#ken griffey jr.'s slugfest

[n64retro]

Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest Angel Studios / Nintendo Nintendo 64 1999

Gifs by N64th Street and qazmedia.kz

[alln64games]

Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest

NA release: 10th May 1999

JP release: N/A

PAL release: N/A

Developer: Angel

Publisher: Nintendo

N64 Magazine Score: N/A

This is the second Ken Griffey Jr. game form Angel Studios and Nintendo. While Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. wasn’t very good, it at least had some unique aspects, with a more arcade-like gameplay that was extremely quick. Slugfest, however, is just a boring, average baseball game with the same tropes already established – including the perfect CPU players.

I really don’t have anything to say with this one, as it’s the most average and boring baseball game so far. It would be so much better if this was a game about actual slugs having a party.

Remake or remaster?

There are better baseball games to focus on.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest

[found-in-retro-game-mags]

Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest/Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey

“Fastball, Curve, Griffey”/”We Changed the Rules”

[kurhl]

Quem é Ken Griffey?

[junker-town]

The ultimate sports video game bracket

From NBA Jam to Backyard Baseball, it’s time to vote on your all time favorite.

This week at SB Nation, we’re going to be talking about video games across the network. That’s not limited to sports video games, but in this post, right here, that’s what we’re going to talk about. What is the greatest sports video game title of all time?

That’s where you come in. We’ve selected 32 games from a variety of sports, types and eras, and we’ll be running polls over the course of this week for you to decide which one reigns supreme (there’s more info at the bottom on the selection and seeding process, for those interested). There are some I couldn’t make room for (Pyre and Golf Story stans, know that I’m with you) and some I definitely forgot. I’d love to hear about them, please yell at me in the comments.

If you can’t see the voting box, click here.

Voting for the first round will close at 11:59 PM ET Monday, June 15. We’ll vote on the second and third rounds Tuesday, and the final four games Wednesday before crowning a champion Thursday.

First-round matchups

The Originals Region (pre-1999)

Tons of classics in this region! My personal favorite in this group has to be Backyard Baseball, but I grew up playing most of the games in the Backyard series and I will not begrudge any of you who vote for the excellent Tecmo Super Bowl.

The Turn of the Century Region (1999-2003)

This region has arguably the favorite to win the whole thing: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. The first two games in the series are being remastered, with a release date of September, so get excited for that. The region also has the legendary snowboarding title SSX Tricky, and standouts from wrestling (WWF No Mercy) and tennis (Top Spin).

Other personal favorites here: NBA Street Vol. 2 (still holds up!), Madden 2004 (aka Michael Vick Madden) and Ken Griffey Jr. Slugfest (I logged way too many hours in that game as a child).

The Mid 2000’s Region (2004-2008)

This is when things started to consolidate into the major titles we see today (the next region is even more illustrative of that). I’m really intrigued by that first match-up: two beloved 2K football titles before EA boxed them out of football games. All-Pro Football 2K8 is one of the few examples of me taking some creative license here: it didn’t get great reviews, but it’s my all-time favorite football game (in my opinion, no game has better balanced rushing and passing on both sides of the ball). 2K will be returning to football soon, though!

Two more of my favorites here from now-discontinued series: MVP Baseball 2005 (a game that we’ve already laid out the case for as the best of all-time) and College Hoops 2K8. Two comments on 2K8: 1) the career mode was so much fun I applied to Elon because of it and nearly went to school there 2) go Leathernecks.

A potential darkhorse here is iRacing, the best-in-class racing simulator, complete with laser-scanned tracks.

The Modern Era (2009-Present)

Now we’re pretty fully into the big franchises. It can be hard to pick representatives for each, because the games often hardly change from year to year.

NCAA Football 14 has a big upset opportunity here — the game did not get as high reviews upon release as the rest of the entires here, but as the last licensed NCAA Football title there is a looooot of nostalgia around it.

You’ve also got Motorsport Manager, which in my opinion may be the best-in-class of the simulator genre. There are also a pair of excellent new takes on the sports genre from the past few years: Rocket League and Super Mega Baseball.

How the games were selected

A combination of personal preference, crowd-sourcing my SB Nation and Polygon colleagues, Metacritic review scores and the always-slightly-intangible “legacy” factor. I limited it to one selection per franchise (and often used Metacritic score as a tiebreaker) — if you are so inclined, feel free to view each individual entry for a franchise as representative of the franchise as a whole. This is not my 32 favorite sports games of all time — that would be a different group. I tried to make the group of games representative of the common fan favorites and the different kinds of sports games we’ve seen over the years.

