September 1, 1998: St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire hits his NL-record 57th home run.
McGwire broke a 68-year-old record, previously held by Hack Wilson, with his 56th and 57th home runs of the year in a 7-1 win against the Marlins. The homers came with nearly a month left in the MLB regular season, underscoring the incredible pace McGwire set that year.
At the end of the day, the Cardinals slugger was two home runs ahead of Sammy Sosa in the race for the single-season home run record. The record of 61, held at that time by former Yankee Roger Maris, wascrushed by both players by season's end.
McGwire, of course, finished the season with a remarkable 70 home runs, setting the mark in his final at-bat of the regular season:
While revelations that McGwire used performance-enhancing drugs would later surface, thus tarnishing his legacy and the prestige of his achievements, his home run marks have never been rescinded. McGwire held the record until it was broken years later by Giants slugger Barry Bonds, who pushed the mark to 73.
