1998 – Astros reach 100 wins for the first time in their history. The triumph is a 7-1 drubbing of St. Louis. Randy Johnson takes the victory to go 10-1 (1.28 ERA) during his two-month stint in Houston. Craig Biggio swipes his 50th to become only the second big leaguer to record 50 doubles and 50 steals in one season. Biggio would also set a team record with 210 hits.
The Giants (86-72) stay close with a 4 – 1 win over the Pirates. Joe Carter’s three-run homer helps Mark Gardner (13-5) win his 5th straight. Gardner strikes out 11 in 8 innings.
Sammy Sosa breaks an 0 for 21 slump, hitting his 64th and 65th home runs as the Cubs build a 7 – 0 lead over the Brewers. Milwaukee fights back, however, and scores three in the last of the 9th when Chicago OF Brant Brown drops a routine fly ball with the bases loaded and two out to allow three Brewers to score. Rod Beck is on the mound when the Merkle-like error occurs (Fred Merkle’s boner occurred exactly 90 years ago). Milwaukee wins, 8 – 7, and the Cubs remain tied for the wild card spot with the Mets, who lose to Montreal, 3 – 0. With his eight total bases, Sammy has now topped the 400 mark.
Mark McGwire goes homerless in the Cards’ 7 – 1 loss to the Astros as Randy Johnson clips the Birds for his 10th win. He strikes out 8 in 8 innings. Craig Biggio is 3 for 5 and swipes #50 to become the only player besides Tris Speaker in 1912, to have 50 doubles and 50 steals in a year.
Craig Biggio becomes the first player since Tris Speaker in 1912 to accumulate 50 stolen bases and 50 doubles in the same season. The Astros second baseman reaches the milestone when he swipes second in the top of the sixth inning in the team’s 7-1 victory over St. Louis in Busch Stadium.
With his team ahead 7-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases full of Brewers and two outs, Cubs’ outfielder Brant Brown drops Geoff Jenkins’s routine long fly ball to left field, allowing three runs to score, giving Milwaukee an 8-7 walk-off win at County Stadium. The infamous error became will be immortalized by Ron Santo’s radio call when the broadcaster mournfully exclaims, “Nooooooooo!!!!!” as the ball rolls toward the ivy-covered wall.
With an 8-4 victory over the Indians, the 1998 Yankees tie the 1927 team for the most wins in franchise history. The Bronx Bombers’ 110 victories pull them within one game of the American League record of 111 victories by the 1954 Indians.
Braves backup backstop Eddie Perez’s solo home run in Atlanta’s 4-1 win over Florida is the team’s 208th round-tripper this season, breaking a 32 year-old franchise record. Atlanta will finish the season with 215 homers, with Andres Galarraga being the club leader with 44.
Tony Clark becomes the first Detroit player since Rudy York (1940-41) to drive in 100 runs in each of his first two full seasons in the Motor City. The Tiger first baseman, who finish the season with 103 RBIs, drove in 117 runs last season.
John Olerud ties Barry Bonds’ National League record of reaching base 15 consecutive times when he walks in the first inning. The Mets first baseman will groundout in the third, falling one short of the 1957 major league mark set by Ted Williams.
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