1998 Major League Baseball home run record chase

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Multiple image During Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1998 season, Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs pursued the league's long-standing and highly coveted single-season home run record (61), set in 1961 by Roger Maris. The season-long chase culminated on September 8, 1998, when McGwire, facing Sosa and the Cubs, hit his 62nd home run of the season to break the record. McGwire finished the season with 70 home runs, while Sosa finished with 66. The 1998 home run record chase, as well the previous year's pursuit of the record, was widely credited by sports analysts with restoring interest in MLB among its fan base following the 1994 strike that resulted in that season prematurely ending and the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. McGwire's record was later broken in 2001 by Barry Bonds, who hit 73 home runs.

Several players had come close to breaking Maris's record in the years before 1998. Before the 1994 season was cut short, Matt Williams of the San Francisco Giants and Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners were both on a pace which threatened Maris's record: they hit 43 and 40 home runs respectively in a season which was shortened by approximately 50 of the scheduled 162 games. In 1995, Albert Belle became the first player since Cecil Fielder in 1990 to hit 50 home runs in a season.[1] Belle was only the 4th player in the previous three decades to reach the 50 home run milestone (George Foster hit 52 in 1977, following Willie Mays in 1965). In 1996, Brady Anderson of the Baltimore Orioles hit 50 home runs, twice the number he hit during any other season.[2] Of more note was McGwire of the Oakland Athletics, who first drew attention by hitting a league-leading 52 home runs that season while only playing in 130 games.[3]

The 1997 home run chase featured McGwire and Griffey, but neither reached it that year. It was during that season that full-fledged interest over the record kicked in as both players were on record pace well into the summer.[4][5] McGwire finished the 1997 season with 58 home runs following his mid-season trade to the Cardinals, besting Griffey's total of 56 that year.

Breaking the record

File:Mark McGwire touching home after homer 1998-65.jpg
McGwire crossing home plate on May 18, 1998 for his 17th home run of the season

Speculation on the potential of McGwire or Griffey breaking Roger Maris' home run record was a popular story heading into spring training, and was even promoted by MLB, in an effort to draw fans back to the game who felt disenfranchised by the 1994 strike that prematurely ended the season and led to the cancellation of the World Series. With the spotlight still on Griffey and McGwire (entering his first full season as a Cardinal), the latter opened the 1998 season by hitting home runs in each of his first four games. McGwire would ultimately find himself ahead of record pace for all but two games of the season; his pace hit a low of 58.9 on May 7 following a five-game drought. After hitting 16 home runs in May (only two short of Rudy York's ill-fated record of 18 home runs in August 1937[6]), McGwire led the league with 27 home runs, ahead of Griffey's 19 and on pace for more than 80.[7][8]

June, however, would be Sosa's month to catch up. His 13 home runs entering the month represented less than half of rival McGwire's total. Sosa had his first of four multi-home run games that month on June 1, and went on to break Rudy York's record with 20 home runs in the month of June,[9] a record that still stands. By the end of his historic month, the outfielder's 33 home runs tied him with Griffey and left him only four behind McGwire's 37.[10]

File:McGwire touching home vs Astros-70.jpg
McGwire crossing home plate for a home run in a July 1998 game against the Houston Astros. He hit his 38th–40th home runs of the season in that series.

The three remained competitive entering August, a period which saw McGwire go on a season-high eight-game home run drought. After hitting a home run on August 8, McGwire's lead had dwindled to two, his 46 home runs just above Sosa's 44 and Griffey's 41. His relative lull in production continued, hitting only three home runs over the next ten days. His pace at the end of August 18, 61.9 would be his lowest for the rest of the season. On August 19, he returned to form, hitting two home runs and beginning the stretch that would see him hit 23 home runs in his final 39 games. Sosa, meanwhile, had followed up his 20 home runs in June with a combined total of only 22 for July and August. At the end of the month, however, the two sluggers were locked at 55 home runs, putting them on pace for about 65 in total and, for the first time in 37 years, leaving the single-season home run record in imminent jeopardy. They were also each one short of Hack Wilson's National League record. By this point, Griffey's total of 47 home runs left him well behind the pace of his two rivals, indicating that even in the event he could pass Maris's total, it would be unlikely that he would also be able to beat McGwire and Sosa. Griffey would finish the season with 56 home runs, matching his total from the previous season but still 5 home runs short of Maris' record.

