Player’s strike put behind baseball after great season

Tuesday, October 6, 1998

Player’s strike put behind baseball after great season

COLUMN: Broken records, likeable veterans, young stars give fans
great year

By Evan Lovett

The 1998 Major League Baseball season was the best ever, hands
down.

While Mac and Sammy were battling for the most prestigious
record in sports, the world was watching in awe. Fan interest was
at an all-time high and the players’ strike of 1994 was nothing but
a speck of dust in a distant universe.

But Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were not the only reason that
baseball reclaimed its rightful place as America’s national
pastime.

The New York Yankees rebounded from an 0-3 start to win 114
games, the most in the Major Leagues since the 1906 Cubs. The 1998
Yankees established themselves as not only one of the best teams in
the history of baseball, but did it with class and style – and
without the help of one true superstar.

The Yankees also had two of the most remarkable stories in the
baseball world, in the form of David Wells and Darryl
Strawberry.

Wells, the proverbial ‘working-class hero,’ pitched a perfect
game in May, only the 13th time in baseball history that the feat
has been accomplished. Making the perfect game even more special
was the fact that Wells is a beer-drinking, overweight, Babe Ruth
look-alike.

Strawberry, on the other hand, was slated to be a role player in
the Yankee outfield. Once the kingpin of the baseball fraternity,
the Straw straightened out his act to lead the Yankees in home runs
and earned the role of captain.

In addition to Mac’s 70 home runs and Sosa taking the alternate
Route 66, there were two other sluggers to reach the magical 50
plateau. Greg Vaughn of the San Diego Padres hit his 50th on the
season’s final day, and Ken Griffey Jr. received the least
attention of his career, though he blasted 56. This was the first
time that more than two hitters reached 50 home runs in the same
season.

Though McGwire’s 70 home runs may be the number receiving all of
the hoopla, perhaps 2,632 should be the number on everyone’s mind.
Those were the number of days Cal Ripken Jr. showed up for work,
consecutively. The new ‘Iron Man,’ Ripken redefined the way his
position should be played, and did so without ever saying a word or
missing a day. This record will never be broken.

Alex Rodriguez provided America with another reason that
baseball will be in the forefront for the next generation. At only
23 years of age, A-Rod achieved what had only been done twice
previously, hitting 40 home runs and stealing 40 bases in the same
season. Rodriguez will be the man to take baseball on his back, and
may become the next Michael Jordan.

Barry Bonds, however, took A-Rod’s mark to the next level. Bonds
became the first player in the game’s storied past to hit 400 home
runs and steal 400 bases in his career. Though Bonds may be
portrayed as a self-righteous egomaniac by the media, there is a
reason. He backs it up.

And how about Kerry Wood? Coming out of the same neck of the
woods as Nolan Ryan, this rookie phenom exploded on the scene with
a fastball wicked enough to fan 20 batters in one game, matching
the record held by Roger Clemens. Wood will win the National League
rookie of the year award and may be on the scene for quite a few
years.

Speaking of Roger Clemens, the man seems to be a lock for his
unprecedented fifth Cy Young award. "The Rocket" led the American
League in strikeouts and ERA, and did not lose a start from May
until the end of the season.

Juan Gonzalez made a run at Hack Wilson’s seemingly unbreakable
190 RBIs in a season, finishing with 157 – but Sammy Sosa did him
one better, ending up with 158, the most in a season since 1949.
These clutch producers will each be their respective leagues’ most
valuable players.

Incredible. The 1998 baseball season could not be described any
other way. The hitting was tremendous, the pitching was awesome,
and the fan support and participation was what the game needed to
get back on track. From Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to the New York
Yankees and Chicago Cubs, 1998 was truly what baseball is all
about.

Evan Lovett is a fourth-year sociology student with a business
minor. He is assistant sports editor for the Bruin and would gladly
accept any comments on this column or girls’ phone numbers at
[email protected].

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© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board