The reason why I became a lifelong baseball fan is going to be documented on Sunday night! Recently, ESPN has done a great job at documenting some great moments in sports with the Michael Jordan doc, the Lance Armstrong doc, and the Bruce Lee doc. On Sunday, they will be airing the great 1998 home run chase called “Long Gone Summer” and I couldn’t be more excited.
This is the story of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa during their quest to break the home run record held by Roger Maris. The number to beat was 61 and they both put on a show during that summer of 1998 chasing history. I remember watching both of them just go at-bat for at-bat trying to outdo one another to break that long standing single-season home run crown.
This of course was the peak of the steroid era so I hope there is some more light shed on this. The BALCO scandal and the book called “The Game of Shadows” really exposed a ton of athletes in all major US sports. The biggest hit was baseball. To be frank about the steroid era, it saved baseball and brought an excitement to the game that desperately needed it.
Considering the current state of Major League Baseball, this is easily the most exciting thing surrounding the game. I can’t think of anything more exciting than getting to relive an entire era of long balls!
thoughtsfromthebench.com 