1999 book by Mike Lupica
Summer of '98: When Homers Flew, Records Fell, and Baseball Reclaimed America is a 1999 book written by Mike Lupica, a sports columnist for the "New York Daily News" and an "ESPN" analyst. The book follows the 1998 baseball season that featured Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chasing Roger Maris's home run record. Lupica's book approaches the subject in a three generational context where his father, himself, and his son are all passionate baseball fans following the home run competition.
Book summary.
Summer of '98: When Homers Flew, Records Fell, and Baseball Reclaimed America, is presented in eight chapters plus a prologue and an epilogue.
Reception and reviews.
Lupica's story of a father and son bonding over the game of baseball during a year when sport history was made, was widely praised by critics.
"In the summer of 1961, a young boy named Mike Lupica was fired up and inspired by the twin assault of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris on Babe Ruth's 34-year-old home run record of 60 in a year. Ultimately, Maris pulled away near the end of the season and, on the final day, hit his 61st. On nights when contests would last too late for Lupica, then 9, to stay up until game's end, his dad would leave short notes: "Maris hit another one - 42. Mantle, 1-for-4, no home runs. Yanks, 5-2." Those were magical few months for Lupica as he grew up near Syracuse, a watershed time when he and his dad shared the joys of a signal summer. And so it was that, last summer, as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chased Maris's home run record, Lupica, now a New York sportswriter and a father of two boys, was able to relive and re-create a baseball season hauntingly similar to the one 37 years ago. It was now Mike Lupica's time to leave notes: "McGwire, 45. Sosa, 41. Yanks win! Love, Dad." Through it all, Lupica's wife, Taylor, is mostly an onlooker, bemused at and confused by the excitement of all her boys. The couple also has a baby daughter, Hannah, and Lupica says he promises not to buy her a baseball glove until she's at least three years old. As soon as Hannah can read, Lupica says he'll leave her a note: "Watch every move your mother makes." When it all ends with McGwire's 70 homers and Sosa's 66, Mike Lupica tells his father: "It was a pretty good summer, Pop." And his dad responds, "They all are."
"If you believe all the stuff about the romance returning to baseball, then read Mike Lupica's "Summer of '98: When homers flew, records fell, and baseball reclaimed America." Lupica, a columnist for the "New York Daily News", waxes poetic about the many great moments in 1998. His 7-year-old son, Alex, is the thread, as Lupica writes how the boy became captivated by the season, much like he did during the glorious summer of 1961. If baseball was a father-son experience for you, it's a good read."
Aftermath.
During the 1998 season, McGwire admitted to taking androstenedione, an over-the-counter performance enhancement drug that was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the NFL and the IOC, but not by Major League Baseball. In the years following 1998, the continued increase in offensive production caused critics to question how players were suddenly becoming more powerful. Many speculated that players were using anabolic steroids to increase their strength and endurance. Use of the banned drug was subsequently revealed by Jose Canseco in his 2005 book "" where he alleged that 85% of baseball players were using the banned substance. Among those he accused was McGwire, his former Oakland Athletics teammate. The following year, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, investigative reporters for the "San Francisco Chronicle" published the "Game of Shadows" where they detailed alleged steroid use by Barry Bonds and implied that both McGwire and Sosa had also used the banned drug. Both McGwire and Sosa, along with other baseball players including Rafael Palmeiro testified to Congress in 2005 that they never used steroids. However, in 2010, McGwire finally admitted to using steroids during the 1980s and 1990s. While Sosa did not admit to using the drugs, it is widely believed that he used them during the 1990s to enhance his performance.
The revelations about steroid use subsequently caused some critics to question the value of Lupica's book.
"The truth is, had the baseball writers been better reporters, we wouldn't even have this controversy. Look at the hypocrisy of some of these guys. "NY Daily News" sportswriter Mike Lupica wrote a book about Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's epic summer of 98 entitled The Summer of '98: When Homers Flew, Records Fell, and Baseball Reclaimed America, a heartwarming story of how that summer and baseball enabled him to connect with his son. Twelve years later, after McGwire apologized for using steroids ... Lupica wrote an article where he bashes McGwire for coming forward. Great lesson to teach your son Mike."
References.
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