The 1998 season will be remembered as the year of the home run duel. Five players topped 50 round-trippers for the season, but what captured the fans' attention, lifted ratings, and filled ballparks was the race between Cardinal Mark McGwire and Cub Sammy Sosa to break Roger Maris' thirty-seven year-old record of 61 homers.

McGwire got off to a wonderful start and was several games ahead of Maris' pace by the All-Star break, assuring fan focus. McGwire didn't slow down, but Sosa speeded up. Their competition, conducted with mutual admiration and respect, was both intense and heartwarming, rekindling a love for the game in the hearts of many fans who had become disgruntled in the last few years. By September, the question was no longer "will the record be broken?", but "by which slugger and by how much?" Although Sosa twice drew even with McGwire, the big Cardinal first baseman was unstoppable. He broke Maris' record in fewer than 154 games, eliminating any talk of an asterisk. Then, by hitting five homers in his last three games, he set the bar at an improbable 70. Sosa, who also surpassed Maris, emerged as an equal hero. All along, he maintained that getting the Cubs to the playoffs was his most important task. That job he accomplished.

In the long run, perhaps the most important event of the season may prove to be that Bud Selig finally agreed to become full-time commissioner, but actions on the field made more headlines. Cubs' rookie Kerry Wood excited fans with big strikeout numbers; the Blue Jays' Roger Clemens put together another Cy Young-worthy season as did Pedro Martinez with his new Red Sox team. Curt Schilling struck out 300 batters for the Phillies. David Wells ofthe Yankees threw a perfect game; veterans David Cone and Tom Glavine returned to the 20-win club.

The near-daily individual accomplishments made up for an absence of exciting pennant races. By the All-Star Game break, four of the six divisional titles - the N. L. and A.L. East and Central Divisions - had been decided, if not mathematically, certainly in the minds of all but the most diehard fans. A fifth race - the N.L. West - flickered into late August before being resolved. Only the A.L. West with its duel between the Anaheim Angels and the Texas Rangers went down to the wire. And even there, both teams struggled with records inferior to Boston, the second-place team in the A.L. East. By September, the only race that had any real suspense was the N.L.'s Wild Card chase. The Cubs, Giants, and the Mets staggered to the end in pursuit of a short stay in the playoffs. The Mets dropped out by losing their last five games. On the final day of the regular season, the Cubs blew a lead, apparently ending their hopes. Then the Giants gave up an even bigger lead to the Rockies to plunge them into a tie with Chicago. The next day, Chicago won a single-game playoff at home to earn the dubious honor of facing Atlanta in the playoffs.

In the National League East, Atlanta got a big boost with the acquisition of Andres Galarraga and the maturing of Andruw Jones and Javy Lopez. Chipper Jones also had another fine year. The Braves' bullpen was shaky but their starters - Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Neagle, and Kevin Millwood - were baseball's top rotation. The defending champion Florida Marlins went on an austerity drive and sold or traded away all their big contracts, and, unfortunately, the players who went with them. The Fish lost 104 games. The Mets hoped their acquisition of Mike Piazza would help them overcome the Braves. It didn't. Houston got better results from their mid-season pickup of fireballing Randy Johnson, whose 10-1 performance helped them break away from the Cubs in the Central. In the West, San Diego built such an imposing lead they were able to overcome a September hitting dearth.

The American League focus was on the Yankees and the question of whether they could set a new team record for victories. Although Bernie Williams won the A. L. batting title, New York was not a team of superstars. Instead, they won with a roster that was unusually solid and deep. Their 114 wins broke Cleveland's 1954 mark but fell short of the major league record of 116 set by the 1906 Cubs. The Bombers jumped so far out in front that Boston's second-best league record went almost unnoticed. Baltimore won the cardboard ring as the most disappointing team. With baseball's biggest payroll, the Birds spent much of the year under .500 with only a remarkable comeback from life-threatening cancer by Eric Davis as a bright spot. Before the Orioles' final home game, iron man Cal Ripken Jr. voluntarily ended his consecutive game streak at 2,633. Cleveland appeared weaker than in the last few seasons but had no real competition in the Central. Out West, Texas knocked off the Angels in their last five meetings to edge Anaheim in baseball's only real race for a division title. Juan Gonzalez proved an RBI machine for the Rangers, and was actually ahead of Hack Wilson's 68-year-old record for half the season.

By October, some were calling 1998 "the best season ever." History will make the final judgment, but it was certainly an interesting season and a thoroughly enjoyable season - one that made baseball, for this summer at least, once more America's national game.

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