Top 25 MLB pennant races of all time

17. The Cubs go back to the playoffs, 1998

The summer of 1998 will always be remembered for the back-and-forth home run battle between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Lost in all of the hype over the dingers is the fact that Sosa and the Chicago Cubs were actually involved in a very exciting playoff race that ended in a one-game playoff for the NL Wild Card. Sosa actually got an extra game to try and tie McGwire at 70 home runs.

In 1998, the Cubs were an up-and-down team that finished with a winning record by virtue of two good months — May and July — where they combined to go 36-20. They were stumbling to the finish, going 5-7 for their last 12 games to allow the San Francisco Giants to pull even. The Giants won nine of their final 12 games to close out the regular season. Both teams had a chance to clinch the playoff spot on the final day of the year, but both lost and set up a one-game playoff.

The one-game playoff did not look like a strange matchup on paper. The Cubs were forced to send out middling starter Steve Trachsel while the Giants countered with their own mid-tier starter in Mark Gardner. Neither team could finagle a way to start one of their best pitchers due to the nature of the playoff.

Chicago jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the back of a two-run home run from third baseman Gary Gaetti and a two-run single by pinch-hitter Matt Mieske. The Giants made things interesting in the ninth inning, scoring three runs after loading the bases with no outs. Barry Bonds nearly hit a grand slam, but the rally stalled out and Rod Beck nailed down his 51st save to send the Cubs to the playoffs for the first time since 1989.