McGwire began September with four home runs in his first two games against the Florida Marlins and took back the lead, 59–56. His September 5 home run set the stage for one of baseball's classic moments, as he sat on 60 home runs entering a two-game set against Sosa's Chicago Cubs. On September 7, McGwire hit a Mike Morgan pitch 430 feet to become the first player since 1961 to hit 61 home runs in a season. The next day, September 8, 1998, in a nationally-televised game against Sosa's Cubs and with members of the Maris family in attendance, he hit Steve Trachsel's pitch 341 feet – his shortest home run of the season – just over the left field wall, breaking the record for the most home runs ever hit in a single season. The ball did not even make it to the stands, and was caught by Tim Forneris, who worked as a member of the Busch Stadium grounds crew while attending law school at Saint Louis University. Forneris declined multiple million-dollar offers to sell the ball and instead gave it to McGwire. In what was a show of both admiration as well as respect, Cubs first baseman Mark Grace shared a half-hug high five as McGwire rounded first, and after he touched home, Sosa charged in from right field and engaged McGwire in a celebratory embrace.

Afterwards, however, McGwire went six consecutive games without a home run, allowing Sosa to tie him again at 62 after hitting four home runs in three games against the Milwaukee Brewers. The two battled back and forth for the lead, and entering the final series of the season on September 25, were tied at 65 home runs. Sosa hit a 462-foot home run off Houston Astros pitcher José Lima for his 66th home run of the season. McGwire, however, would hit five home runs against five different pitchers during a Cardinals homestand against the Montreal Expos, and would set the single-season MLB home run record at 70 with a 370-foot home run off Carl Pavano.[11]

Throughout the season, Sosa gave a "V" sign after every home run, dedicating it to the memory of Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, who died that February.[12]

Aftermath

Template:Multiple image The Cardinals, despite McGwire's efforts, finished the season 83–79, third place in the Central and behind division rival Chicago who finished 90–73, earning them second in the Central and a wild card berth. In winning the NL MVP award, Sosa finished with a .308 batting average, 66 home runs, and 158 RBI, besting McGwire, who finished with a .299 batting average, 70 home runs, and 147 RBI. The Cubs, however, were swept in the first round of the 1998 playoffs by the Atlanta Braves.

In 2001, only three years after McGwire and Sosa finally toppled Maris's record, the mark fell again, this time to San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds. Bonds broke the record on October 5 against Chan Ho Park of the Los Angeles Dodgers and, two days later, hit his 73rd home run of the season off the Dodgers pitcher Dennis Springer. Bonds' record continues to stand today.[13]

The 1997 and 1998 home run record chases are widely credited by sports analysts as having restored interest in MLB among its fan base in the preceding years, as many had lost interest and felt betrayed by the strike in 1994, although others contest this.[14]

The embrace, along with the constant praising of one another between McGwire and Sosa was spoofed in the fall of 1998 on Saturday Night Live by Will Ferrell (as McGwire) and Tracy Morgan (as Sosa) who try to one-up praising each other endlessly and then begin to slow-dance.[15]

Steroid controversy

The Sosa-McGwire home run chase occurred during the steroid era. Bonds' record still stands, though the controversy over possible use of performance-enhancing drugs by McGwire and Sosa gained momentum when Bonds hit his 73 home runs despite having never hit as many as 50 in any other season. In the Congressional Hearing on Steroids, McGwire stated that any answer he gave regarding his alleged steroid use would not be believed by the public at-large anyway. Sosa seemed to not understand the questions.

Bonds has also been linked to steroids. He admitted to taking them, but he claims that he did not know what he was taking was steroids. Bonds and Sosa have been linked to illegal use of steroids in the Mitchell Report and other sources. McGwire has never been named by any official investigation; however, on January 11, 2010, McGwire admitted to Bob Costas of the MLB Network that he did take steroids throughout his career, including during the 1998 season where he broke the record.

