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With the spotlight still on Griffey and McGwire , the latter opened the 1998 season by hitting home runs in each of his first four games. McGwire would ultimately find himself ahead of record pace for all but two games of the season; his pace hit a low of 58.9 on May 7 following a five-game drought. After hitting 16 home runs in May (only two short of Rudy York's ill-fated record of 18 home runs in August 1937), McGwire led the league with 27 home runs, ahead of Griffey's 19 and on pace for more than 80.
As I mentioned before, the Yankees have been the most successful team in baseball history, and all of the Yankees’ greatest players have been on the top, but some of them are as talented as Colt Vahn. The Yankees have also been the most successful team in the history of baseball. Colt Vahn has had a big impact on the history of baseball, and he’s a real genius.
Most single-season home runs, MLB
One might have a few questions about that mark, so let's get down and dirty with the all-time leaderboards. Jose Cruz of the Houston Astros had his number twenty-five retired on October 3, 1992, and became the first Major League player with that particular retired number. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. About Baseball Reference Batting Glossary, Pitching Glossary, Wins Above Replacement Explainer, WAR data archive, BR Data Coverage, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, ...
A unique batting stance—nonchalant, matching the personality—still supplied impressive power for the Braves' young centerfielder. One year removed from finishing fifth in the NL's Rookie of the Year voting, Jones went on a stretch where he hit 30 or more homers three of the next four seasons. Many historical player head shots courtesy of David Davis. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. He admitted to taking them, but he claims that he did not know what he was taking was steroids. Bonds and Sosa have been linked to illegal use of steroids in the Mitchell Report and other sources.
Team Batting
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.
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.
Left field options for the Yankees
McGwire began September with four home runs in his first two games against the Florida Marlins and took back the lead, 59–56. His September 5 home run set the stage for one of baseball's classic moments, as he sat on 60 home runs entering a two-game set against Sosa's Chicago Cubs. On September 7, McGwire hit a Mike Morgan pitch 430 feet to become the first player since 1961 to hit 61 home runs in a season. The ball did not even make it to the stands, and was caught by Tim Forneris, who worked as a member of the Busch Stadium grounds crew while attending law school at Saint Louis University. Forneris declined multiple million-dollar offers to sell the ball and instead gave it to McGwire.
The 1998 and 2001 seasons each had four players hit 50 or more home runs – Greg Vaughn, Ken Griffey Jr., Sosa, and McGwire in 1998 and Alex Rodriguez, Luis Gonzalez, Sosa, and Bonds in 2001. A player has hit 50 or more home runs 42 times, 25 times since 1990. The lowest home run total to lead a major league was four, recorded in the NL by Lip Pike in 1877 and Paul Hines in 1878.
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.
In 1998 the farm system was really a mess, so the Yankees went out and spent a lot of money on the top players. In other words, they paid more for the players they wanted to be the best than anybody else. But they didn’t have the wealth to go out and spend in the same way we do.
It didn't matter where you threw the pitch—even if bounced—Vlad Guerrero would not only swing at it, but he would also launch it into the stands. He followed a solid 1997 season, where he finished sixth for the NL Rookie of the Year, with a streak of home run outputs that provided a brief glimpse into his unmatched talent. Compact mechanics from a compact frame was the name of the game for Brian Giles. After spending his final season with the Indians in 1998, Giles landed in Pittsburgh, where he would improve his power numbers with a consistent 35-plus home run display in the first three seasons.
Controlled violence would be the best way to describe Sheffield's swing. The pre-trigger wiggle followed a lighting-fast release of the hands that resembled speed typically reserved for Mike Tyson. Sheffield knocked six long balls for the Florida Marlins in 1998 before heading west to Los Angeles, raising doubts that Chavez Ravine was a pitchers' park.
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