Sports Americana

The 1998 Home Run Race: McGwire vs. Sosa

There are sports seasons you remember.

And then there are sports seasons you remember exactly where you were.

The summer of 1998 was one of those.

Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa weren’t just chasing Roger Maris’ single-season home run record.

They were chasing each other.

And seemingly every night, America was watching.

McGwire entered 1998 as one of baseball’s most feared sluggers. Sosa was already a star in Chicago, but nobody expected what was about to happen.

By the end of June, Sosa had launched 33 home runs.

Then came June.

He hit 20 home runs in one month, an MLB record that still stands.

Suddenly, this wasn’t just about McGwire.

It was McGwire and Sosa.

Through the end of August, the two were tied at 55 home runs.

The baseball world became a nightly scoreboard.

McGwire.

Sosa.

McGwire.

Sosa.

Who hit one tonight?

Who was ahead?

Could Roger Maris’ 37-year-old record of 61 finally fall?

Then came September.

On September 7, McGwire tied Maris with No. 61.

The following night at Busch Stadium, he stepped to the plate against the Cubs.

And hit No. 62.

History.

Sosa was there to congratulate him.

McGwire wasn’t done.

He finished with 70 home runs.

Sosa finished with 66.

Both had obliterated a record that many people thought might never be touched.

And here’s the part that sometimes gets forgotten:

Sosa didn’t exactly lose.

He won the National League MVP.

He led the majors with 158 RBI and 134 runs scored, while helping the Cubs reach the postseason.

For one summer, though, none of that seemed to matter as much as the next home run.

It was baseball before smartphones.

Before social media.

Before every at-bat instantly became a GIF.

You watched SportsCenter.

You checked the newspaper.

You listened to the radio.

You waited for the highlights.

And when McGwire or Sosa hit another one, everybody knew about it.

The later revelations about performance-enhancing drugs inevitably changed how the 1998 season is viewed. That part of the story shouldn’t be ignored.

But neither should what actually happened that summer.

Two sluggers turned the baseball season into a national event.

McGwire finished with 70.
Sosa finished with 66.
And baseball had its summer back.

For a generation of fans, that’s what they remember.

Not the controversy.

Not the statistics on a spreadsheet.

But looking up at the television and wondering:

“Did McGwire hit one tonight?”