Head to Head Baseball : Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire (Sports Illustrated for Kids)

The home run duel between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire provided one of the most long-term electric moments in the history of professional sports. It was a boost that baseball badly needed after the festering problems of labor difficulties and the strikes. Of all the season and career records in baseball, the home run records generate the most interest and this was about two men simultaneously chasing the big one. The single-season home run record had been set in 1961 by Roger Maris, amid a great deal of controversy over whether it should count, having been set in a 162 game season versus a 154 season. Furthermore, Maris was not a popular player, he came across as sullen and distant and he was eclipsing the revered Mickey Mantle. In 1998, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire were two of the most popular players in baseball, so no one begrudged their chasing of the record. It was an exciting time, captured well in this book for children. Without descending into mindless hype and minutia, the authors capture the excitement of the time as well as the humble nature of the primary participants. It was a joy to read about this happier time in the history of baseball and the lives of these two great players.