By , Chris Bahr
Published September 24, 2015
It was the great home run chase that captivated the sports world and helped bring back baseball fans who still were furious about the work stoppage that canceled the 1994 World Series: The St. Louis Cardinals' Mark McGwire vs. the Chicago Cubs' Sammy Sosa.
And on Sept. 8, 1998, McGwire became the new single-season home run king when he sent a Steve Trachsel pitch just over the left-field wall for his 62nd homer.
The fireworks went off, the Busch Stadium fans erupted in cheers and McGwire famously picked up his son Matt (then a Cardinals bat boy) at home plate before visiting with the late Roger Maris' family in the stands.
McGwire would finish the season with 70 homers -- a record that stood until San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds clubbed 73 long balls in 2001.
In hindsight, we know that both 70 and 73 lack the legitimacy that we gave them at the time. But unlike when Maris broke Babe Ruth's record with his 61st homer, there never has been an asterisk placed next to McGwire's and Bonds' feats.
McGwire finished his career in 2001, amassing 583 homers -- a number that once would have guaranteed Hall of Fame induction. However, his eventual admission of PED use has held down his vote totals. He peaked with 23.7 percent of the vote in 2010 and bottomed out at 10 percent in 2015.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/flashback-mark-mcgwire-becomes-single-season-home-run-king