Series Wrapup

Story

The division races in the National League took a backseat to the thrilling home run race waged between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998.  The nation focused much of its attention on the two sluggers as they continued their inexorable march towards a new single-season home-run record.  McGwire, who one year earlier mounted a serious challenge to Roger Maris’ 37-year-old record of 61, ended up obliterating the old mark by hitting 70 round-trippers.  After crushing number 62 on September 8, he showed his respect for the former record-holder by hugging Maris’ children before a national television audience.  McGwire subsequently hit eight more homers, including five on the season’s final weekend, to become the first player to reach the 70-homer plateau.  McGwire also ended the season with 147 runs batted in, 130 runs scored, a .299 batting average, and a league-leading 162 bases on balls, .470 on-base percentage, and .752 slugging average.       

Making McGwire’s pursuit of baseball’s most cherished single-season mark all the more fascinating was the fact that Chicago’s Sammy Sosa joined him in the chase.  A torrid month of June, in which Sosa hit a record 20 home runs, put the Cubs right-fielder in the hunt as well.  Sosa concluded the campaign with 66 homers of his own, earning N.L. MVP honors by leading his team into the playoffs as the senior circuit’s wild-card representative.  Still, it took a victory over the San Francisco Giants in a one-game playoff for the Cubs to advance to the postseason tournament.

Chicago finished the year with a record of 90-73, 12 ½ games behind the first-place Houston Astros in the N.L. Central, and one game ahead of the 89-74 Giants in the race for the wild card.  Only poor pitching prevented the Cubs from clinching a playoff berth in a more conventional manner.  While the Cubs placed third in the senior circuit with 831 runs scored and 212 home runs, they finished just 11th in the league with a 4.47 team ERA.  Although Kevin Tapani led the staff with 19 victories, 21-year-old Kerry Wood established himself as the team’s most effective starter over the course of the season.  Wood earned N.L. Rookie of the Year honors by winning 13 games, compiling a 3.40 ERA, and finishing among the league leaders with 233 strikeouts.  

Sosa’s booming bat led Chicago’s offensive attack.  In addition to hitting 66 home runs, Sosa led the league with 158 runs batted in, scored 134 runs, and batted .308.  Mark Grace and Henry Rodriguez ably assisted Sosa in the middle of Chicago’s lineup.  Grace batted .309, knocked in 89 runs, and scored 92 others.  Rodriguez hit 31 homers and drove in 85 runs.

Although the Giants just missed making the playoffs, their batting order featured two of the league’s top players in Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds.  Kent hit 31 homers, drove in 128 runs, and batted .297.  Bonds went deep 37 times, knocked in 122 runs, scored 120 others, and batted .303.

The N.L. Central champion Houston Astros were the senior circuit’s highest-scoring team, tallying 874 runs en route to posting a regular-season record of 102-60.  Houston’s lineup included the formidable threesome of Moises Alou, Craig Biggio, and Jeff Bagwell.  Alou hit 38 home runs, knocked in 124 runs, scored 104 others, and batted .312.  Biggio hit 20 homers, drove in 88 runs, led the league with 51 doubles, and placed among the leaders with 123 runs scored, 210 hits, 50 stolen bases, and a .325 batting average.  Bagwell hit 34 four-baggers, drove in 111 runs, crossed the plate 124 times, and batted .304.

Houston also had a solid pitching staff, finishing second in the league with a team ERA of 3.50.  Shane Reynolds led the club with 19 victories and 209 strikeouts.  After joining the Astros just prior to the trade deadline on July 31, Randy Johnson went 10-1 with a miniscule 1.28 ERA over the season’s final two months.    

Houston ended up finishing a close second to Atlanta in the race for the league’s best overall record.  The Braves continued their domination of the N.L. East by capturing their fourth straight division title with a record of 106-56 that left them 18 games ahead of the runner-up New York Mets in the final standings.  Once again the National League’s most well-balanced team, the Braves finished fourth in the senior circuit with 826 runs scored, while leading the league with an exceptional 3.25 team ERA.

Andres Galarraga paced Atlanta’s offensive attack, hitting 44 home runs, driving in 121 runs, scoring 103 others, and batting .305.  Javy Lopez and Chipper Jones also made significant contributions to the Braves on offense.  Lopez hit 34 homers and knocked in 106 runs.  Jones also hit 34 round-trippers, drove in 107 runs, scored 123 others, and batted .313.

The Braves’ greatest strength continued to be their outstanding starting pitching.  Atlanta’s staff featured five starters who won at least 16 games.  Tom Glavine earned Cy Young honors for the second time in his career by going 20-6 with a 2.47 earned run average.  Greg Maddux finished 18-9, with a league-leading 2.22 ERA and five shutouts.  John Smoltz went 17-3 with a 2.90 ERA.  Kevin Millwood and Denny Neagle posted 17 and 16 victories, respectively.

