Destination articles

MLB The Show 19 2018 postseason

Rskingdom

The Sporting News, still operating out of its original home, St. Louis, gave fans front-row seats:Millions more bought tickets to the daily performances. They followed along with the simple, yet thrilling, plot. Normally barren venues such as Three Rivers Stadium, Olympic Stadium, Riverfront Stadium and Joe Robbie Stadium sprang to life.The Sporting News and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch collaborated on a commemorative book, "Celebrating 70: Mark McGwire's Historic Season," that was published shortly after the last homer had landed. Then-Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz, writing in the book's pages, summed up McGwire's national appeal this way: When Big Mac came to town, it was a civic event.

McGwire's batting practice was the best warmup act in sports. All across America, he hit cannon balls and took curtain calls. He pounded baseballs. He pounded baseball's bad image. The PED revelations/allegations hadn't yet tarnished the accomplishment. McGwire was still being hailed as a gracious giant.A national television audience watched him get to 62. Newspapers across the country (including the New Jersey daily that employed me as its sports editor) scrambled to get the news to everyone else by the next morning.

The audiences swelled and the attention intensified after Sept. 8 because McGwire and Sosa were still competing to set the bar for the next guy who came along. McGwire ended the three-week sprint on top 70-66. Sosa, though, went to the playoffs and was voted National League MVP. Win-win?That "next guy," by the way, turned out to be Barry Bonds three years later. His pursuit of McGwire lacked the joy of the '98 chase, at least outside the Bay Area, because of PED suspicions surrounding Bonds. He was the (bulked-up) embodiment of the so-called Steroid Era in baseball. His pursuit of Hank Aaron's career record six years later was polarizing, too.
Fans today make comments about 'roids whenever someone has an unexpected power surge. Even if a lot of those commenters are just being trolls, there will be plenty of real suspicion about attempts to break Bonds' records.Players also are hitting more home runs than ever, so the long ball, while still enjoyable to watch, is not as fascinating as it was 20 years ago. A monster year by, say, Aaron Judge would get New York buzzing, but would the rest of the country be as jazzed as people were two decades ago for Mac vs. Sammy?White Sox All-Star Jose Abreu reportedly hospitalized with infection on right thigh.

White Sox slugger Jose Abreu has been hospitalized in Cleveland with an infection on his right thigh, according to the Chicago Sun Times.The report says Chicago does not plan on placing Abreu on the disabled list, but he could miss its series against the Indians.
He is considered day-to-day.Abreu returned to the White Sox's lineup earlier this month from the DL after a nearly three-week absence after undergoing surgery to repair a testicular torsion issue. He has just three hits in 24 at bats since returning.
The report states that Abreu's current ailment is unrelated to the last one, and it stems from an ingrown hair.Matt Davidson and Daniel Palka are in line for increased playing time while Abreu is out of action.Gio Gonzalez injury update: Brewers P (ankle) done for MLB The Show 19 2018 postseason.