SHINY THING$ 0140 ✨

As we approach the Major League Baseball All Star break, fans across the country get ready to tune in to one of the most exciting events in all of baseball: the Home Run Derby. With that we’re reminded of a time when baseball fandom was at all time low, and the absolute bombs that took it out of the doldrums…

Some background - the 1994 strike dealt a severe blow to Major League Baseball, leading to the unprecedented cancellation of the World Series—a disruption that had not occurred even during World War II. As play resumed, fans stayed away in large numbers, causing attendance to plummet to an all-time low.

However, what happened soon after was something that sports had never seen before. The “Steroid Era” in baseball went into full swing, and some of the biggest names at the tail end of their careers began to light up ballparks on a nightly basis. 

Fast forward to the summer of 1998 - balls started soaring out of the stadium in St. Louis and Chicago, reigniting excitement in the sport. The season saw an exhilarating home run race between The Cardinal’s Mark McGwire and the Cub’s Sammy Sosa, both of whom shattered Roger Maris's 37-year-old record of 61 home runs in a single season.

By the season's end, McGwire, then in his 14th year in the majors, had hit an insane 70 home runs (having hit only 24 the year prior). In Chicago, Sosa, in his 11th season, had tallied 66 (after hitting 36 in the year prior). 

This week, we reach the 25th anniversary of the 1999 Home Run Derby at the MLB All-Star game, where the 2 juiced up sluggers faced off in historic Fenway Park. It started with a 13 homer 1st round from McGuire, and ended with a second consecutive win from the childhood hero of an entire generation of little leaguers. 

In this, the 140th installment of Shiny Thing$ on the eve of the 2024 MLB All Star week, we take a look back at one of the most memorable Home Run Derbies of all time, from an era that, whether the MLB ever wants to admit it or not, helped bring America’s pastime back to life. 

Until Next Week…