While the Braves repeated as N.L. East champs, the San Diego Padres replaced San Francisco at the top of the Western Division standings, finishing 9 ½ games in front of the runner-up Giants with a record of 98-64.  The Padres rode the powerful bat of Greg Vaughn and the strong arms of Kevin Brown and Trevor Hoffman all the way to the division title.  Vaughn earned a fourth-place finish in the N.L. MVP balloting by hitting 50 home runs, knocking in 119 runs, scoring 112 others, and batting .272.  Brown finished 18-7, with a 2.38 ERA and 257 strikeouts.  Hoffman led the league with 53 saves.

San Diego subsequently advanced to the NLCS by defeating Houston in four games in their first-round playoff matchup.  After winning two of the first three contests by a single run, the Padres scored four times against Houston’s bullpen in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game Four to clinch the series with a 6-1 victory.

The Braves had an easier time with the Cubs in the other Division Series, sweeping their overmatched opponents in three straight games and outscoring them in the process by a combined margin of 15-4.  However, Atlanta ended up falling short in the postseason again, this time losing to San Diego in six games in the NLCS.

San Diego subsequently proved to be no match for the powerful Yankees in the World Series, dropping the Fall Classic in four straight games.  The Padres put up a good fight in three of the four contests, but, in the end, a Yankee team that won a record 114 games over the course of the regular season outscored them by a combined margin of 26-13.

Other outstanding performers, notable events, and points of interest from around the league follow:

• March 31 - The Arizona Diamondbacks dropped a 9–2 decision to the Colorado Rockies in their first game ever.

• April 5 - The Arizona Diamondbacks won their first game in franchise history, 3–2, over the San Francisco Giants.  Andy Benes got the win for the 1–5 Diamondbacks.

• June 6 – The Cincinnati Reds retired Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan’s uniform number 8 in a ceremony at Cinergy Field.

• September 5 - Mark McGwire became the third player in major league history to reach 60 home runs, as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-0.  McGwire joined Babe Ruth and Roger Maris with 60 home runs in a single season.

• September 27 - In the St. Louis Cardinals' final game of the season, Mark McGwire hit two home runs against the Montreal Expos for the second straight night, establishing a new MLB record with 70 home runs in a season.  Sammy Sosa failed to hit a home run in Chicago’s 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros, leaving him at 66 homers.  However, Chicago’s loss forced a one-game playoff with the San Francisco Giants for the National League wild card, giving Sosa one final chance to reach McGwire.

• September 27 - In the San Diego Padres' final regular season game, left fielder Greg Vaughn hit his 50th home run of the season, a career high and a San Diego Padres record for home runs in a season.  Vaughn’s blast  marked the first time in major league history that four players - Vaughn (50), Griffey (56), Sosa (66) and McGwire (70) - hit at least 50 home runs in the same season.

• September 28 - In a one-game playoff, the Chicago Cubs defeated the San Francisco Giants 5-3 to secure the final playoff spot in the National League.  For the third game in a row, the Cubs' Sammy Sosa collected two hits but failed to hit a homer, leaving him at 66 home runs for the season; four fewer than Mark McGwire, who pulled ahead of Sosa with five home runs in his final three games.

• November 30 - The Arizona Diamondbacks signed free agent Randy Johnson to a four-year contract worth approximately $50 million.

• Padres outfielder Tony Gwynn batted .500 with a homer in a losing effort against the Yankees in the World Series.

• Chicago’s Kerry Wood tied the all-time single-game record by striking out 20 Houston Astros on May 6.

• Colorado’s Larry Walker hit 23 home runs, scored 113 runs, amassed 46 doubles, and led the league with a .363 batting average.

• Rockies teammate Dante Bichette knocked in 122 runs, batted .331, and collected 219 hits.

• Colorado teammate Vinny Castilla batted .319 and placed among the league leaders with 46 home runs and 144 runs batted in.

• Sammy Sosa’s 20 home runs in June established a new all-time record for one calendar month.

• Houston's Craig Biggio became the first player since 1912 to notch 50 doubles and 50 steals in a season.

• Florida’s salary dump continued on May 15 when the Marlins sent Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, and Jim Eisenreich to the Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile.

• On May 22, the Marlins dealt Piazza to the Mets for three minor-leaguers.

• Chicago lost two broadcasting legends in one year, as both Harry Caray and Jack Brickhouse passed away.

• New York’s John Olerud finished second in the league with a .354 batting average and a .447 on-base percentage.  

• Philadelphia’s Curt Schilling struck out 300 batters, en route to leading the National League in strikeouts for the second straight season.

• On August 23, Barry Bonds became the first man ever to hit 400 homers and steal 400 bases.

• Montreal's Vladimir Guerrero hit 38 home runs in his first full season.

• Pitcher Kevin Brown signed a seven-year, $105 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

• The Rockies fired Don Baylor, the club's manager since its inception, immediately after the season.

Seasons of the National League

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