Sosa writing history again: 61

The style is all his. And now he has a record all to himself as well - the first man to reach 60 homers twice.

''I'm sure he's not done for the year,'' Milwaukee pitcher Jason Bere said Saturday after surrendering No. 60.

And Bere was prophetic. Sosa came back Sunday and hit a prodigious homer in his first at-bat for No. 61 off Hideo Nomo.

With a 16 mile-per-hour wind blowing toward the fences, Sosa's homer went way out of Wrigley Field, bounced, hit the windshield of a parked car and then rolled halfway down a side street as frenzied souvenir-seeking fans went after the ball in chase

AP PHOTO Saturday, Sammy Sosa became the first man to ever hit 60 home runs twice. Yesterday, the Cubs'

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On the heels of his 66-homer season a year ago when he lost to Mark McGwire by four in baseball's epic home run derby, Sosa hasn't let up.

''We knew he'd strike out a lot, but he had such potential,'' said Jim Lefebvre, who was Sosa's first Cubs manager in 1992 and is now managing the Brewers the rest of the season.

''He's one of the real treasures we have in the game now. People ask me if I saw greatness in Sammy. I saw a five-tool guy with three outstanding traits - a great body type, he is absolutely fearless and he wanted to be great. He worked hard at it.

"But to think he'd hit 60 - and twice - I couldn't have predicted that.''

Who could have? When Sosa reached 60, he ended a seven-game homerless streak in which he was obviously pressing to make history.

And now with 13 games left after yesterday's, he has a slim chance of matching McGwire's almost unfathomable 70 of a year ago. McGwire did his part yesterday, hitting two against Houston to reach No. 58.

''Basically, the name of the game now is home runs,'' Sosa said. ''All the people come to the park to see us hit them. That was one of the reasons why Mark and I brought baseball back last year.''

Beginning today, Sosa and McGwire will go head-to-head in the first of six meetings between the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals in the season's final two weeks.

''Nobody was thinking Mark and I had the opportunity to do it again. You just never know in this game,'' Sosa said.

''Everything is possible. I have faith in my ability and my talent and all the work I put into it. That has made me come back and have another great year.''

Cubs manager Jim Riggleman said his team will pitch to McGwire and expects that the Cardinals will do the same with Sosa.

''That's the way it has to be,'' Sosa said. ''Everybody will be watching him and me, too. We'll see.''

slugger added another, to stay three ahead of Mark McGwire.

09-20-99