Destination articles

MLB The Show 19 to allow McGwire

Rskingdom

McGwire then strode to the stands to share the moment with the family of Roger Maris, the man whose record McGwire had broken.The night of Sept. 8, 1998, is viewed at least two ways — as the salve that healed the wounds of the 1994-95 strike/lockout and as part of a cynical ploy by MLB The Show 19 to allow McGwire, Sosa and other suspected drug cheats to hit baseballs into oblivion.
Something else, though, has become apparent with the passage of time: McGwire vs. Sosa has become the last truly national baseball race in terms of fan interest.There are two reasons for that. The first involves the state of pennant races. The second involves how home runs are viewed.Baseball still produces win-or-go-home playoff duels, but they don't compare to Yankees-Red Sox in 1978 or Cardinals-Mets in 1985 or Braves-Giants in 1993. Races involving dominant teams now tend to result in both clubs making the playoffs. Seeding, rather than survival, is the focus. Races involving 87-win teams are, well, lesser races.People can argue that baseball is mostly a regional sport and that no races will get everyone's attention, but the current setup all but ensures little national buzz.
McGwire vs. Sosa was, obviously, not a pennant race but a home run derby. The two started going dinger for dinger in midsummer and America stopped to watch.McGwire had primed the pump the previous year by hitting 58 homers combined for the A's and Cardinals, who acquired him in a July deadline trade. After re-signing with St. Louis as a free agent in the offseason, he led a home-run flood.McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr. set fast early paces that had fans thinking that this was the year Maris' mark would fall. Sosa didn't join the fray until after he hit 20 home runs in June.By the All-Star break, the show was on.