Seeding was done strictly via Metacritic review scores, with the exception of the first region (old enough that most didn’t have Metacritic scores). I tried to make logical seeding out of that one.

[humor-y-videojuegos]

Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest Año: 1999 Plataformas: Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color

[porksweats]

In your opinion what are the must play games for the n64? And who are your top 5 favorite 90's Japanes pro~wrestlers? (Foreigners in Japan count)

iggys reckin balls, no mercy, goldeneye, super smash brothers, battletanx, california rush, resident evil 2 and last but not least ken griffey jr slugfest. top 5 japanese wrestlers of the 90sligervolk hanhayabusaultimo dragonbull nakano

[allcheatscodes]

ken griffey jr.s slugfest n64

http://allcheatscodes.com/ken-griffey-jr-s-slugfest-n64/

ken griffey jr.s slugfest n64

Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest cheats & more for Nintendo64 (N64)

Cheats

Unlockables

Hints

Easter Eggs

Glitches

Guides

Get the updated and latest Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest cheats, unlockables, codes, hints, Easter eggs, glitches, tricks, tips, hacks, downloads, guides, hints, FAQs, walkthroughs, and more for Nintendo64 (N64). AllCheatsCodes.com has all the codes you need to win every game you play!

Use the links above or scroll down to see all the Nintendo64 cheats we have available for Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest.

Check Game Boy cheats for this game

Developer: Unknown Publisher: Unknown

Hints

Get An All-Star Team

To get an awesome team, go to season mode. Then, set Trade Advantage on. You will be able to trade for any player if you trade the same position players. Example: Richard Hidalgo CF for Ken Griffey Jr. CF.

View CPU Pitches

Press R on controller two when your team is at bat.

Get New Cheat Codes

Everytime you win the World Series,just wait and look at the screen and soon a new code will appear.

Cheats

Disable Codes

Create a player named Code Disable. If it works, you will hear a sound.

Big Feet

Create a player with the name “CODE BIGFOOT” or “CODE BIGFEET”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

Big Bats

Create a player with the name “CODE PHATTBATT”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

Full Attributes

Create a player with the name “CODE SUPERHUMAN”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

Weeble Team

Create a player with the name “CODE WEEBLEMAN”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

Small Team

Create a player with the name “CODE LIDDLELEAGUE”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

Flat Team

Create a player with the name “CODE STEAMROLLED”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

Thin Team

Create a player with the name “CODE TOOTHPICK”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

Invisible Team

Create a player with the name “CODE INVISIBLEMAN”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

Bonus Teams

Create a player with the name “CODE EMOTIONS”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound. The new teams can be used in any mode except for season mode. Alternatively, win the World Series with any team to unlock Team Nintendo or Team Angel Studios.

Tick Team

Win the World Series on the veteran difficulty setting. Then, create a player with the name “CODE THETICK”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

CPU Vs. CPU Mode

Win the World Series on the all-star difficulty setting. Then, create a player with the name “CODE CPUVSCPU”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

Big Head Mode

Win the World Series on the rookie difficulty setting. Then, create a player with the name “CODE BIGGHEDZ”. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound.

Flying Outfielder

Wait until a pop fly to the outfield is hit by your opponent. Allow the ball to drop, then pick it up. Hold Z and press C-Up to run into the infield with the ball. Then, press C-Right, C-Up, C-Left, C-Down, C-Left, C-Up, C-Down, C-Right, C-Up, C-Left, C-Down to throw the ball to various bases. If you entered the code correctly, the crowd will boo. Then, intentionally ignore the next ball that is hit into the outfield, and repeatedly tap A or B to fly.

View Fireworks

Select exhibition mode. Then at the stadium selection screen, press Z to enter “View Stadium” mode. Then, press R + Z to shoot fireworks near the home plate section of the stadium.

Exploding Batter

While in the batter’s box, quickly press Right, Left, Down, Right, Left, Up, Right, Left, Down. Then your batter will explode and reappear after the next pitch.

Hit A Homerun

While in the batter’s box with Ken Griffey Jr., press Left(2), Right(3), Left(2) before the pitcher winds up to throw the ball. If you entered the code correctly, Ken Griffey Jr. will point his bat in the direction where the ball will be hit. Then, successfully connect with the ball to automatically hit a homerun.

