, where his mother watched the game, residents flooded into the streets to celebrate. It was there that Sosa once shined shoes and sold oranges to help support his family.

Sosa, who has four homers in his last three games, was carried off the field after the victory, which kept the Cubs one game ahead of the New York Mets in the NL wild-card race. He was on deck when Mark Grace hit the game-winning homer.

``I'm sorry I hit that home run and Sammy couldn't come to the plate. I know everyone was disappointed,'' Grace said, tongue-in-cheek.

But seeing Sosa do what McGwire also accomplished is something the first baseman will never forget.

``It was chilling when McGwire did it. I was dumbfounded,'' Grace said. ``I thought pretty much the home run race was going to be McGwire's. But when my buddy gets hot, he can hit them in a hurry. And he proved that.

``I just hope Sammy gets the attention he deserves. Not only has he hit 62 homers, but he has carried us. He is without a doubt the MVP of the National League.''

Sosa's home runs also gave him a share of the NL record of 10 multihomer games in a season. Pittsburgh Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner had 10 in 1947.

Sosa said that when he saw the response McGwire got from hometown fans for homer No. 62, he wanted to make sure he was in Chicago when he matched it.

``I didn't want to lose that moment to all the people in Chicago,'' he said.

SINGLE-SEASON HOME RUNS

62: Mark McGwire, 1998

62: Sammy Sosa, 1998

61: Roger Maris, 1961

60: Babe Ruth, 1927

59: Babe Ruth, 1921

58: Jimmie Foxx, 1932

58: Hank Greenberg, 1938

58: Mark McGwire, 1997

56: Hack Wilson, 1930

56: Ken Griffey Jr., 1997

54: Babe Ruth, 1920

54: Babe Ruth, 1928

54: Ralph Kiner, 1949

54: Mickey Mantle, 1961

50-HOMER SEASONS, TWO OR MORE PLAYERS

1998: Mark McGwire (62), Sammy Sosa (62), and Ken Griffey Jr. (51)

1997: Mark McGwire (58) and Ken Griffey Jr. (56)

1996: Mark McGwire (52) and Brady Anderson (50)

1961: Roger Maris (61) and Mickey Mantle (54)

1947: Ralph Kiner (51) and Johnny Mize (51)

1938: Hank Greenberg (58) and Jimmie Foxx (50)

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos, 2 Boxes

PHOTO (1--Cover--Color) SOSA-TISFYING

Cubs slugger hits two homers to tie McGwire with 62. Page 5.

(2--Color) Sammy Sosa watches home run No. 61 leave Wrigley Field. He later hit his 62nd to tie Mark McGwire.

Beth A. Keiser/Associated Press

(3--Color) McGWIRE

(4--Color) SOSA

(5--Color) GRIFFEY

BOX: (1) SINGLE-SEASON HOME RUNS (see text)

(2) 50-HOMER SEASONS, TWO OR MORE PLAYERS (see text)