Constructing an all-time MLB Home Run Derby lineup
. 1B. St. Louis Cardinals. Mark McGwire. 3. player. 32
On to the guy who broke Roger Maris’ home run record of 61, Mark McGwire. Big Mac might be the poster child of the steroid era, or at least he comes close, but his scary-good batting numbers were something that were hard to overlook, steroids or not.
McGwire’s batting average was never really that healthy as his lifetime average sits at a cool .263, but he did finish his 18-year career with 583 home runs.
Just how good was he? Well, McGwire literally burst onto the scene in his second season in the majors, or first full season in 1987, hitting 49 home runs and 118 RBI with a .289 average for the Oakland Athletics. After that year, he cooled off a bit and didn’t have another season with over 40 homers until 1992.
Big Mac really broke out with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998-2000 when he hit 167 home runs in a three-year span — two of those seasons consisted of 65 and 70 home runs, respectively.
It’s hard to be afraid of any one hitter in baseball history more than the abnormally jacked Mark McGwire. He even held the home run record for a single season, 70, until Barry Bonds broke it just a few years later.
Watching him and Sammy Sosa battle it out for home run crowns was just phenomenal.
Next: 2. Barry Bonds