Unlockables

Currently we have no unlockables for Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Easter eggs

Currently we have no easter eggs for Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Glitches

Currently we have no glitches for Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest yet. If you have any unlockables please feel free to submit. We will include them in the next post update and help the fellow gamers. Remeber to mention game name while submiting new codes.

Guides

Currently no guide available.

[n64thstreet]

Champion’s celebration in Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest, by Angel Studios/Nintendo.

[n64thstreet]

Griffey hits home in Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest, by Angel Studios/Nintendo.

[n64thstreet]

The five facial follicles in Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest by Angel Studios/Nintendo.

[n64thstreet]

The faithful flyer for Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest.

[n64thstreet]

Nintendo Power slugs it out with Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest.

[junker-town]

Sosa-McGwire home run chase tracker

What was it like in 1998, during the nail-biting race to beat Roger Maris’ home run record? We track the big headlines and the dingers as the world watched.

Welcome to the spring of 1998: Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa are coming off seasons of 58 and 36 home runs, respectively, and it’s McGwire’s first full season in St. Louis. Predictions of him breaking Roger Maris’ single-season home run mark of 61 are already flying. Six short months from now, McGwire and Sosa will both have accomplished the feat with the former edging the latter by four home runs to set a new record of 70.

Before that finish line, though, both men would hit more than 130 combined dingers throughout the year, and there would be magazine covers, commercials, and late-night shows tracking them the whole way. The home run race would captivate baseball fans, as well as people who wouldn’t otherwise care about the sport, and it would stay lodged in the mind of kids everywhere — some of whom grew up to be today’s stars of the game, and can still articulate how they felt during that summer.

So, whether you’re someone who remembers the McGwire-Sosa home run chase in all of its enthralling detail, or a future MLB fan who wasn’t yet old enough to recall all of the specifics of the season-long battle (hi, hello, it’s me), either way, it’s been 20 years since that race and its can’t-miss action brought fans back to baseball. Let the dingers fly!

[Note: Our tracker took into account all available recorded dates, field positions, and distances for McGwire and Sosa home runs in the 1998 season.]

CARLO ALLEGRI/AFP/Getty Images

McGwire steps in, wins homer contest

McGwire’s home runs were already meriting column space in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in early March, but not because of a game situation. In a batting practice home run derby against Blue Jays players, he hit all of the Cardinals’ seven homers to win. That March 8, 1998, anecdote would be a prelude of what was to come, and he even did it without his usual bat.

Sammy time: “Sosa predicted last spring he would hit 50 home runs. Now he’s out of the prognostication business”

Sosa took a step back from the confident position he had with his 1997 home run totals in the March 9 edition of the Chicago Tribune. He should have stayed with it though, since even though he wasn’t “out there to hit 40 home runs” he did that, and more. It’s safe to say he did accomplish his goal of hurting teams every day.

McGwire’s chances of breaking homer mark is among topics discussed with Reds’ minor leaguers

Someone was making predictions though, at least for McGwire. Pete Rose, joining a trend that would be a big feature of that season’s Spring Training coverage, appeared in the March 15 Post-Dispatch confidently predicting McGwire could top Maris’ mark, and offering managers advice they wouldn’t quite follow: walk him a bunch. McGwire would end the season with 162 walks, but even that many free trips to first didn’t keep him from setting the record.

While McGwire was getting all the prediction coverage, Sosa had headlines following him during Spring Training.

RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images

“Sosa’s No. 1 need: Discipline at plate”

He struck out three fewer times in 1998 than in 1997 (171 to 174) but hit 30 more home runs than the previous year. So this March 22 Tribune headline isn’t necessarily wrong, but it turns out his plate discipline didn’t matter when it came to crushing as much as everyone thought. Hey, not every preseason prediction was going to land.

Over in McGwireville that same day, the Sunday edition of the Post-Dispatch fills us in on McGwire’s opinion on all his publicity with the most 1998 reference, saying, “He has graced the cover of The Sporting News Baseball Yearbook and the Sports Illustrated special baseball issue and the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated. He is on the cover of the Cardinals’ media guid. He’s been on more covers than Monica Lewinsky. And McGwire, predictably, isn’t wild about it.”

Lewinsky name drop aside, McGwire admits he would rather not be on covers and only be written about for his feats rather than constantly having to take photos and be the center of attention. “I would rather do the articles and that’s about it.” McGwire said. “I don’t like publicity.”

That is … not a wish that will come true.

