On Sept. 5, 1998, Mark McGwire didn’t just hit his 60th home run, he stepped into baseball history alongside Babe Ruth.
The St. Louis Cardinals slugger had spent the summer under an unprecedented spotlight, with every at-bat carrying the weight of history. As the chase for Roger Maris’ single-season home run record intensified, McGwire continued to deliver. On that September afternoon at Busch Stadium, he reached another historic milestone with one towering swing.
Facing 21-year-old Cincinnati Reds left-hander Dennis Reyes in the bottom of the first inning, McGwire worked into a 2-0 count. Reyes delivered a fastball, and McGwire drove it deep into the left-field seats for a 381-foot, two-run home run.
The blast gave the Cardinals an early lead in what became a 7-0 victory and made McGwire only the third player in major league history to reach 60 home runs in a season, joining Ruth and Roger Maris. He reached the mark in his 141st game, putting himself in rare company while leaving the record chase with one defining number still ahead: 61.
The moment also carried an extraordinary numerical coincidence.
As McGwire approached 60, specially numbered baseballs were being used so officials could identify the historic home run balls. The ball selected for his at-bat was No. 3. McGwire hit it on the third pitch of the at-bat, became the third player to reach 60 home runs in a season and tied the mark established by Ruth, who famously wore No. 3.
McGwire later called the coincidence eerie and said he believed in fate.
McGwire was stunned by a series of coincidences revolving around the number 3.
"That's so eerie. I believe in those things. I tell you what, I totally believe in fate and I believe that is what happened this week. I thank the man upstairs." McGwire said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.
But No. 60 was only another chapter in a season that would become legendary.
Three days later, McGwire hit No. 62, breaking Maris’ 37-year-old single-season record. He finished 1998 with 70 home runs, a mark that stood as the major league single-season record until Barry Bonds surpassed it in 2001.
McGwire’s power was not limited to one historic season. Over a 16-year career with the Oakland Athletics and Cardinals, he hit 583 home runs and established himself as one of baseball’s most prolific sluggers. He finished his career with a major league-best 10.61 at-bats per home run and remains the fastest player to reach both 400 and 500 career home runs by games played.
Twenty-eight years later, the significance of No. 60 still resonates.
It was more than a home run. It was the moment McGwire joined Ruth in one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs, and took one more enormous step toward rewriting the record book.