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Race for the Record: 1998's Race to Break Baseball's Most Coveted Record [VHS]

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Baseball was still struggling from the aftershock of the strike that shortened the season in 1994. Fans were slowly but surely coming back, but the "love of the game" was seemingly lost amid all the high-dollar contracts and bad-mouthing players. Baseball seemed to have lost some of its magic for good.

And then 1998 happened. And two guys, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, almost single-handedly made a nation fall in love with the game of baseball all over again.

"Race for the Record" details point-by-point the events that transpired during the homerun race of 1998. It focuses on early contenders like Ken Griffey, Jr. and Vinny Castilla, and then quickly shines the light on Big Mac and Slammin' Sammy.

Interwoven with all the hoopla surrounding the homerun race are interviews with teammates, managers, former players, and even the children of Roger Maris. They all give their insight on the season that was and what it felt like to be a part of it. The homerun race in 1961 between Maris and Mickey Mantle is touched upon here, as well.

The video climaxes, of course, with Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa doing the unthinkable. I found myself getting choked up at the accomplishments of these two superhuman sluggers. One thing that McGwire and Sosa had in 1998 that I don't think Barry Bonds had a lot of in 2001 is that people cared about the homerun race. They wanted to see two genuinely nice guys, who had also forged a close friendship over the course of the season, break the record. America wanted to embrace a new Homerun King. It's evident in the endless curtain calls each man received and how each man was treated warmly in every ballpark they played in.

"Race for the Record" is a dazzling review of the season that was in 1998. Any baseball fan should have this video sitting on his/her shelf. It reminded me once again why I have and always will love the game of baseball. When it's good, it's the greatest.

Baseball season is just around the corner. I can't help but think of hot dogs, popcorn, peanuts, pop, beer, ice cream bars, nachos, soft pretzels (are you hungry yet?), souvenirs, the Ferris wheel, carousel, and player statues at Comerica Park in Detroit, and.........................

Performance enhancing drugs. Steroids. Human growth hormone. Stuff like that. Oh, and overpaid players with overinflated egos. The game supposedly has been cleaned up. Maybe it has been. Home run totals have dropped.

Let's see...this video was produced by Major League Baseball, the very organization that knew about players using performance enhancing drugs and allowed it. A little history here: The baseball strike of 1994-95 caused a huge drop in fan attendance at games when the 144-game 1995 season began. This negative perception of baseball players as super greedy jerks was unprecedented. Major League Baseball had to do something to win fans back. Their solution? Juice up the baseball and allow players to use steroids and HGH. This would threaten the most hallowed record in baseball history - the single season home run record, then held by Roger Maris, who hit 61 home runs in 161 games played in 1961. This would win fans back and fill up the stadiums and generate a lot of interest. The huge influx of new stadiums popping up around the league was in its early stages. Most of the new stadiums of today are smaller than the stadiums of yesteryear, which increases home run totals. During the ten year period of 1993-2003 (with the exception of 1995), there was a huge increase in attendance around the league. The reason? Inflated home run totals by juiced up players, the extra playoff rounds (the wildcard) and fans who want to see the new stadiums.

Who is Jose Canseco? He's a former MLB slugger who hit 462 home runs in his 17-year career from 1985-2001. He knows a thing or two about steroids and human growth hormone. He also knows a lot about what players have used and when. Have you ever noticed that everything Canseco has said publicly and in his two books ("Juiced" and "Vindicated") has come true? Nobody has challenged him on anything, because they know he's telling the truth. He has even taken on MLB and accused the entire organization of running a massive cover-up. He's right.

Now about this video...

Ten years ago I would have given this video 5 stars. Now, I give it 2 stars. We all now know that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were juiced up steroid users. McGwire shattered Maris's single season home run record in 1998 when he hit a mind-boggling 70 (really 71 if it wasn't for a blown call by an umpire). Then in 1999 he hit 65. Then in 2000 his body began breaking down and he hit 32. Then in 2001, the final year of his career, he hit 29 and batted .187. I personally think McGwire retired early because he knew MLB was going to start testing players for performance enhancing drugs. Sosa also shattered Maris's record in 1998 by hitting 66 home runs. Then in 1999 he hit 63. Then in 2000 he hit 50. Then in 2001 he hit 64. Then in 2002 he hit 49. Then in 2003....ah....the year MLB started testing players for steroids, he slumped to 40 and also served a suspension for using a corked bat. I guess the corked bat was meant to compensate for the lack of steroids. He was never the same player again. This video takes the viewer through the historic 1998 season of McGwire and Sosa chasing Maris's record. Other players were in contention earlier in the season, including Ken Griffey, Jr. (56 HR) and Greg Vaughn (50 HR). I watch this video nowadays and just shake my head. Some people have said that McGwire and Sosa saved baseball after the strike of '94-'95 and brought fans back. Yes, it's true that they brought fans back, but they also brought a lot of controversy with them. The sad part is that MLB ALLOWED the use of these performance enhancing drugs. I guess it can be said that MLB itself brought fans back, but they also brought a lot of demons and controversy into the game. As a result, we have a record book that's tainted. Barry Bonds will hold the single season home run record for decades to come, with the steroid-fueled 73 he hit in 2001. His record 762 career home runs will likely be broken by Alex Rodriguez (another guilty steroid user) and/or Albert Pujols in the future. I feel sorry for Henry Aaron. He's still the career leader in home runs (755) as far as I'm concerned.

If you want to watch a video that deserves to have a huge * asterisk stamped on it, then watch this now tainted video. I give it 2 stars instead of 1 for its entertainment value (seeing those 500-foot home runs by McGwire). The name of this video should be changed to Race For The Asterisk.

The baseball season of 1998 turned out to be perhaps the most exciting and fun season ever. Two legendary sluggers, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire battled down to the last day of the season in the most historic chase ever-the elusive single season home run record of Roger Maris. McGwire got off to a fast start, having tallied 27 round-trippers by the end of May, while Sosa had only 13. But when the calendar turned to June, Sosa went on the greatest home run tear ever for a single month. He belted 20 long balls that month and set the stage for a dramatic back and forth battle for the rest of the season.

This video contains thrilling Sosa and McGwire home runs, as well as testimonials from other major leaguers and sports columnists. It also shows Sosa and McGwire in their early days, from McGwire's rookie record 49 home runs to a noticeably thinner Sosa connecting off of Roger Clemens for his first career home run. The video also shows the great Maris-Ruth battle and the struggles Maris went through while chasing the Babe. Testimonials from the Maris family make this video enjoyable, too.

Perhaps the best part of the video is the relationship formed by McGwire and Sosa. These two sluggers genuinely liked and rooted for each other to succeed. There are several clips of joint press conferences shared by them, as well as Sosa running in from right field to congratulate McGwire after his record breaking 62nd home run. This video is a must for baseball fans and will bring excitement each time it is watched.

The unfogettable 1998 home run race between Mark McGwire (70 HR) and Sammy Sosa (66 HR) is superbly presented in this special documentary from MLB Home Video. It comprehensively follows the two endearing sluggers' epic and inexorable march toward the hollowed record, almost home run for home run, and pays homage to the man whose record they broke (Roger Maris 61 HR in 1961), along the way. "Race for the Record" features plenty of spectacular home run footage, interviews and fluid narration. The "Slammin' Sammy" music video is also fun to watch. The entire video is like a how-to guide on making a sports documentary. It was just too short. Even though Big Mac's incredible mark of 70 home runs has since been surpassed by Barry Bonds (73 HR in 2001), the storybook-like seasons of McGwire/Sosa in 1998 live on, and this video is the perfect tribute. 70/66