Twin towers of power

In the March 25 edition of the Tribune, with the season almost underway, a prediction of 75 or 80 homers for Sosa and teammate Henry Rodriguez gets space in the sports section. They’d combine for 97 home runs, with Sosa accomplishing the bulk of that, of course. Rodriguez did end up notching 31 of his own bombs, only five away from his career high.

In response to Cubs’ first baseman Mark Grace being tagged as the cleanup hitter and Sosa slotting in third in the batting order, Grace said in the March 27 Tribune that he’s happy with that setup because, “I want to see Sammy get as many pitches as he possibly can. Because when Sammy puts the bat on the ball, good things happen.” If you only knew, Mark Grace. If you only knew.

Players: 61 HRs before .400

Also on the 27th, a small item in the Moline, Illinois, Dispatch noted that Grace said McGwire, Sosa, or anyone on the Rockies would have a chance at reaching Maris’ threshold and then passing it, which is a pretty close prediction considering Sosa didn’t break 40 the year before. Cubs GM Ed Lynch did Grace one better and named McGwire or Ken Griffey Jr. as players who could hit 70 home runs, specifically. Hit the nail right on the head there. Hopefully he bought some lottery tickets after media availability that day.

All eyes are on McGwire as he aims at homer mark

Two days from Opening Day, McGwire still wasn’t comfortable with being the center of attention while his teammates failed to garner the same close analysis and predictions. He told the Post-Dispatch: “I know there’s a lot of eyes on me. There should be a lot of eyes on everybody else.”

Hopefully he got used to it. Because once the season began, these confident preseason predictions would look like a middle-of-the-paper footnote compared to the home run race fervor. Covers and attention, ahoy.

Everyone [remembers] right? As a kid growing up that was amazing. Sosa was just so electrifying, so fun-loving. McGwire was that classic, stoic Cardinal Way just dropping bombs into Big Mac land. Every time we play in St. Louis it says Big Mac up on the third deck and you can’t help but remember that summer. What a great time for baseball. —Gerrit Cole, Houston Astros

It was very significant. You’d wake up every day and see if they hit one. I was just rooting for excitement, for homers. I wasn’t team Sosa or Team McGwire, I was just team excitement. —Jed Lowrie, Oakland A’s

“Get Ready for a Slugfest: Why Maris’ record and a lot of others could fall”

McGwire’s first cover of the season came eight days before he would hit his first home run. Sports Illustrated’s March 23 cover was all Big Mac with the exception of a brief mention of NCAA Tournament upsets happening that week (10-seed West Virginia had beaten 2-seed Cincinnati, 6-seed UCLA beat 3-seed Michigan, and 8-seed Rhode Island pulled off the upset over 1-seed Kansas).

I might have been in fourth or fifth grade? But I remember watching it every night. ...I think I was going for Sosa. I really liked the way he hopped. Plus I’m from North Alabama so Chicago, St. Louis, they’re right there. —Craig Kimbrel, Boston Red Sox

You know things are legitimate when the brands get involved. A trip for two to the World Series from Pepsi just for guessing the home run champion’s dinger total was a sure sign the race was top of everyone’s mind, instead of just the baseball world’s.

In May, McGwire and Sosa combined for 12 home runs in a single week.

Just a lot of home runs. I actually remember on ESPN they had a count and it seemed like every other day one of them was hitting a homer so it’s just cool to look back on that, to remember that. —Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies

It was amazing. Every time you watched a game when they were on the TV it was a home run and it was pretty interesting and electric to see two guys go at it for a home run title. —Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies

Nike’s “Chicks Dig the Long Ball” commercial, in which Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux train to hit home runs to impress fans (including Heather Locklear!!), who are more captivated with McGwire’s prowess at the plate. One of the best things to come out of the 1998 season.

I thank Sammy and McGwire for doing what they did because that brought baseball back. The fans came back to paying attention to baseball, because it was a little cold until they came in and did the home run challenge, which is almost impossible to do. Every baseball player should thank them for doing what they did, that’s why we are where we are right now. Everybody’s having a career right now because of it. —David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (ret.)

As a kid, it was something that really drew you into the game of baseball and watching it every night. Not just those two guys, but all the fans and all the teams, you know it was definitely one of my early baseball memories. —Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks

I was pretty young, but I just remember every day there was something. I didn’t know really how special that was until looking back on it and seeing how many people haven’t even reached 60 homers, some of the best power hitters ever. I’m glad those guys are out of the game now so I don’t have to face them. —Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks

“Slammin’ Sammy: Sammy Sosa is on a record home run binge”

The next big cover featuring either Sosa or McGwire didn’t come until June 29, when Sports Illustrated put Sosa on a cover of his own. At this point, Sosa had 32 homers to McGwire’s 36, and the race was well on its way to the top of Hype Mountain. This cover just about marks the point where the race actually turned into a race and not “just” McGwire chasing Maris.