Home run log

The following table outlines home runs that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa hit during 1998 season.[16][17][18]

Date Batter Distance
(ft) 		Hit Against
(Pitcher) 		Hit Against
(Team) 		McGwire
Total 		Sosa
Total
Template:Dts McGwire 364 Template:Sortname Los Angeles Dodgers 1 0
Template:Dts 368 Template:Sortname 2 0
Template:Dts 364 Template:Sortname San Diego Padres 3 0
Template:Dts 419 Template:Sortname 4 0
Sosa 371 Template:Sortname Montreal Expos 4 1
Template:Dts 350 Template:Sortname 4 2
Template:Dts McGwire 424 Template:Sortname Arizona Diamondbacks 5 2
347 6 2
462 Template:Sortname 7 2
Template:Dts Sosa 430 Template:Sortname New York Mets 7 3
Template:Dts McGwire 419 Template:Sortname Philadelphia Phillies 8 3
Template:Dts 437 Template:Sortname Montreal Expos 9 3
Template:Dts Sosa 420 Template:Sortname San Diego Padres 9 4
Template:Dts 430 Template:Sortname Los Angeles Dodgers 9 5
Template:Dts McGwire 419 Template:Sortname Philadelphia Phillies 10 5
Template:Dts Sosa 434 Template:Sortname San Diego Padres 10 6
Template:Dts McGwire 371 Template:Sortname Chicago Cubs 11 6
Template:Dts 362 Template:Sortname 12 6
Template:Dts Sosa 370 Template:Sortname St. Louis Cardinals 12 7
Template:Dts McGwire 358 Template:Sortname New York Mets 13 7
Template:Dts 527 Template:Sortname Milwaukee Brewers 14 7
Template:Dts 381 Template:Sortname Atlanta Braves 15 7
Template:Dts 545 Template:Sortname Florida Marlins 16 7
Sosa 441 Template:Sortname Cincinnati Reds 16 8
Template:Dts McGwire 478 Template:Sortname Florida Marlins 17 8
Template:Dts 440 Template:Sortname Philadelphia Phillies 18 8
471 19 8
451 Template:Sortname 20 8
Template:Dts 425 Template:Sortname San Francisco Giants 21 8
Sosa 440 Template:Sortname Atlanta Braves 21 9
Template:Dts McGwire 366 Template:Sortname San Francisco Giants 22 9
477 Template:Sortname 23 9
Template:Dts 397 Template:Sortname 24 9
Template:Dts 433 Template:Sortname Colorado Rockies 25 9
Sosa 410 Template:Sortname Atlanta Braves 25 10
420 Template:Sortname 25 11
Template:Dts 460 Template:Sortname Philadelphia Phillies 25 12
400 Template:Sortname 25 13
Template:Dts McGwire 388 Template:Sortname San Diego Padres 26 13
Template:Dts 423 Template:Sortname 27 13
Template:Dts Sosa 430 Template:Sortname Florida Marlins 27 14
410 Template:Sortname 27 15
Template:Dts 370 Template:Sortname 27 16
Template:Dts McGwire 409 Template:Sortname San Francisco Giants 28 16
Sosa 370 Template:Sortname Chicago White Sox 28 17
Template:Dts 410 Template:Sortname 28 18
Template:Dts 380 Template:Sortname 28 19
Template:Dts McGwire 356 Template:Sortname 29 19
Sosa 340 Template:Sortname Minnesota Twins 29 20
Template:Dts McGwire 409 Template:Sortname Chicago White Sox 30 20
Template:Dts 438 Template:Sortname Arizona Diamondbacks 31 20
Template:Dts Sosa 410 Template:Sortname Philadelphia Phillies 31 21
Template:Dts 420 Template:Sortname Milwaukee Brewers 31 22
410 31 23
415 31 24
Template:Dts McGwire 437 Template:Sortname Houston Astros 32 24
Sosa 430 Template:Sortname Milwaukee Brewers 32 25
Template:Dts McGwire 449 Template:Sortname Houston Astros 33 25
Template:Dts Sosa 380 Template:Sortname Philadelphia Phillies 33 26
380 Template:Sortname 33 27
Template:Dts 366 Template:Sortname 33 28
500 Template:Sortname 33 29
Template:Dts 380 Template:Sortname 33 30
Template:Dts McGwire 433 Template:Sortname Cleveland Indians 34 30
Sosa 390 Template:Sortname Detroit Tigers 34 31
Template:Dts McGwire 461 Template:Sortname Cleveland Indians 35 31
Sosa 400 Template:Sortname Detroit Tigers 35 32
