MARK MCGWIRE: THE NEW SULTAN OF SWAT

When people remember the 1998 season, they will understandably first think of the home run chase. For most of the summer, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chased each other and the most revered record in all of professional sports: Roger Maris' single season home run record off 61 set back in 1961. When spring training began, McGwire was thrust into the spotlight when asked if he thought he would break the record. From day one, it was expected of him to at least surpass his 1997 home run total of 58 if not reach Maris. And even when him and Sosa we

There were so many other smaller accomplishments in the unforgettable year of 1998. First, San Francisco's Barry Bonds became the first player ever to hit 400 home runs and steal 400 bases. Seattle's Alex Rodriquez became only the third player in history with 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in a season. "AROD" also led the American League in hitting and along with New York's Derek Jeeter, and Boston's Nomar Garciaparria as the best three shortstops ever to play at the same time (Verducci, 2). Roger Clemens of the Toronto Blue Jays won his fifth A.L. Cy Young award, while being the co-holder of the single game strikeout record with Kerry Wood. In Philidelphia, Kurt Shilling became the first pitcher ever to strike out 300 batters three years in a row. '98 also was the first year in which more than two people hit 50 or more home runs. They were McGwire (70), Sosa (66), Seattle's Ken Griffey Jr. (56), and San Diego's Greg Vaughn (52). Griffey also became the youngest player ever to his 350 home runs. He is considered the only active player who has the potential to break Henry "Hank" Aaron's career home run record of 756. Thirty-nine year old Rickey Henderson of San Diego at age 39, became the oldest player ever to steal more than 50 bases.

re neck and neck, Sosa was still in "Big Mac's" shadow. It is widely believed that without Sosa, McGwire might not have passed Maris and never would have reached such a mind-boggling number.

SAMMY SOSA: BASEBALL'S BEEN VERY GOOD TO ME

Another player that made '98 so special was Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs. Through his first four starts, this rookie showed lots of promise. Wood's fastball was clocked right around 100mph, and had a curveball and slider to compliment it. Then, In just his fifth Major League start, Wood tied Roger Clemens' record of 20 strikeouts in a single game. He continued to dominate hitters throughout the year, while only struggling on occasion. By late August, Wood was 13-6 with a 2.60 ERA (1.20 ERA at Wrigley), and averaging a league leading 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings. However, injury would cut Kerry's season short. He strained a ligament in his throwing elbow and missed the rest of the season. Wood was able to come back earlier than expected, and started game three of the division series. Wood gave up two runs in five innings, but had a strong outing in the Cubs' loss to the Braves. After the season, the Baseball Writer's Association rewarded Kerry for his work in '98 by giving him the National League Rookie of the Year award.

A definitive moment of McGwire's quest and even the baseball season in general came on that last day of the season. Right down the road from Busch Stadium, The St. Louis Rams and the Arizona Cardinals were playing a football game at the Trans World Dome. The Rams had the ball with third and nine. All of a sudden, the TWA Dome's fans started screaming and cheering. This forced the Rams to take a delay-of-game penalty. The reason: nothing that the Rams had done, but it was news of "Big Mac's" 69th home run that got the fans into a frenzy (Verducci, 3)

A few weeks later the Cubs came to St. Louis for a two game series that started on Labor Day. At the time, McGwire had 60 while his Dominican counterpart had 58. In the first inning of game one, McGwire game the fans exactly what they wanted to see when he blasted his 61st homer to tie Maris.

Before 1998, David Wells was a no-name pitcher for the great New York Yankees. That would change early in the season. On May 17, just a few weeks after Kerry Woods' domination of the Astros, Wells stunned the entire baseball world by pitching only the third perfect game (no runners allowed on base) by a left -hander in history. Even after, most believed that Wells performance was a fluke, but it was not. He rose up to dominate American League hitters, and led the Yankees' pitching staff. He had an 18-6 record and an ERA (Earned Run Average) under three

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