Was it #62 McGwire hit (?) ....as he rounded first base I remember Mark Grace giving him a nice "atta boy" pat on his back. And I'll NEVER forget John Madden being interviewed during a game(1998) from his seat and him responding to a question regarding the HR duel between McGwire and Sosa with something along the lines of: I think what these Yankees are doing is being sorely overlooked. Bless his heart.
More then any other cheat McGwire was the one that pissed me off the most with his his phony embracing of the Maris family knowing he cheated to accomplish it. And speaking of phonies Selig with his condemning of PEDs over the last few years after he verbally credited McGwire & Sosa's 98 HR chase with saving the game.
...I'll always wonder one way or the other as to exactly how much MLB/Selig really knew about PEDs use back then. Did they not know or did they simply look the other way in lieu of "healing" the game after the previous strike that again damaged the game so deeply?
Guys....oral anabolic steroids were sold OTC in 98. You needed need injectable or HGH. GNC and several other brands of and do had big Mac on their posters in the stores. PEDs, yes...but perfectly legal and within the rules. Now maybe Mac was doing needles with Jose back in Oakland, but all evidence of the HR race points to OTC supplements. There were photos of the bottles in his locker. Its difficult to find fault with players taking supps that were widely available and in use outside Olympic athletes. The blame falls on MLB and MLBPA. But the league was making a lot of money and players were getting big contracts.
...^^^don't know about Mac, but there were a few other back then that were obviously using much more than HGH.
