Last week, ESPN aired a documentary titled “Long Gone Summer.” The film displayed the epic 1998 home run race between MLB legends Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. The two superstars shared how they pushed one another in hopes of breaking the single season home run record of 61 set by Roger Maris in 1961.
The movie detailed the incredible journey of how both men became larger than life figures.
McGwire was the Southern Californian kid who had been a pitcher until he got to college. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 1984 and broke the rookie home run record in 1987. After eight and a half seasons with the Athletics, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.
While with the Cardinals, his dominance continued. In 1997, McGwire hit 58 home runs. Therefore, everyone expected him to break the home run record in 1998. He ended up shattering the record of 61 held by Roger Maris recording 70 home runs that season.
“After a while I realized that I was born to hit home runs,” McGwire said.
McGwire currently has the 11th most home runs in MLB history.
Sosa grew up working as a shoe shiner in the slums of the Dominican Republic. At age 14, using a mitt made from a milk carton, he began to play organized baseball. He signed with the Texas Rangers at the age of 17. Sosa’s career started off slow and he was traded to multiple teams during his earlier years before finding stability with the Chicago Cubs in 1992.
In 1998, Sosa became a household name. Sosa started the season off slow. However, he caught fire and hit 20 home runs in the month of June. He pushed McGwire by hitting 66 home runs on the season and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award.
Sosa shocked the world as everyone expected McGwire and seven-time Silver Slugger Award winner Ken Griffey Jr. to compete for the award. He said he even shocked himself by what he was able to accomplish.
“Everyone thought it would be Ken Griffey Jr. to compete for the record, but God chose me,” Sosa said.
Both Sosa and McGwire continued to earn accolades throughout their careers. Unfortunately for these two superstars, controversy would come after their retirements.
The late ’80s through the early 2000s for MLB was known as the steroid era. Many of the game’s high-profile players tested positive for anabolic steroids and their legacies were tarnished.
McGwire and Sosa were named in an investigation in 2009 and were reported for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs during their careers. McGwire admitted taking steroids while Sosa has denied all allegations even to this day.
Due to these reports, despite their long list of accomplishments, neither McGwire nor Sosa has received the ultimate accomplishment of being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
On the other hand, Ken Griffey Jr., the man left out of the 1998 season’s spotlight, has never been involved in any controversy.
Griffey decided not to take steroids. Being different might have cost him the spotlight during that season, but in the end, he received the ultimate goal of being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.
At the end of the day, there is nothing wrong with being different. To reach your full potential in life, you can’t do what everybody else does. Some people may not like you or vibe with you because they don’t understand your ways and that’s okay.
The most successful people in the world didn’t get to where they are by following trends. They had to think outside of the box and show themselves to be leaders instead of followers.
Life is too short to try and fit in all the time. Do whatever it is that will bring you happiness.
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