September 27, 1998. It was a Sunday.
Busch Stadium was shaking. Honestly, the whole country was shaking. You had people who didn't know a bunt from a base hit tuning in to see if "Big Mac" could actually do it. By the time the St. Louis Cardinals took the field for their season finale against the Montreal Expos, the atmosphere wasn't just electric—it was heavy.
Mark McGwire was sitting on 68 home runs. He’d already broken Roger Maris’s legendary record of 61. He’d already traded blows with Sammy Sosa in a summer that basically saved baseball after the 1994 strike turned everyone sour. But 70? That was a mythic number. It felt impossible until it suddenly wasn't.
The Moment Mark McGwire 70th Home Run Left the Park
Most people remember the 62nd home run—the one where he hugged the Maris family and basically levitated around the bases. But the Mark McGwire 70th home run was a different beast. It wasn't just a record; it was a punctuation mark.
It happened in the bottom of the seventh inning. A young pitcher named Carl Pavano—who would later have a pretty notable career himself—was on the mound. Pavano threw an 88-mph fastball that caught too much of the plate. McGwire didn't just hit it. He erased it.
The ball traveled 370 feet into the left-field stands. It wasn't his longest shot of the year (he had some that cleared 500 feet), but it was the most significant. The crowd went into a full-blown frenzy. You’ve probably seen the footage: the flashbulbs, the raw noise, the way McGwire almost looked relieved as he rounded the bags. He finished the game with two homers that day, hitting number 69 in the third and number 70 in the seventh.
Basically, he turned a historic chase into a blowout.
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The $3 Million Snub: Phil Ozersky’s Life-Changing Catch
Here is where the story gets kinda wild and a little bit awkward. A 26-year-old research scientist named Phil Ozersky was sitting in the bleachers. He was making about $30,000 a year at Washington University. When that 70th ball came screaming into the stands, it ended up in his hands.
The Cardinals immediately tried to get it back.
Standard procedure, right? They offered him a signed bat, a signed ball, and a jersey. Ozersky said sure, but he had one small request: he wanted to meet Mark McGwire.
McGwire said no.
Now, to be fair to Big Mac, he was exhausted. He’d been under a microscope for six months. He just wanted to go home to California. But that "no" turned out to be the most expensive rejection in sports history. Because McGwire wouldn't walk across the room to say hello, Ozersky walked out of the stadium with the ball.
Three months later, at an auction at Madison Square Garden, comic book creator Todd McFarlane (the guy who created Spawn) bought the ball for a staggering $3.05 million.
Imagine that. A $30k-a-year scientist becomes a millionaire because a baseball player was too tired for a meet-and-greet. It’s one of those "only in sports" moments that people still argue about at bars.
The Tarnish on the Legend
We have to talk about the elephant in the room. You can't mention the Mark McGwire 70th home run without talking about steroids. In 1998, we were all pretending not to see the bottles of androstenedione in his locker. We wanted the fairy tale.
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Years later, McGwire admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs.
"I wish I had never touched steroids," he said in 2010. "It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize."
That admission changed everything. It’s why he isn't in the Hall of Fame. It’s why that $3 million ball is now estimated to be worth maybe $250,000 to $300,000. It’s a massive drop. The 70th home run is still a statistical fact, but for a lot of fans, the magic has a permanent asterisk attached to it.
Quick Stats: McGwire’s Insane 1998
- Total Home Runs: 70
- Final Game: 2-for-4 with 2 HRs
- The Pitcher: Carl Pavano (Expos)
- Distance of #70: 370 feet
- Sosa’s Final Count: 66
Why We Still Care
Despite the controversy, that summer was special. If you were alive then, you remember checking the box scores every single morning. It was a communal experience that baseball hasn't really replicated since.
Sosa and McGwire weren't just rivals; they were partners in a way. They boosted each other. When Sosa would hit two, McGwire would answer with three. It was a heavyweight fight where both guys were landing haymakers.
Even with the PED cloud, the sheer skill required to barrel up a major league fastball and send it 400 feet 70 times in one season is mind-boggling. Most pros go their whole lives without hitting 70 total. He did it in 162 games.
What to do next with this history
If you want to dive deeper into the 1998 season, here are a few things you should actually check out to get the full picture:
- Watch the "Long Gone Summer" Documentary: It’s an ESPN 30 for 30 that really captures the vibe of that year. It features interviews with both McGwire and Sosa, and it doesn't shy away from the steroid stuff.
- Look up the 62nd Home Run Video: The 70th was the record-setter, but the 62nd was the emotional peak. Watching him lift his son at home plate is still a powerful image, regardless of how you feel about the era.
- Check Out the Current Home Run Leaders: Compare McGwire’s 1998 pace to modern seasons. Aaron Judge’s 62-homer run in 2022 is the "clean" benchmark most people use now, and seeing how their monthly splits compare is fascinating for any stat nerd.