Home run #: 44 Date: July 26 Opponent: Colorado Rockies Location: Coors Field Pitcher: John Thomson Score: 0-0 Inning: 4 Outs: 2 Runners on: 0 Distance: 452 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 38 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 39 Whether it was the pressure or just the natural ebb-and-flow of a season, Mark McGwire had a few homerless [...]
Home run #: 45 Date: July 28 Opponent: Milwaukee Brewers Location: Busch Stadium Pitcher: Mike Myers Score: 9-8 Inning: 8 Outs: 1 Runners on: 0 Distance: 408 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 41 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 39 As we saw a couple of days ago, Mark McGwire had taken some time in between home runs. The [...]
Home run #: 46 Date: August 8 Opponent: Chicago Cubs Location: Busch Stadium Pitcher: Mark Clark Score: 0-3 Inning: 4 Outs: 0 Runners on: 0 Distance: 374 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 44 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 40 With Sammy Sosa‘s massive June and his continued hitting throughout July, August opened with less of a coronation and more [...]
Home run #: 47 Date: August 11 Opponent: New York Mets Location: Busch Stadium Pitcher: Bobby Jones Score: 0-4 Inning: 4 Outs: 0 Runners on: 0 Distance: 464 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 46 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 40 After a couple of homerless (and, in fact, hitless days), Mark McGwire entered play on August 11th in a [...]
Opponent: Chicago Cubs Location: Wrigley Field End of day Sammy Sosa total: 48 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 41 I can’t help but wonder how the summer of 1998 would have been remembered had it not been for Sammy Sosa pushing Mark McGwire. If Big Mac had just run away with the home run title, hitting [...]
Opponent: New York Mets Location: Shea Stadium End of day Sammy Sosa total: 48 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 41 It seems very possible that the press conference in Chicago took a significant load off of Mark McGwire‘s back. Realizing he could have fun with this historic run, he pounded 15 home runs in 21 days [...]
Home run #: 52 Date: August 22 Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates Location: Three Rivers Stadium Pitcher: Francisco Cordova Score: 0-0 Inning: 1 Outs: 2 Runners on: 0 Distance: 477 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 49 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 41 When I was growing up, I always thought that the big power hitters were supposed to hit fourth. [...]
By late August, everyone in the country was focused on the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. There was a sense of excitement around the sport, something that it had been sorely missing since the 1994-95 strike had wiped out the World Series. While Cal Ripken’s passing of Lou Gehrig‘s consecutive game [...]
Home run #: 53 Date: August 23 Opponent: Pittsburgh Pirates Location: Three Rivers Stadium Pitcher: Ricardo Rincon Score: 2-4 Inning: 8 Outs: 2 Runners on: 0 Distance: 393 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 51 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 42 “Do you want to know the terrifying truth or do you want to see me sock a few dingers?” [...]
Home run #: 54 Date: August 26 Opponent: Florida Marlins Location: Busch Stadium Pitcher: Justin Speier Score: 1-0 Inning: 8 Outs: 0 Runners on: 1 Distance: 509 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 52 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 43 There wasn’t any thought of a pennant race when the Marlins came into Busch Stadium in August of 1998. The [...]
As we’ve talked about all summer long, 20 years ago the baseball world was riveted by two individuals. Other things were big, other things got attention, but by this time of the season, it was Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Each of their at bats could get a national look in. If MLB Network had [...]
Home run #: 55 Date: August 30 Opponent: Atlanta Braves Location: Busch Stadium Pitcher: Dennis Martinez Score: 5-7 Inning: 7 Outs: 0 Runners on: 2 Distance: 501 feet End of day Sammy Sosa total: 54 End of day Ken Griffey Jr. total: 46 After getting a little extra rest the day before courtesy of a heave-ho by Sam Holbrook (which, as we [...]
