ST. LOUIS — It's been 22 years since two sluggers captured the imagination of an entire country. Twenty-two years since one of the most fun, and important, summers in the history of baseball.
The home run chase between the Cardinals' Mark McGwire and Cubs' Sammy Sosa is a seminal moment in baseball history. Things were never the same, before or after.
Twenty-two years later, we can't look back on it as fondly as we'd like to, but we'll remember the excitement just the same.
ESPN's 30 for 30 documentary "Long Gone Summer" airing the night of June 14 will bring that excitement back and force us to confront the cheating that ultimately made it possible.
But there's one thing you can't deny: it's one heck of a story.
The home run chase of 1998 helped save a sport that had turned away its fan base. It put baseball as the lead story in every local and national sportscast on a nightly basis.
As 5 On Your Side's Mike Bush is quoted in the documentary, "Records matter in baseball." They do. Home run records especially.
McGwire and Sosa's summer duel captivated not just baseball fans, but the entire country. The story was made even better because the two were on historic rivals, and the ultimate moment came against each other's team.
I may be a bit partial, but I believe baseball has the best stories of any sport. I think that's a big reason why we love it so much. The legends are passed down in baseball more than any other sport. And make no mistake, the summer of 1998 was legendary. Well, at least legendary enough to get a primetime two hour documentary made about it.
In the years that have passed since '98, a lot has happened.
McGwire has publicly admitted to steroid use but has been able to re-vamp his image. He's been a Major League coach for multiple organizations, and the Cardinals still welcome him with open arms.
Sosa, on the other hand, has been a bit of an enigma. We haven't seen much of him since his playing days ended, and this documentary is the first on-camera interview I can remember Sosa doing for quite some time. He has also been linked to steroid use but has never confessed.
Honestly, legendary late Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck said it best. We have a sound bite in the KSDK archives from Buck during the height of the McGwire era that really encapsulates the whole thing.
"I've fallen in love with McGwire already," Buck said during an on-field interview sometime between 1997 and 2000. "But love affairs don't last forever, do they?"
That sums it up pretty perfect.
In the time and place, the summer of 1998 was one of the most exciting times in our town's history. But that feeling couldn't last forever. Now, 22 years later, we look back, wondering if we were naive to believe it all.
Even if we can't completely look back and smile, it doesn't mean we can't reminisce. "Long Gone Summer" will give us a chance to do that Sunday night.