Looking back, what is y'alls opinion of the '98 HR Chase? At the time, I was really into it. I checked the paper every morning to see who went deep the night before. Early on, I was rooting for Griffey, but after he fell off the pace, I was definitely on McGwire's side. The day he hit 62, I ended up being late for work because I wouldn't leave until he hit it.

After the steroid stuff really blew up, it pissed me off, and I kind of felt cheated of a great memory. However, looking back now, I really don't care. One of my favorite memories was getting to the Dome two hours early to watch Big Mac launch moon shots into the upper deck. He wasn't just barely making it up there. He was putting them at least a dozen rows back.

Even though I was pulling for McGwIre, I would have had no problem if Sosa ended up breaking the record first, because the way he played, he made the game fun.

Anyways, I was randomly thinking about the chase, I have come full circle on it. At the time, I thought it was an amazing moment for baseball. Then, I went to hating the steroid players for ruining the game. Now, I'm willing to look past the steroids, and I'm back to it being one the best summers ever for baseball.

As a die hard Cubs fan, it was crazy fun.....I saw Sammy hit a couple at Wrigley and then #66 in the Dome....combined with Harry Carey's death, Kerry Wood, and the first playoff run in my generation it was the greateat summer of baseball of my childhood (second greatest of my life)

But in my head, it's just like the Danny Almonte little league story and I can't get past it.

Junior was the best of the era.

AustinAg2K said:

---

Looking back, what is y'alls opinion of the '98 HR Chase? At the time, I was really into it. I checked the paper every morning to see who went deep the night before. Early on, I was rooting for Griffey, but after he fell off the pace, I was definitely on McGwire's side. The day he hit 62, I ended up being late for work because I wouldn't leave until he hit it.

After the steroid stuff really blew up, it pissed me off, and I kind of felt cheated of a great memory. However, looking back now, I really don't care. One of my favorite memories was getting to the Dome two hours early to watch Big Mac launch moon shots into the upper deck. He wasn't just barely making it up there. He was putting them at least a dozen rows back.

Even though I was pulling for McGwIre, I would have had no problem if Sosa ended up breaking the record first, because the way he played, he made the game fun.

Anyways, I was randomly thinking about the chase, I have come full circle on it. At the time, I thought it was an amazing moment for baseball. Then, I went to hating the steroid players for ruining the game. Now, I'm willing to look past the steroids, and I'm back to it being one the best summers ever for baseball.

---

I feel about the same although a few years younger. Saw Sosa hit #47 at the dome. Remember where I was and what I was doing while watching Big Mac hit 62

I was 23 that summer.

Everyone knew they were juicing. No one cared.

The media of the time hailed that and Ripken's breaking of Lou Gehrig's streak as "saving baseball" after the '94 strike. I remember hating playing fantasy baseball for a while because if you had McGwire or Sosa on a team, it was like having a cheat code.

Don't care. It saved baseball coming off the 94 strike. I loved every second of it and wish we had something half as exciting in today's game


Every AB was a must watch

1998 was a special season and was when I fell in love with Major League Baseball.

I was 11, and as a Ranger fan, watching JuanGone get to 101 rbi at the break was special.

But I was completely captivated by two other teams, players all summer long. It probably wasn't until June when Sammy had 20 when I started following, religiously…I just couldn't wait to watch Cubs day games on WGN and then find Cardinals box scores/highlights that night. And even more exciting knowing they would play against one another tons of times throughout the year.

Will never forget listening to McGwire hit 62 on the radio on the way to watch a movie that day, we waited in the parking lot just to hear the (potential) call.

Roger Maris still owns the home run record IMO. Those other guys simply cheated.

docb said:

---

Roger Maris still owns the home run record IMO. Those other guys simply cheated.

---

Judge hit 62

Mr.Bond said:

---

docb said:

---

Roger Maris still owns the home run record IMO. Those other guys simply cheated.

---

Judge hit 62

---

Ah. I forgot about that. Judge it is.

Mr.Bond said:

---

It's an interesting argument.One could also say that babe ruth was hitting homeruns off of guys who were sheep farmers in the offseason.

---

yeah, but nobody else was doing anything close to what he was doing.

In 1921 when he hit 59 HR, he hit more as an individual than the Tigers, Indians, Nationals, White Sox, and Red Sox did as a team in the AL

the steroid era HR records are hard to take serious -- they are not aging well so to speak

it's still amazing that so few players have taken the Andy Pettitte route

it's like they are sworn to secrecy or threatened to secrecy...even 20+ years later

The Original Houston 1836 said:

---

Shouldn't it really be Babe Ruth? Maris and Judge got 8 extra games.

---

Judge tied Ruth well before 154 games, and hit 61 and 62 in the last 7 games.

kb2001 said:

---

The Original Houston 1836 said:

---

Shouldn't it really be Babe Ruth? Maris and Judge got 8 extra games.

---

Judge tied Ruth well before 154 games, and hit 61 and 62 in the last 7 games.

---

So they're tied.

Aggies2009 said:

---

The Original Houston 1836 said:

---

Mr.Bond said:

---

It's an interesting argument.One could also say that babe ruth was hitting homeruns off of guys who were sheep farmers in the offseason.

---

yeah, but nobody else was doing anything close to what he was doing.

In 1921 when he hit 59 HR, he hit more as an individual than the Tigers, Indians, Nationals, White Sox, and Red Sox did as a team in the AL

---

Exactly. Ruth hit 54 in 1920. While it isn't the 60 or 70 that hitters (including Ruth with 60) did after him, he was so far ahead of everyone else that when you normalize data, that season may have been the best HR season.

The next highest guy had 19. In fact, take the next 3 highest guys, add them up, and you still don't get Ruth's 54. Only 2 TEAMS hit more than Ruth. And you can make 10 combinations of teams that Ruth outhit. Insane stuff.

---

One thing that does have to be thought about with Ruth's HR totals prior to 1929: the ground rule double didn't exist prior to the 1929 season. Prior to that, any ball that left the yard in fair territory, even on the bounce, was a HR. So by modern standards, some of those HRs might be 2Bs.

I don't know if there is any way to determine, unless maybe the old NY papers have those editions in microfilm and you can read the game story for every HR.

I've also heard (radio announcers during a rain delay long ago) that Babe Ruth is responsible for the rule that park dimensions can only be altered once per season. At one point, team owners would move the fences in when the Yankees came to town, then move them out again after the series, because Ruth hitting HRs drew crowds.