More 1998 Baseball Season Highlights

See below for more highlights of the 1998 baseball season, including Greg Vaughn's 50 homers and Roberto Alomar winning the All-Star MVP:

  • Star reliever Dennis Eckersley retires at age 44 holding the all-time record for games pitched (1,071).

  • Three players -- Todd Walker of Minnesota, Barry Bonds of San Francisco, and John Olerud of the Mets -- each collect nine consecutive hits.

  • Cal Ripken ends his games streak at 2,632 on September 20.

  • Bud Selig is elected commissioner on July 8.

  • Greg Maddux wins his ninth consecutive Gold Glove.

  • San Diego's Greg Vaughn hits 50 homers.

  • Pittsburgh's Tony Womack sets a record by going 980 plate appearances without hitting into a double play.

  • Randy Johnson is 9-10 for Seattle before being traded to Houston, for whom he goes 10-1 with a 1.26 ERA.

  • Baltimore's Eric Davis hits in 30 straight games.

  • Larry Walker of the Rockies bats .363 to win the National League batting crown, adding 46 doubles and 23 homers.

  • Sosa hits 20 home runs in June, an all-time record for one calendar month.

  • Sosa homers 12 times against Milwaukee.

  • The American League outlasts the National League 13-8 in the All-Star Game, played at Denver's Coors Field.

  • Roberto Alomar of the Orioles is the All-Star MVP, going 3-for-4 with a home run.

  • Houston's Craig Biggio is the first player since 1912 to notch 50 doubles and 50 steals in a season.

  • Bernie Williams of the Yankees wins the American League batting title with a .339 average.

  • Albert Belle of the White Sox, who hits .328 with 49 homers and 152 RBI, is paid $10 million.

  • Rickey Henderson of Oakland, age 39, bats just .236 but tops the American League with 118 walks and 66 stolen bases.

  • Henderson scores his 2,000th run during the season, becoming just the sixth man ever to do so.

  • The Marlins' salary dump continues on May 15 as they send Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Bobby Bonilla, and Jim Eisenreich to the Dodgers for Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile.

  • On May 22, the Marlins deal Piazza to the Mets for three minor-leaguers.

  • Chicago loses two broadcasting legends in one year, as both Harry Caray and Jack Brickhouse pass away.

  • Curt Schilling of Philadelphia paces the National League in strikeouts for the second straight season, whiffing 300.

  • Paul Molitor retires from the Twins with 3,319 hits, which rank eighth on the all-time list.

  • Shorn thin of talent by budget-driven trades, the World Champion Marlins fall to 54-108, the worst mark in the game.

  • On August 23, Barry Bonds of the Giants becomes the first man ever with 400 homers and 400 stolen bases.

  • Montreal's Vladimir Guerrero hits 38 home runs in his first full season.

  • Chet "Red" Hoff, the oldest living major leaguer, dies at age 107.

  • The first-year Arizona Diamondbacks finish last in the National League West at 65-97.

  • Arizona hitters fan 1,239 times to set a new National League record.

  • The Indians are the only American League Central club to finish over the .500 mark.

  • Angels owner Gene Autry dies on October 2.

  • The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the American League's expansion club, go 63-99.

  • Arizona's Dave Dellucci leads the National League with 12 triples despite batting just .260 and stealing only three bases.

  • Tom "Flash" Gordon of Boston, a converted starter, paces the American League with 46 saves.

  • Former Royals reliever Dan Quisenberry dies of a brain tumor on September 30 at age 45.

  • Pitcher Kevin Brown signs a seven-year, $105 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

  • The Rockies fire Don Baylor, the club's manager since its inception, immediately after the season.

  • Baseball sets an all-time attendance mark as 70,618,731 fans enter the parks.

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