If You Missed the 1999 MLB Season ... I'm Sorry

Ajouté : 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]The year is 1999. After the home run chase between Maguire and Sosa helped bring the sport back to life, the league was riding a massive wave of popularity.

[00:00:10]It didn't hurt that offense was booming, and every team in baseball seemed to have a 40 home run slugger. Meanwhile, the defending champion Yankees were now the gold standard, coming off one of the greatest seasons ever in which they won 114 games before steamrolling through the playoffs. With Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, and the newly acquired ace Roger Clemens, New York was fully capable of becoming a dynasty. But the Atlanta Braves were still the class of the National League. With future Hall of Famers all over their staff and coming off yet another 100 win season, Atlanta was in search of their second championship of the decade. At the same time, the Astros believed this could be the year they finally broke through in October. After a franchise record 102 wins in 98, Houston was one of baseball's most talented teams. But following repeated playoff disappointments, many questioned whether they could get over the hump. Ken Griffy Jr. off back-to-back 56 home run seasons remained baseball's biggest superstar.

[00:01:10]But the league was also shining a light on a new generation. Shorts stops Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Nomar Garcia Parara were three of the most exciting young players in the sport. While the secondyear expansion Diamondbacks shocked baseball by aggressively trying to contend immediately after signing Randy Johnson away from Houston.

[00:01:35]The first game of the 99 MLB season was an international opening day matchup where the Rockies defeated the Padres's 8-2 taking place at Estadio Day Baseball Monterey in Monterey, Mexico. But back in the States, Pedro Martinez was unhitable. He won AL pitcher of the month in April and May with a 10-1 record, 101 erra, and 117 strikeouts in 80 innings. most notably back-to-back eightining 15 strikeout games against the Angels and Mariners. Boston sat at top the AL East a game and a half ahead of the Yankees. Also due in no small part to Nomar Garcia Parara who had one of the greatest games ever by a shortstop on May 10th, crushing three home runs, two grand slams, and driving in 10 runs against Seattle. Meanwhile, the secondyear Dbacks were proving their aggressive approach was no joke, storming out of the gate 31-21 behind a 30-game Luis Gonzalez hitting streak.

[00:02:33]And of course, Randy Johnson, who racked up 15 strikeouts in an April 10th win against the Braves. Arizona was tops in the NL West. And Cardinals third baseman Fernando Tatis made major league history by becoming the only player ever to hit two grand slams in one inning, both off Dodgers pitcher Chanho Park. But even though the Mariners were only in third place, Ken Griffy Jr. was the one leading all of baseball in home runs.

[00:02:59]Just below him on the leaderboard were the likes of José Cano, Raul Mandisy, and Sammy Sosa. However, the best player in the bigs through the first couple months was arguably Mets first baseman John Olarude, who led the majors in war and sported a 345 average. The Mets offense had plenty of firepower around him, too. On May 20th, Robin Ventura became the first player in history to hit a grand slam in both games of a double header during a sweep of Milwaukee. The Braves though were still the NL East leaders at 31 and 20 thanks to a red-hot Brian Jordan and John Smoltz's 259 ERA. Back in March, history took place when the Orioles traveled to Havana to play the Cuban national team, the first American pro team to play in Cuba in 40 years. Just over a month later, the teams played a return game in Baltimore on May 3rd. And on May 19th, the Reds and Rockies combined for one of the most ridiculous offensive games of the steroid era. Cincinnati outslugged Colorado 24 to12 at Coors Field in a game featuring 43 combined hits and 81 total bases.

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[00:05:31]As amazing as Pedro Martinez was with 184 strikeouts and a 210 ERA at the break, the Yankees had overtaken Boston for first place behind Derek Jeter's 371 average. And with Roger Clemens and Andy Pettit having erra of 4.7 and 559, there was plenty of room for New York to improve. The Indians sat at top the AL Central once again as Manny Ramirez paced the team with 25 bombs, 96 RBI's, and a 640 slug at the break. But just as explosive were the AL West leading Rangers. Pudge Rodriguez was building his MVP case while reigning AL MVP Juan Gonzalez and Raphael Palro were each in the midst of monster seasons. Both had at least 22 homers, 76 RBI's, and a 314 average. The NL Central, however, was deadlocked between the Astros and Reds.

[00:06:24]Jeff Bagwell was having a predictably awesome first half, but Cincinnati, who went just 77 and 85 in 98, had a quartet of elite hitters carrying their lineup.

