I came up with the ball--a lifetime dream for any baseball fan. That moment, however, would be eclipsed later that day.

By the middle of the game, the A's were beating up on the hapless Cubs, and I grew restless. I dragged my dad along to the nearby Cubs' bullpen to try for autographs.

While there, McGwire came to bat and drilled a foul ball into the Cubs' bullpen. The Cubs' pitching coach saw my A's shirt and hat and said, "You want this?"

In his hand was McGwire's ball.

A chance of a lifetime.

After that, I was no longer a fan. I was a fanatic.

I collected every Mark McGwire baseball card I could find.

My A's hat never left my head except for when it wore out, and I had to get a new one.

My grandmother gave me a sweatshirt for Christmas one year that had a hand-painted Mark McGwire picture on it. She had it specially made for me by a local artist in Central Illinois.

The years progressed, and I began to realize I was not going to be a major league baseball player.

My interest in baseball waned, and I switched allegiances to the Cardinals, a natural choice given that I live a little more than an hour away from St. Louis. I still paid attention to McGwire's stat lines.

My interest was revived last year, though, when McGwire was traded to St. Louis.

I went to several Cardinal games and even saw McGwire hit a homerun last year.

This year, I was at Busch Stadium the day before coming back to school, hoping to see McGwire hit homerun number 60 against Cincinnati.

The atmosphere was electric, but McGwire did not deliver that day.

It was a treat to watch the highlights of numbers 69 and 70 on Sunday. It brought back a lot of memories.

Unfortunately, I did not know where my McGwire rookie card is anymore. If I had it, I could probably sell it for $1,000.

I do have the ball, however. It is in a protective case on the shelf in my room at home.

I will never sell it.

No one can put a price on what it means to me.