The legacies of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa have been sullied by steroid allegations and admissions, but for one season in 1998, the pair delivered one of the most exciting summers Major League Baseball has ever produced.
Before Barry Bonds would go on to smash the single-season home run record a few years later, Sosa and McGwire were chasing Roger Maris’ legendary mark of 61, set in 1961, and as the season progressed, every at-bat became a potential SportsCenter No. 1 highlight. McGwire edged Sosa in ’98, finishing with 70 home runs on the year to Sosa’s 66. McGwire went on to hit 65 homers in ’99, while Sosa posted two more seasons in the 60s.
On June 14th, a new ESPN 30 for 30 will chronicle the chaotic summer of 1998, and the aftermath. Here’s the first look at “Long Gone Summer.”
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