[00:06:34]Mike Cameron providing premium power, speed, and center field defense. Shawn Casey hitting.371, Barry Larkin, one of the game's legendary shorts stops, and Greg Vaughn leading the team with 20 bombs. But despite Barry Bonds missing almost two months following midappril elbow surgery, Jeff Kent picked up the slack and led the Giants to first place in the NL West. Arizona was on their heels, but the Dbacks suffered two brutal losses at the hands of Cardinals rookie pitcher Jose Jimenez. On June 25th, Jimenez threw the first no hitter of the 99 season in a one- nothing Cardinals victory, beating Randy Johnson despite Johnson striking out 14 batters and recording the 2500th strikeout of his career. Then on July 5th, Jimenez again held Arizona to two hits in another one- nothing Cardinals win while Randy Johnson struck out another 12 in the loss. Over four straight losses for Johnson, the Diamondback's offense failed to score even a single run while he notched 54 strikeouts and gave up just five earned runs across those starts. He already had 211ks while Jose Jimenez would be demoted to AAA less than 2 months later. But some of the most memorable moments of the first half came at Fenway Park during the All-Star festivities. After an iconic home run derby won by Ken Griffy Jr., MLB's All Century team was recognized and Ted Williams threw out the first pitch. Then Pedro Martinez stole the show, striking out Barry Larkin, Larry Walker, Sammy Sosa, Mark Maguire, and Jeff Bagwell, electrifying the Boston crowd and punctuating a historic first half.

[00:08:20]Out of the break, the National League's biggest individual surge on a contending team belonged to Chipper Jones, who caught fire, hitting.340 with 14 home runs after the All-Star game through the end of August in an effort to hold off the Mets, led by Mike Piaza and a deep veteran roster. New York was the hottest team in baseball at this very moment and turned the NL East into one of baseball's best division races. On August 30th, the Mets demolished the Astros 17 to1 as Edgardo Alfonso went 6 for6 with three home runs, five RBI's, and six runs scored. Meanwhile, Randy Johnson pulled away in the NLI Young race, pitching to a 156 RA during these six weeks, which was nearly a full run better than anyone in the majors. And from the break through the end of August, Mark Maguire and Sammy Sosa were as locked in as ever, each launching 23 home runs. Neither St. Louis nor Chicago were in the playoff picture, but their iconic sluggers were once again on the verge of 60 homer seasons. And a new era began on July 15th when the Seattle Mariners opened Safe Co. Field. The Mariners lost the inaugural game to the Padres's, but outdoor baseball had begun in Seattle. And just three days later, David Conn threw a perfect game in the Bronx against the Expos, becoming the third Yankee to accomplish the feat.

[00:09:43]Then in early August, baseball witnessed back-to-back milestones from two future Hall of Famers. On August 6th, Tony Gwyn collected the 30,000th hit of his career for the Padres's. And on the very next day, Wade Bogs joined the 3000 hit club as well, blasting a home run for the milestone hit in what would become one of the classic moments in Tampa Bay Devil Rays history.

[00:10:12]On September 10th, Pedro Martinez one hit the Yankees while striking out 17 batters, the most Yankee hitters ever struck out in a single game. Then on September 21st, Pedro struck out 12 more against Toronto to reach 300 on the season while also breaking Roger Clemens single season Red Sox strikeout record.

[00:10:32]He completed one of the greatest pitching seasons of all time with a 207 erra. There was little debate that Pedro was the top arm in the sport as he took home his second Sai Young. But Boston had to settle for the wild card because the Yankees bested them with 98 wins behind the best season of Derek Jeter's entire career. He hit.349 with 34 home runs and 134 runs scored, overcoming down years from Pettit and Clemens, both of whom finished with ERAs over 4.6. But the ever underrated Bernie Williams became the first player since 1993 with over 200 hits, 100 runs, 100 RBI's, and 100 walks. Cleveland crews to their fifth straight AL Central title with 97 wins and the league's highest scoring offense powered by Manny Ramirez's 165 RBI's, plus a third place MVP finish from Roberto Alamar. And Arizona hit a 100 wins to clinch the NL West. Not only because of Matt Williams 142 RBI's, but also because the big unit finished the year with 364 strikeouts, giving baseball two historically dominant pitchers as he of course nabbed the NL Sai Young. The Astros once again captured the NL Central thanks to Jeff Bagwell's 42 home runs and 30 steals, plus a second place Sai Young finish for Mike Hampton, while the Rangers won the AL West after another unreal offensive season headlined by 121 combined home runs from Paul Marrow Gonzalez and AL MVP Pudge Rodriguez. They edged out the Athletics and a red-hot Jason Giani by eight games. On September 4th, the Reds scored over 20 runs for the second time this year, setting a National League record with nine home runs in a 22-3 showing against the Phillies. Greg Vaughn hit one of his league leading 16 September home runs on this day and finished the campaign with 45. The Reds and Mets ended the season tied at 96 and 66, forcing a one-ame playoff to decide who would advance to October. But Al Lighty Lighter fired off a complete game shut out against Cincinnati to single-handedly clinch the wild card for New York, who finished second to the Braves. Atlanta led the majors in team ERA. And Chipper Jones put together the best season of his career in route to NL MVP honors. On September 18th, Sammy Sosa blasted his 60th home run of the season, becoming the first player ever to reach 60 home runs twice. Eight days later, Mark Maguire joined him. And on the final day of the season, they each homered once again. Meuire finished with 65 home runs, while Sosa ended with 63.