Template:Dts McGwire 431 Template:Sortname Minnesota Twins 36 32
Template:Dts 472 Template:Sortname Kansas City Royals 37 32
Sosa 364 Template:Sortname Arizona Diamondbacks 37 33
Template:Dts 432 Template:Sortname Milwaukee Brewers 37 34
Template:Dts 428 Template:Sortname 37 35
Template:Dts McGwire 485 Template:Sortname Houston Astros 38 35
Template:Dts 405 Template:Sortname 39 35
415 Template:Sortname 40 35
Template:Dts 511 Template:Sortname Los Angeles Dodgers 41 35
425 Template:Sortname 42 35
Sosa 440 Template:Sortname Florida Marlins 42 36
Template:Dts McGwire 452 Template:Sortname San Diego Padres 43 36
Template:Dts Sosa 365 Template:Sortname Montreal Expos 43 37
Template:Dts McGwire 452 Template:Sortname Colorado Rockies 44 37
Sosa 420 Template:Sortname New York Mets 44 38
Template:Dts 347 Template:Sortname Arizona Diamondbacks 44 39
438 Template:Sortname 44 40
Template:Dts McGwire 408 Template:Sortname Milwaukee Brewers 45 40
Sosa 390 Template:Sortname Arizona Diamondbacks 45 41
Template:Dts 375 Template:Sortname Colorado Rockies 45 42
Template:Dts 374 Template:Sortname Arizona Diamondbacks 45 43
Template:Dts McGwire 374 Template:Sortname Chicago Cubs 46 43
Sosa 400 Template:Sortname St. Louis Cardinals 46 44
Template:Dts 361 Template:Sortname San Francisco Giants 46 45
480 Template:Sortname 46 46
Template:Dts McGwire 464 Template:Sortname New York Mets 47 46
Template:Dts Sosa 360 Template:Sortname Houston Astros 47 47
Template:Dts 368 Template:Sortname St. Louis Cardinals 47 48
McGwire 398 Template:Sortname Chicago Cubs 48 48
409 Template:Sortname 49 48
Template:Dts 369 Template:Sortname New York Mets 50 48
393 Template:Sortname 51 48
Template:Dts Sosa 430 Template:Sortname San Francisco Giants 51 49
Template:Dts McGwire 477 Template:Sortname Pittsburgh Pirates 52 49
Template:Dts 393 Template:Sortname 53 49
Sosa 440 Template:Sortname Houston Astros 53 50
380 Template:Sortname 53 51
Template:Dts McGwire 509 Template:Sortname Florida Marlins 54 51
Sosa 438 Template:Sortname Cincinnati Reds 54 52
Template:Dts 414 Template:Sortname Colorado Rockies 54 53
Template:Dts McGwire 501 Template:Sortname Atlanta Braves 55 53
Sosa 482 Template:Sortname Colorado Rockies 55 54
Template:Dts 364 Template:Sortname Cincinnati Reds 55 55
Template:Dts McGwire 450 Template:Sortname Florida Marlins 56 55
472 Template:Sortname 57 55
Template:Dts 497 Template:Sortname 58 55
458 Template:Sortname 59 55
Sosa 363 Template:Sortname Cincinnati Reds 59 56
Template:Dts 374 Template:Sortname Pittsburgh Pirates 59 57
Template:Dts McGwire 381 Template:Sortname Cincinnati Reds 60 57
Sosa 417 Template:Sortname Pittsburgh Pirates 60 58
Template:Dts McGwire 430 Template:Sortname Chicago Cubs 61 58
Template:Dts 341 Template:Sortname 62 58
Template:Dts Sosa 464 Template:Sortname Milwaukee Brewers 62 59
Template:Dts 430 Template:Sortname 62 60
Template:Dts 480 Template:Sortname 62 61
480 Template:Sortname 62 62
Template:Dts McGwire 385 Template:Sortname Pittsburgh Pirates 63 62
Template:Dts Sosa 434 Template:Sortname San Diego Padres 63 63
Template:Dts McGwire 423 Template:Sortname Milwaukee Brewers 64 63
Template:Dts 423 Template:Sortname 65 63
Template:Dts Sosa 344 Template:Sortname 65 64
410 Template:Sortname 65 65
Template:Dts 462 Template:Sortname Houston Astros 65 66
McGwire 375 Template:Sortname Montreal Expos 66 66
Template:Dts 403 Template:Sortname 67 66
435 Template:Sortname 68 66
Template:Dts 377 Template:Sortname 69 66
370 Template:Sortname 70 66

References

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Bibliography

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