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After the 1994 strike, Major League Baseball has had problems getting fans interested in the game and into the ballparks. All that changed in 1998 when baseball enjoyed its greatest season ever. From the home run chase, the great pitching, and the unstoppable Yankees, there is no doubt about it. Even the 41 season, with Joe Dimaggio s 56 game hitting streak and Ted Williams run at a .400 batting average pales in comparison to the exploits of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 98. Because of all that was going on in 98, some huge accomplishments were overshadowed and became only footnotes. Let s take a look back at a most unforgettable season.
MARK MCGWIRE: THE NEW SULTAN OF SWAT
When people remember the 1998 season, they will understandably first think of the home run chase. For most of the summer, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chased each other and the most revered record in all of professional sports: Roger Maris single season home run record off 61 set back in 1961. When spring training began, McGwire was thrust into the spotlight when asked if he thought he would break the record. From day one, it was expected of him to at least surpass his 1997 home run total of 58 if not reach Maris. And even when him and Sosa were neck and neck, Sosa was still in Big Mac s shadow. It is widely believed that without Sosa, McGwire might not have passed Maris and never would have reached such a mind-boggling number.
A perfect example of McGwire and Sosa pushing each other is a Cubs-Cardinals series in mid-August at Wrigley Field. Both sluggers had been stuck on 47 for the past few days. In the bottom of the fifth, Slammin Sammy slammed his 48th of the year. Big Mac answered in the top of the seventh with his 48th. Then in the top of the ninth, McGwire bashed his 49th homer to again lead Sosa. This, however, would not be the last time that the two would cross paths.
A few weeks later the Cubs came to St. Louis for a two game series that started on Labor Day. At the time, McGwire had 60 while his Dominican counterpart had 58. In the first inning of game one, McGwire game the fans exactly what they wanted to see when he blasted his 61st homer to tie Maris.
The entire baseball world and all of America was in anticipation for the next game. Even the Maris family was on hand for a game that was unimportant for the Cardinals as a team. They were too far behind division-leading Houston and Wild Card leading Chicago to make a serious bid for the postseason. Big Mac was 0 for 2 when he came to bat in the fifth inning. Cubs pitcher, Steve Trachsel was pitching McGwire extra careful, but it did not help. He belted a pitch just barely over the wall in left field. That sent the sellout crowd at Busch Stadium into jubilation. By hitting number 62 he had set the new single season home run record, but he still had three weeks to hit more. As he circled the bases, McGwire received congratulations from the entire Cub infield, and even a hug from former Cardinal, Cubs third baseman Gary Gaetti. He even went into the first row of the stands and hugged the Maris family. Then Sammy Sosa came in from right field and personally congratulated McGwire. There was then a speech from legendary Cardinal broadcaster, Jack Buck, and even one from McGwire himself.
After the excitement and the anticipation McGwire then went into a weeklong slump. In that week, Sosa was able to catch him. One day after Sosa hit his 62nd; Big Mac crushed his 63rd. His bat then came alive in a series in Milwaukee. In that series he hit numbers 64, 65, and nearly 66. Umpire Bob Davidson ruled what could have been 66 a double because a fan reached over and caught it (Verducci, 4). Thus the stage was set for a magical conclusion to the home run race.
On the last Friday of the season, Sammy Sosa took the lead in the chase when he hit his 66th homer. Big Mac answered with hit 66th just 45 minutes later. Luckily for McGwire, Sosa was facing the N.L. Central champs, the Houston Astros, while the Cards were up against the lowly Montreal Expos and their pathetic pitching. On Saturday, Big Mac blasted numbers 67 and 68 out of the park. On Sunday McGwire finished what he started with a grand slam on Opening Day (Verducci, 1). In his final two at bats of the year, in fact, on his two final swings, he hit his 69th and 70th home runs, blowing away Maris 61 and Babe Ruth s 60.
A definitive moment of McGwire s quest and even the baseball season in general came on that last day of the season. Right down the road from Busch Stadium, The St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals were playing a football game at the Trans World Dome. The Rams had the ball with third and nine. All of a sudden, the TWA Dome s fans started screaming and cheering. This forced the Rams to take a delay-of-game penalty. The reason: nothing that the Rams had done, but it was news of Big Mac s 69th home run that got the fans into a frenzy (Verducci, 3)
SAMMY SOSA: BASEBALL S BEEN VERY GOOD TO ME
The other half of the home run chase involves Chicago Cubs rightfielder, Sammy Sosa. Before 98, Sosa was a career .250 hitter, never hitting more than 40 home runs in a season, and striking out prolifically. 98 would prove to be different. Many contribute Sosa s success in 98 to his maturity at the plate. He kept his eye on outside pitches and drove them to right field, instead of trying to pull everything. He also lowered his bat and hand so it would go through the zone quicker, and he even started to lay off some bad pitches that he would have swung at in the past. These seemingly minor adjustments, were able to help him hit for a better average, have a higher home run potential, especially to right field, and he struck out far less.
