Table of Content
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. As a baseball fan it is pretty difficult to find a team that has done more things, been more successful, and performed a better in the history of baseball than the Yankees. Not only have they been the most successful team in baseball history, they’ve also been one of the most successful baseball franchises ever.
Lip Pike led the league with four home runs in 1877, tied with Paul Hines for the lowest total to ever lead a league. No matter how people discuss Bonds' epic takeover of the history books, it will never be as good as the '98 show. What Mark McGwire was able to produce—on the field and for people's wonderment—in 1998 won't be matched. Roger Maris did what he did, but didn't have the media saturation and access to shift America's attention. Nor did he have the Greek God build—or the "supplements" to get that frame—that popped through the television screen like Big Mac's. Non-baseball fans tuned in to see what Mark did on the diamond that summer, a national enthusiasm that ended with 70 home runs.
Top 25 MLB home run leaders from 1998 to 2001
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. 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, 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.
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.
Major League Baseball home run record chase
But they didnt have the wealth to go out and spend in the same way we do.The Yankees were great in 1998 because they went out and spent a lot of money on the top players. And of course, the Yankees also spent a lot of money on the players they wanted to be the best. The Yankees’ farm system was very different from what we know today.
From his unique crouched stance, it almost looked like Jeff Bagwell was sitting in a chair, just waiting for the pitcher to release the ball. The Hall of Famer hit more than a few epic moonshots during the four seasons and launched a career-high 47 in 2000. The left-handed Burnitz ripped his way through those four seasons, with a consecutive run of 30-plus homers. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy hit 315 round-trippers in his 14-year career—nearly 45 percent of them occurring in the slammin' summers of '98 through '01. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. McGwire crossing home plate for a home run in a July 1998 game against the Houston Astros.
Breaking the record
He hit his 38th–40th home runs of the season in that series. Please note that players may not be in the uniform of the correct team in these images. The Yankees were great in 1998 because they went out and spent a lot of money on the top players. Sammy Sosa led the National League in home runs twice, with 49 and 50, but finished second four times with home run counts of 36, 66, 63, and 64. Mike Schmidt led the National League in home runs eight times, the second most such titles in MLB history.
That is why the Yankees have been consistently the most successful team in the history of baseball. Another star of the Great Home Run Show of 1998, Vaughn ran out of steam toward the end of the year but still finished with an impressive 50 home runs. He joined an elite company for his efforts, one of only 26 players—at the time—to belt 50 or more in a season. The Hall of Famer didn't let one of the craziest trades in MLB history affect his approach at the plate in 1998. After the dust had settled on the seven-player deal that eventually led to Piazza playing for the Mets, the slugger put on a consistent home run show the next four seasons, including a 40 spot in '99. 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.
The most popular choice was probably the Yankee Mark McGwire, who hit six home runs in the World Series. That’s not to say that he was the most popular choice of any of the home run leaders. Alex Rodriguez led the American League in home runs five times, three with the Texas Rangers and twice with the New York Yankees. Ken Griffey Jr. led the American League in home runs in four seasons during the 1990s, including three consecutively from 1997 to 1999. It was Prime Jim Thome between 1998 and 2001, with the left-handed slugger leading the Indians' power surge along with Manny Ramirez. Thome improved his home run total each season, culminating with 49 in 2001.
But Sammy will forever be the King of Home Runs circa "98-'01. "Del Got It!" We stay north of the border for the ninth spot on this list, a lefty who would regularly wow the crowds at the Rogers Centre (then-SkyDome). Carlos Delgado was a home run-hitting machine for the Blue Jays, smacking 38-plus long balls each of the four seasons. Shawn Green's presence at the plate not might have resembled a herculean warrior, with sawdust dropping from the bat as he shifted his grip. He hit 40-plus homers twice during this stretch—once for Toronto Blue Jays and once for the LA Dodgers—and tallied 46 percent of his career long balls. The Cardinals, despite McGwire's efforts, finished the season 83–79, 3rd place in the Central and behind division rival Chicago who finished 90–73, earning them 2nd in the Central and a wild card berth.
The Braves' switch-hitting star had one of the best four-year periods of any such stretch, of any era, between '98-'01. Chipper ignited Atlanta's offense and caused matchup headaches for the opposing staff. He won the NL MVP in 1999 when he hit 45 home runs and continued that consistency in the next two seasons, hitting 35-plus dingers in each. Giambi sparked a new wave of baseball players—from the long hair to the tattoos to the linebacker frame, and the all-power approach that actually relied on a great eye at the dish. He belted home runs for the Oakland Athletics—only one season under 30—and, unlike many others during this stretch, walked more than he struck out. His most productive long-ball output happened during his AL MVP season in 2000 when he launched 43.
In the league's inaugural 1876 season, Hall hit five home runs for the short-lived National League Philadelphia Athletics. In 1901, the American League was established and Hall of Fame second baseman Nap Lajoie led it with 14 home runs for the American League Philadelphia Athletics. Over the course of his 22-season career, Babe Ruth led the American League in home runs twelve times.
They’ve also been one of the most successful baseball franchises in the whole history of the game. In what can only be described as a fitting twist for this particular era, the sidekick of the show got the final curtain call. No one matched Sammy Sosa's home run displays from 1998 to 2001. He was a personality who people were drawn to, one that seemed to elevate the game of baseball, even outside the confines of Wrigley Field.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judgeclubbed his 62nd home run of the season to rewrite baseball's history books Tuesday night against the Rangers. The home run broke a tie with Roger Maris, giving Judge sole possession of the American League single-season record. The Yankees, of course, are the team that has won the American League pennant 4 times in the last 10 years. They are also the only team in baseball history to have had multiple World Series champions in the last decade. In that time, the Yankees have been up for eight World Series titles, and four of those championships were in the last five years.
Ruth set the Major League Baseball single-season home run record four times, first at 29 , then 54 , 59 , and finally 60 . Ruth's 1920 and 1921 seasons are tied for the widest margin of victory for a home run champion as he topped the next highest total by 35 home runs in each season. The single season mark of 60 stood for 34 years until Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961 for which MLB assigned an asterisk until reversing themselves in 1991 citing Maris had accomplished his record in a longer season. Maris' mark was broken 37 years later by both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa during the 1998 home run record chase, with McGwire ultimately setting a new record of 70. Barry Bonds, who also has the most career home runs, then broke that mark, setting the current single season record of 73 in 2001. Of the four players to break Maris' record, one has since admitted to the use of performance-enhancing substances during his playing career and two others are both widely suspected to have used such substances as well.
The real players though, were the ones who were best at hitting home runs in the game. The fact that McGwire had a career.308 batting average in 1998 says more than anything else. Mark McGwire led the league in home runs 4 times including 52, 65, and record-breaking 70 home run seasons. His 58 home runs in 1997 led neither league due to a mid-season trade which split this total across 2 leagues. The first home run champion in the National League was George Hall.
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