On this day in 1994, the Major League Baseball season was due to a continuing players’ strike. But soon, fans would have a reason to return to America’s pastime.
Twenty-five years ago, baseball’s long-standing, single-season home run record — held by New York Yankees right fielder Roger Maris for his — was about to be shattered.
Chicago fans — who were grieving the death of longtime announcer and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” crooner — had a front-row (or bleachers) view. Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa was part of the season-long spectacle. Mark McGwire, the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman, smashed 70 home runs to capture the record. Just three years later, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants .
No player since has threatened Bonds’ total. All three players have been accused of using steroids to enhance their performance. Of them, only McGwire . Bonds, McGwire and Sosa are all eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but haven’t been elected.
Here’s a look back at how Sosa batted his way through the 1998 season in 10 key moments.
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How far it flew: 371 feet
Cubs legend Ernie Banks declared “the Cubs will be great in ‘98” after more than 25,000 fans braved the 40-degree temperatures to see the go-ahead home run — Sosa’s first of the season. It was a fly ball to right field in the bottom of the 3rd inning against the Montreal Expos with a 2-1 count against Marc Valdes. The Cubs won 3-1.
“We’ve got a way to go, but I like the way we’re going now,” Sosa said.
How far they flew: 430 feet (No. 14) and 410 feet (No. 15)
Sosa kicked off a historic month in which he hits 20 home runs. After sitting out three games due to a swollen thumb, Sosa hit two home runs and drove in five runs in the Cubs’ 10-2 pasting of the Florida Marlins.
Sosa admitted feeling a little left out when the Cubs swept the Atlanta Braves without him in the lineup.
“We let them know we can do it without me … for a little bit,” he said.
How far they flew: 420 feet (No. 22), 410 feet (No. 23) and 415 feet (No. 24)
With the largest Wrigley Field night crowd of the season so far — almost 38,000 fans — cheering “Sammy! Sammy! Sammy,” Sosa hit three home runs to help the Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 after a shaky performance by pitcher Kerry Wood.
Sosa’s first home run soared into the bleachers in right field. His next two were towering shots over the left-field bleachers onto Waveland Ave. Sosa was averaging two RBIs and just under one home run per game.
Surprisingly, the right fielder admitted he didn’t intend to hit those long balls.
“I wasn’t trying for home runs. I’m trying to hit to right field more. When I do that, the home runs come,” he said.
How far they flew: 366 feet (No. 28) and 500 feet (No. 29)
Sosa cranked out a pair of home runs for the second consecutive day, breaking the major-league record for homers in June in front of a sold-out home crowd in the Cubs’ 9-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Sosa’s second home run of the game was also his longest of the season — and nearly hits a building on Waveland.
How far it flew: 380 feet
Sosa hit a ball — with a bat that supposedly once belonged to Babe Ruth — that left Wrigley Field for the 21st time in 22 games.
“Right now, I’m not going to lie to you, I’m feeling pretty good,” Sosa told reporters after the Cubs’ 7-2 win over the Phillies on Father’s Day. “I’m in my zone.”
How far they flew: 347 feet (No. 39) and 438 feet (No. 40)
The temperature outside Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix was 110 degrees, but not nearly as hot as Sosa’s bat. He hit two home runs — including his first career grand slam in the eighth inning — to drive in all six runs in the Cubs’ 6-2 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“We have another two months to go, and I just want to hang in there,” Sosa told reporters after the game. “I really don’t have (the record) on my mind. I think (Ken Griffey Jr.) and McGwire have a good chance.”
Incredibly, Sosa hit his second career grand slam .
How far it flew: 364 feet
With a third-inning home run to the no-beer section of left field, Sosa tied McGwire in home runs for the season. Sosa had homered in 14 straight series.
Wood — who hurled 10 strikeouts in the Cubs’ 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds — got his second home run in the game.
Did Sosa ever stop and think about what he has accomplished?
“Maybe after the year is over and we go to the playoffs, I can say, ‘Wow, I did something unbelievable,” he said.
How far it flew: 341 feet
On 9-8-98, McGwire passed Maris’ record by driving an 88 mph fastball delivered by Cubs pitcher Steve Trachsel over the left-field fence at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It was McGwire’s shortest home run of the 1998 season.
Sosa, who dropped four home runs behind McGwire, slowly walked in from right field and eventually hugged McGwire in an emotional embrace near the Cardinals dugout.
“Now everything is probably going to cool off for him,” Sosa said. “I told him, ‘Maybe now you can go to your house and relax and take it easy.’”
How far they flew: 344 feet (No. 64) and 410 feet (No. 65)
Sosa hit two home runs to once again tie McGwire for the lead in the great home run chase, but he is overshadowed by Brant Brown who dropped a fly ball with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Three runs score on Brown’s blunder and the Cubs lost to the Brewers 8-7.
How far it flew: 462 feet
Sosa’s towering blast into the left-field seats at Houston’s Astrodome came with the bases empty in the fourth inning of the Cubs’ loss to the Astros 6-2. Remarkably, Sosa and McGwire each hit their 66th home runs within the same hour.
“We need to believe in ourselves and play better tomorrow,” Sosa said.
Though it would be the Cubs slugger’s final home run of the season, he was later named the .
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