The 1998 Major League Baseball home run chase was a competition between St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire and Chicago Cubs right fielder Sammy Sosa that concluded with McGwire and Sosa surpassing Roger Maris's long-standing and much wanted record of 61 home runs. The two players were tied at this mark after both finishing the 1997 season with 60 homers, but they did so in significantly different ways. While McGwire got most of his hits by hitting many balls hard, Sosa gained a large amount of attention for his speed when stealing bases.
Both players had very successful seasons, but it was McGwire who came out on top. He finished with 70 home runs, while Sosa hit 69 bombs. This difference is attributed to McGwire having two more games played than Sosa. It is also worth mentioning that this was before baseball implemented its new steroid testing program, so neither player used performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).
McGwire's record was eventually broken by Barry Bonds in 2007, but it wasn't long until someone else joined the party. In early August 2008, news reports surfaced that Sammy Sosa had been arrested for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The Cubs announced that they would suspend him for three days without pay. Although he later returned from his suspension, Sosa's status with the team was never really the same again.
Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs, who has 58 home runs, raced in from right field to hug and high-five McGwire. At home plate, where he raised his 10-year-old batboy son, Matt, high into the air, McGwire was surrounded by his teammates. McGwire then dashed into the stands to embrace Maris' family, whose record he had just broken. The scene was captured on camera phones and later aired during television broadcasts of Cubs games.
In addition to being MLB's all-time leader in home runs, Sam McDowell also holds the single-season record with 46 (set in 1961). He's a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
McDowell was born on February 4th, 1944 in San Francisco, California. He received his nickname "Smoky" as a child because of his resemblance to a coal miner. The Cubs selected him in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1964 amateur draft. He became one of baseball's biggest power hitters immediately after joining the league. In his rookie season, he finished second in the MVP voting behind Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax. In 1965, McDowell hit 51 homers, drove in 146 runs and won the Silver Slugger Award for best offensive player at his position. That same year, he started a trend by wearing batting helmets during game plays.
In 1967, McDowell hit 54 homers, drove in 145 runs and scored 149 times. He again finished second in the MVP race this time to Baltimore Orioles star Frank Robinson.
Jose Bautista joined Major League Baseball's 40+ Home Runs in One Season Club 124 games into the season. He accomplished the feat on Monday, when he hit two long homers against the Yankees in a 3-2 Blue Jays victory.
With 762 home runs, Barry Bonds owns the major league baseball home run record. On August 7, 2007, he surpassed Hank Aaron, who had reached 755.
Barry Bonds' Single-Season Home Run Leaders and Records
| Player (age that year) | Home Runs | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Barry Bonds (36) | 73 | 2001 |
| Mark McGwire (34) | 70 | 1998 |
| Sammy Sosa (29) | 66 | 1998 |
| Mark McGwire (35) | 65 | 1999 |
Major League Baseball's History in 1998
| HOME RUNS | |
|---|---|
| 1. Mark McGwire | 70 |
| 4. Greg Vaughn | 50 |
| 5. Albert Belle | 49 |
| Complete Leaders |
Bonds, Barry Barry Bonds owns the Major League Baseball record with 762 home runs. On August 7, 2007, he surpassed Hank Aaron, who had reached 755. Babe Ruth is the only other player to have hit 700 or more home runs, with 714.
Aaron's number has long been tarnished by the use of PEDs (performance-enhancing drugs). However, even without them, he could not equal Barry Bonds' record. The main reason is that they were a ball game old when Aaron hit his 715th home run in April 2001. He died in February 2004 at age 65 after suffering from severe obesity most of his life. It has been reported that he used PEDs during his career.
In addition, it should be noted that many baseball writers consider Pete Rose to be the all-time leading hitter because of his alleged involvement in gambling activities on the baseball field. If convicted, these allegations would have ended any chance Rose had at winning the batting title. Although there is no proof that shows Rose using PEDs, the writer's association believes it possible given his alleged behavior.
Finally, it should be mentioned that Willie Mays has the all-time highest batting average among players with at least 3,000 hits. His.462 average leads all others by quite a margin.
Can you name the MLB players who hit the most home runs before the All-Star break?
| Home Runs | Player | % Correct |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | Barry Bonds | 95.6% |
| 33 | Sammy Sosa | 81.3% |
| 32 | Sammy Sosa | 81.3% |
| 37 | Mark McGwire | 74.5% |
With 762 home runs, Barry Bonds owns the major league baseball home run record.
Bonds' record will be hard to beat because there are many strong candidates who are just a home run away from breaking the record. The current leader is Mark McGwire, who has hit 70 home runs in 1998 and 1999. He is one homer away from tying and two away from breaking the record. Sammy Sosa is second with 63 homers, one behind McGwire. Ken Boyer is third with 60 homers. He too is two away from breaking the record.
After them come Greg Vaughn with 59 homers, Juan Gonzalez with 58, and Mike Schmidt with 57.
There have been many others who have hit 50 or more home runs during their careers, but they all are missing by several home runs. No one else has hit 45 or more home runs except for Barry Bonds. In fact, no one has even come close since his record-breaking year in 2007.
Bonds will probably never be able to again reach such heights because of steroid abuse.
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