I think I was 12 maybe. So playing little league baseball, that was really exciting to follow. I remember no matter what we were doing, if we were at somebody else’s house or I even remember times when my dad was making me mow the yard, someone from inside the house would yell, “Hey, McGwire’s gonna come up” and I would run inside real quick and watch his at-bat and then have to go finish my chores. I appreciate that part of it, it got me out of doing some extra yard work. That might have been the summer where I fell in love with the game and it became my most favorite sport. —Sean Doolittle, Washington Nationals

I always watched SportsCenter when I was laying in bed going to sleep. Obviously, being able to watch that race was unbelievable. I was a McGwire guy. I liked the Cardinals a little more because they were closer to home, so I’d always watch the Cardinals. —J.T. Realmuto, Miami Marlins

“Outta Here!”

With McGwire at 44 home runs and Sosa at 40, TIME issued the first cover to feature them both. Neither of them posed for this one, and based on both of their reluctance at the beginning of the season to be the absolute center of attention, it’s notable TIME went the route of having an artist draw them rather than setting up a photo shoot or using wire photos.

The eventual World Series champions get a mention here, but it’s a small one. The Yankees’ even came after the note on stadium food. But the most important part of this subhead is the phrase “baseball is back.”

The predictions and the hope of a home run spike may have been one thing, but the actual race did something better than being exciting: it gave baseball a second life that wasn’t guaranteed after the 1994 strike.

I remember it was awesome feeling. Especially when they played each other. The way that they’d go at each other. I think that baseball really grew a lot after the strike and baseball got back on top after that. —Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers

“The Great Home Run Chase: In pursuit of Mac, Junior and Sammy. A remarkable 72-hour odyssey”

Oh look, a Ken Griffey, Jr. reference on the August 3 edition of Sports Illustrated. Griffey would end the season with 56 home runs, a full 10 behind Sosa and a total that in most other years would have gotten him all of these covers. Instead he got this brief mention before the two main men in the race uncorked things and went on their August and September tears. At the time of this cover, he was one behind Sosa and four behind McGwire.

I just remember how much fun baseball was. Obviously, when you have two big names like that going at it with the home run race, two iconic organizations too … as a kid you can’t ask for anything better than that. —Jon Lester, Chicago Cubs

I remember how far and how long they were hitting them, how excited everybody was. The Home Run Derby was something I always watched growing up as a kid and that was a special event. It was Home Run Derby every day for them. —Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians

Not every current player remembers the home run race. Whether because of youth or growing up in another country, their introductions to what McGwire and Sosa did came late.

I was in Brazil so I don’t want to say I barely watched baseball, but it was hard. When I moved here, to see that. Still to this day, 60’s and 70’s? It’s like, geez. I think I might have just gotten past that career-wise and those guys were doing it in one year. It’s really cool. You heard it a little bit on ESPN Brasil but at that time, I was playing baseball but wasn’t really following baseball as much. I was more following NPB, Japanese baseball. —Yan Gomes, Cleveland Indians

I didn’t have the opportunity to watch that in Cuba, we didn’t have the stations. But I heard about it and when I came here I watched videos of that. It was very special. —Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox

As McGwire’s record-breaking home run neared, pop culture made room for No. 62. Including Hank Hill from King of the Hill asking him to please hit the big one so their season could start. Hill’s 1998 season was delayed so FOX could make sure they aired McGwire passing Maris.

“One Cool Daddy: How Mark McGwire is beating the pressure”

There’s a lot of things about the September 7 Sports Illustrated cover that wouldn’t happen 20 years later: the pose that looks like McGwire is breastfeeding his son; the headline “One Cool Daddy” for a piece authored by Rick Reilly; and an article about golfers’ sex lives. Or at least you’d hope that all of those things are relics.

There it is, No. 62 and assured immortality in the record books. A 341-foot left field shot that just snuck over the left field wall a few feet from the foul pole. In any other context, a normal home run. But not here.

McDonald’s took advantage of the “Big Mac” nickname connection, promoting their line of baseballs with McGwire’s face on them for $3.99, and congratulating him for the achievement with that year’s “Big Mac getting a Big Mac” commercial.

