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MLB's eventual Home Run King was an afterthought as Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa raced to 62
发布日期:2024-12-23 19:12:16
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The great Home Run Chase of 1998 was filled with so much back-and-forth drama, prime time moments and global interest that it’s easy to forget where the game’s ultimate single-season longball champ ended up.

In 18th place.

Yep, there was one name missing all season from the Mark McGwire-Sammy Sosa chase to break Roger Maris’ single-season home run record of 61. That would be Barry Bonds, who five years later would exceed all of them – Maris, Slammin’ Sammy’s 66 home runs in ’98, Big Mac’s record 70 bombs – and hit 73, a record that’s stood since.

So, what was Bonds doing back in ’98? Having one of his MVP-caliber all-around seasons – and getting ignored.

Bonds batted .303, hit 37 home runs, drove in 122 runs, stole 28 bases and produced a 1.047 OPS – 78% higher than the league average in arguably the game’s most offensively charged era. For all that, Bonds finished eighth in voting for National League Most Valuable Player – an award won by Sosa, whose Cubs squeaked into the playoffs.

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Bonds was nowhere near Today Show relevance, wasn’t touting Denny’s fabulous side items, nor the protagonist for a Nike ad that delivered one of the great taglines of that bloated era: Chicks dig the long ball.

Nobody seemed to dig Bonds, then, but it’s funny how things worked out. Bonds could have stepped away from the game after 1998 and been a first-ballot Hall of Fame lock – with 411 home runs, 445 stolen bases, a .966 OPS and three MVPs already on the mantle.

Instead, he got even.

As detailed primarily in the 2006 book "Game of Shadows," Bonds, knowing full well McGwire and Sosa were dabbling – or drowning – in performance-enhancing drug use, decided to get on the PED train himself. His gambit took off in earnest when childhood friend Greg Anderson connected him with BALCO lab founder Victor Conte, and five of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history ensued.

Yet as stunning as Bonds’ performance was from 2000-2004, including his record-breaking 73-homer season in 2001, he never felt the widespread love in which Big Mac and Sammy basked. When the BALCO scandal unraveled, and Bonds ultimately was dismissed along with McGwire and Sosa for the Hall of Fame, the average fan wondered why he’d stoop to their level.

Well, in 1998, the home run was currency – figuratively, and literally. And that year, the scoreboard said Bonds was the 18th-best player in baseball.

A look at the 17 men – many of them ultimately outed as dopers - who finished above him:

1. Mark McGwire, Cardinals

2. Sammy Sosa, Cubs

3. Ken Griffey Jr., Mariners

4. Greg Vaughn, Padres

5. Albert Belle, White Sox

6. Jose Canseco, Blue Jays

7. Vinny Castilla, Rockies

8. Juan Gonzalez, Rangers

9. Manny Ramirez, Indians

10. Andres Galarraga, Braves

11. Rafael Palmeiro, Orioles

12. Alex Rodriguez, Mariners

13. Mo Vaughn, Rd Sox

T-14. Moises Alou, Astros

T-14. Jeromy Burnitz, Brewers

T-14. Carlos Delgado, Blue Jays

T-14. Vladimir Guerrero, Expos

18. Barry Bonds, Giants

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