McGwire Passes Roger Maris - Mark McGwire in 1998 blasted home runs at a record pace and at incredible distances all season and stayed ahead of Maris' pace for all but two games during the season. Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr, provided competition for the record, but Griffey faded in August and Sosa just could not catch up.
McGwire reached 60 home runs in early September, just when Sosa's Cubs were due to come into St. Louis for a two-game set. In the first game, he blasted a Mike Morgan pitch to become just the second Major Leaguer to ever hit 61 home runs in a season.
The next night, with the Maris family in the stands and Sosa standing in right field, McGwire hit a laser beam off Steve Trachsel down the left field line, just clearing the fence for his historic home run.
McGwire would go on to hit an incomprehensible 70 home runs while Sosa ended up at 66.
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