MARK MY WORD: SMOOCHY THE FROG SCORES BIG WITH CARDINAL FANS

There we were, the whole family crowded into Busch Stadium with 47,000 other Cardinal fans Friday night.

Of course, we were there to root on Mark McGwire's quest to best Roger Maris' home-run record.

Well, sort of. We actually chose the Friday night date because the Cardinals were giving away Smoochy, that lovable green and yellow frog of a Beanie Baby.

You know the creature. The one with the heart-shaped tag that features this bad poem.

"Is he a frog or maybe a prince? This confusion makes him wince/Find the answer, help him with this/Be the one to give him a kiss!"

McGwire could write better poetry than this. So could just about anybody at the ballpark.

The coveted bean bag of a frog was handed out to about 20,000 youngsters who attended the game. The Beanie Babies came with a circular card that carried the date and showed that, on the field, the Cardinals played the Pirates.

Naturally, we brought our two daughters to the game. How else were we going to get hold of the frog?

In the world of Beanie Babies, it pays to have a big family or bribe a children's soccer team to go to the ball game with you.

Actually, we were on our best behavior. We didn't even try to buy extra frogs from unsuspecting children standing in line at the concession stands.

My wife, Joni, has trafficked in Beanie Babies for months. She knows a gold mine when she sees it.

Some of this knowledge has even rubbed off on me. I knew that Smoochy could be worth something some day, particularly if McGwire would hit a home run at the game.

He didn't. But five other Cardinals hit home runs, generating an immense barrage of fireworks.

I'm sure all those Smoochies enjoyed the game too.

I wouldn't be surprised if McGwire squirreled away a few of the cuddly frogs. After all, you've got to have some way to take the pressure off you when you're chasing the home-run record.

I don't know how he can even concentrate on hitting. Every time he stepped to the plate, fans snapped pictures of him. There were so many people taking pictures that the camera lights were flashing constantly around the stadium.

It was enough to make Smoochy go blind.

At age 2, going on 3, Bailey could have cared less about the Cardinals and McGwire's pursuit of the home run record.

She did, however, like to clap from time to time and hold the binoculars up to her eyes.

As for her Smoochy, we kept it safely tucked away in her diaper bag.

Our oldest daughter, 6-year-old Becca, loves Smoochy too. She was reluctant to let me take even one of the frogs to the newspaper office Saturday.

But I prevailed, assuring her that I wouldn't let anything happen to that prince of a frog.

Even now, it is staring at me with its big eyes as I write this column.

There's something lovable about a frog that is as soft as a teddy bear and doesn't smell of being in a pond.

You can build a team around a frog like that, or at least fill a baseball stadium.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.