The year started out great for Sosa. After two months, he was batting .320 with 13 home runs. By this time, McGwire already had 25 homers. Sosa still was on pace for 39 home runs which is very respectable. June brought increased success for Sammy. He set a Major League record for the most home runs in one month with 20. So by the All-Star break, Sosa was only three back of McGwire with 33.
As the second half of the season began, many saw various similarities between the quests that both McGwire and Sosa were undertaking. However, There was one main difference between the two. Sosa put his team above any individual accomplishments. Not to say that McGwire did not, it is just that the Cardinals were too far out of the pennant race that McGwire and the record was the most important thing going for the Cards. Sosa himself even said, If I didn t any more home runs, I d be happy as long as the Cubs make it to the playoffs. Slammin Sammy s home runs were one of the things that kept the Cubs in contention all year. By early August, Sosa had already surpassed his season high in home runs (40) and was leading the league in RBI s.
At the time that McGwire broke Maris record, Sosa had 58 homers, and with three weeks left in the year, still had a good shot at passing Maris himself. He stole the show in a late season series against the Brewers at Wrigley. In game one he hit his 59th dong in the Cubs 11-10 loss. Sosa hit his 60th the next day to close the Cubs deficit to five. He was also instrumental in the Cubs tying and winning the game in the bottom of the ninth. In the final game of the series, Sosa tied Maris by blasting his 61st onto Waveland Avenue in the fourth inning. With the Cubs down by two in the bottom of the ninth, Sosa lead off. The entire crowd was hoping to see Slammin Sammy s 62nd, but he just wanted to get on to help the team win this very important game. On the third pitch, Sosa hit a long shot to deep left field. As soon as it left his bat, there was no doubt to Sosa, his team, and the thousands of fans crammed into the park and watching from the rooftops surrounding Wrigley Field. That blast went 480ft across Waveland, and traveled a ways down Addison Avenue. Unlike McGwire s 62nd, the game did not stop and there were no speeches. Instead the fans went crazy and the Cubs stayed focussed on the game at hand. After the game, the fans stayed in the park and Sosa and the team came out on the field to celebrate the milestone.
Two games later, Sammy hit his third career grand slam and 63rd homer in San Diego. Then, in McGwire-like fashion, Sosa went into a weeklong slump. He came out of his slump where else? The same place were McGwire had came out of his slump, against the same team that surrendered homers numbered 59-62: against the Milwaukee Brewers. In game one, Sosa went 0 for 3, but crushed one just barely foul. The next day, Sosa, succeeded in hitting number 64 And 65. The next night in Houston, Sammy Sosa held the single season home run record for about 45 minutes, after hitting his 66th off of Jose Lima. That, however, would be Sosa s final home run. He did have some key hits in the final two games against Houston and contributed to the Cubs victory in the Wild Card tiebreaker versus San Francisco. Though he was not able to set the home run record, he could take solace in the fact that the Cubbies made the playoffs. His statistics (.308 batting average, 66 home runs, 158 RBI s) and contributions were good enough to earn him the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award.
CAL RIPKEN JR.: FINALLY SITS ONE OUT
The one streak in an all of sports that will never even be approached is Cal Ripken Jr. s consecutive games played streak of 2632. That is over sixteen years of playing in all 162 games. Ripken was able to pass Lou Gerig s previous record back in 93. It came as a surprise to many. With one week to go in the season, it was noticeable to the Baltimore fans that Ripken was not in the lineup. What is even more surprising is that he voluntarily ended the streak. Afterwards Ripken said, It was time. Instead of being saddened by the streak s end, most fans celebrated Ripken and the streak, just as they had celebrated Maris streak in the midst of McGwire and Sosa breaking it.
DAVID WELLS: ATTAINING PERFECTION
Before 1998, David Wells was a no-name pitcher for the great New York Yankees. That would change early in the season. On May 17, just a few weeks after Kerry Woods domination of the Astros, Wells stunned the entire baseball world by pitching only the third perfect game (no runners allowed on base) by a left -hander in history. Even after, most believed that Wells performance was a fluke, but it was not. He rose up to dominate American League hitters, and led the Yankees pitching staff. He had an 18-6 record and an ERA (Earned Run Average) under three to show for his impressive work. Wells also was a team leader on and off the field and greatly contributed to the Yankees regular season and playoff runs.
KERRY WOOD: THIS KID IS THE REAL THING
Another player that made 98 so special was Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs. Through his first four starts, this rookie showed lots of promise. Wood s fastball was clocked right around 100mph, and had a curveball and slider to compliment it. Then, In just his fifth Major League start, Wood tied Roger Clemens record of 20 strikeouts in a single game. He continued to dominate hitters throughout the year, while only struggling on occasion. By late August, Wood was 13-6 with a 2.60 ERA (1.20 ERA at Wrigley), and averaging a league leading 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings. However, injury would cut Kerry s season short. He strained a ligament in his throwing elbow and missed the rest of the season....
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