It’s mid-September, both men had cracked 60 home runs and McGwire has officially passed Maris with a September 8 shot to left. So the covers are really picking up.

“The Record: What it means to Mark McGwire and to America”

McGwire, unsurprisingly, gets the cover of Sports Illustrated for breaking the record. But over on Newsweek it’s both Sosa and McGwire smiling and grinning with their arms around each other as the season nears its end.

In case you haven’t realized by now how big a deal the race was at the time, both the Swissair Flight 111 crash that killed 229 people and that summer’s market crash were demoted to the top bar with baseball getting the rest. On Newsweek!

I actually watched a little of the Sammy Sosa thing, I think it was E60. I watched that and it was showing some of the clips from that year. How they were hugging and doing that fist handshake and stuff, and it brought back some memories. Obviously being in the southeast, back then TV was WGN I think carried the Cubs and then TBS carried the Braves so that was kind of who we got. So I remembered a lot of it. It was something you probably won’t see again. —Mitch Moreland, Boston Red Sox

“Suddenly it’s This Close: Sammy Sosa jumps right back into the home run race”

Just because the record was McGwire’s doesn’t mean that the race was over, and a pair of covers from September 21 celebrate both things. Sosa stood at 63 home runs to McGwire’s 65 at the time so Sports Illustrated went with “Suddenly it’s THIS CLOSE” and ESPN the Magazine, still in the first months of its existence, dubbed McGwire’s 62 “the greatest sports moment of our time.”

McGwire answers the “Where do I go from here?” question posed on this SI cover in an exclusive piece from his own pen that reflects on the night of the record, how things have changed after unseating Maris, and what his priorities are now that people look at him differently and ask more of him as the single-season home run record holder. It’s a snapshot of one man’s mind in the days immediately after his life changed — for the better, at least at that point — and re-reading can be strange knowing what we know now, but also bring forth an appreciation of McGwire doing a piece this honest.

September 26 saw Will Ferrell do a Mark McGwire impression on Saturday Night Live, the only time he would portray the athlete on the show. If getting spoofed on SNL when it was at one of the peaks of its powers isn’t a sign that this home run race was consuming all, nothing was.

What A Season!

Sometimes, the numbers do all the talking. McGwire finished with 70 homers. Sosa won the RBI battle, even though McGwire jacked more home runs. Kerry Wood had a 20-strikeout game. Cal Ripken, Jr.’s consecutive games streak ended at 2,632. Alex Rodriguez had 42 home runs and 46 stolen bases. And oh yeah, besides all of that, the Yankees set an American League record for wins in a season.

But sometimes, talking does the talking. McGwire followed up his Season of Many Covers by appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman, and later spoke with Barbara Walters for her yearly Most Fascinating People special. McGwire’s Letterman appearance included guests who were very of-the-time, like “Life Is Beautiful” actor/director Roberto Benigni and singer Bruce Hornsby.

McGwire cracks jokes in an all-black, oversized 90’s suit that would make any tailor today cringe. He’s comfortable in the chair and brags a little, Hollywood style, but also veers into “aw shucks” territory with things like shouting out friends and family, and continually saying he can hit anything that’s over the “white part of the plate.” Letterman, for his part, does the Lord’s work by asking whether McGwire calls home runs dingers, taters, or something else. The semi-disappointing answer? “Homers.”

Letterman also points out that this race was what baseball needed and McGwire answers that he and Sosa did it “for the country,” not just baseball. That it doesn’t seem like hyperbole in that context is the most incredible part.

I always get on Big Mac, because he’s our bench coach, to get him to take BP one time but he won’t do it. He can still hit bombs for sure — he just won’t do it. He’s pretty quiet about it, but he’s awesome. —Brad Hand, Cleveland Indians

Sportsmen of the Year

On December 21, a pair of covers came out that featured both men but couldn’t have been more different. In one, McGwire and Sosa are named Sportsmen of the Year by Sporting News, and look like they’re going to a baseball-themed prom.

In the other, they’re named Sportsmen of the Year by Sports Illustrated and … the rest will live in infamy.

McGwire capped off his year with the Barbara Walters interview, once again taking the spotlight while Sammy preferred not to (or didn’t receive any offers to) appear on the top late-night or news magazine shows.

Walters refers to McGwire as “a gracious man” and the 1998 season as “a time we’ll all remember,” and neither description could be phrased better than that. Leave it to Barbara Walters to wrap up a season that simultaneously brought baseball back, and set baseball on a path to questioning many of its recent heroes in such an apt way.