[00:13:16]Maguire also finished with an incomprehensible 147 RBI's on just 145 hits.

[00:13:29]For the second straight year, New York opened the postseason against the Rangers. But despite Texas once again wielding an elite lineup, El Duk threw eight shutout innings in game one and Bernie Williams went deep in the eight- nothing victory. Then in game two, Andy Pettit fired off another seven innings of one-run ball while the Yankees scratched across enough offense to stay in control. Texas got on the board with a Juan Gonzalez solo shot, but that would prove to be their only run of the entire series. Back in Arlington for game three, Roger Clemens tossed seven scoreless before Rivera once again closed it out to complete the sweep.

[00:14:06]Cleveland and Boston also met for the second straight year. But unlike 98, Cleveland was in the driver's seat after game one. The Indians walked it off on a Travis Fryman RBI single to take the opener. Then in game two, their offense erupted. Jim Tomy hit a grand slam as Cleveland routed Boston to take a commanding two nothing series lead heading to Fenway Park. But back home, Boston blew out Cleveland in game three to get back into the series. And then in game four, the Red Sox unleashed one of the most absurd offensive performances in postseason history, scoring a playoff record 23 runs. Bartolo Cologne was chased in the second inning as José Offerman, John Valentine, and Trot Nixon alone combined for 17 RBI's. So, after trailing two nothing days earlier, Boston had all the momentum heading into the decisive game five where Cleveland jumped out to an 8-7 lead after just three innings thanks to a Jim Tomy homer. But with the season hanging in the balance, Pedro entered out of the bullpen despite dealing with injury and silenced the Indians for six no hit innings. mowing down the top offense in baseball and delivering one of the all-time great postseason performances.

[00:15:18]Troy Oir delivered the exclamation point with a three-run bomb that sent the Socks to their first ALCS since 1990.

[00:15:32]In the NLDS, the Astros stole game one in Atlanta with home runs from Daryl Ward and Ken Camoniti. But the momentum didn't last long. In game two, Houston allowed the Braves to even the series, going back to the Astrodome for game three, where Atlanta carried a 3-2 lead into the seventh inning before Houston answered with a Bill Spires RBI single to tie the game. But Brian Jordan came through with a two-run double in the 12th to clinch the Braves massive road win. So, facing elimination in game four, Houston once again dug themselves a hole, 7 to nothing in the sixth.

[00:16:06]Though the Astros eventually mounted a late rally and cut the deficit to two entering the ninth, bringing the Astrodome crowd to life one final time, but John Rocker slammed the door on Houston's comeback attempt, ending both the series and the final game ever played at the Astrodome. In the other National League Division series, the Dbacks were the fastest expansion team in history to reach October. Their rapid rise had already become one of baseball's stories of the year. But at bank one ballpark, Edgardo Alfonso gave the Mets an early boost with a solo home run before blowing the game open with a ninth inning grand slam, handing Arizona a rough intro to postseason baseball.

[00:16:46]But behind six strong innings from Todd Stoddle Meyer in game two, Arizona earned their first ever playoff victory with a 7 to1 win to even the series heading to New York. Once the series shifted to Queens though, Rick Reed stifled the Dbacks offense while the Mets put nine runs on the board to move within one win of the NLCS. But game four delivered the drama the series had been missing. The Dbacks appeared ready to force game five after Jay Bell's go-ahead two-run double in the eighth inning. But in the bottom half, a game-tying Roger Sadenho sack fly sent Sha Stadium into a frenzy and the game into extras where unlikely hero Todd Pratt whacked a 10th inning walk-off home run that put the Mets back into the NLCS for the first time since 1988.

[00:17:38]For the first time in the history of the rivalry, the Yankees and Red Sox faced off for playoff baseball. After spending the entire season battling for the division, game one lived up to the hype when Bernie Williams crushed a walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth. And game two proved just as tense. Boston carried a narrow lead deep into the game. But once again, in the seventh inning, New York pushed across two unanswered runs to steal another victory and head to Fenway Park with a two-0 series lead. But game three became the spectacle of the series with Pedro facing Roger Clemens. Fenway Park was electric before the first pitch was thrown, even more so when Martinez shoved and the Red Sox offense humiliated Clemens in a 13-1 victory.

[00:18:22]After he exited early, Red Sox fans relentlessly mocked their former ace.

[00:18:26]But in game four, New York countered with a blowout of their own to go up 3-1. Still at Fenway for game five, El Duk held Boston to one run over seven innings while Jeter and Patada each went deep to secure the AL pennant.

[00:18:47]30 years after the original NLCS between the Mets and Braves, the rivalry returned to October. In game one, Greg Maddox notched the win with seven one-run innings. Then in game two, Kevin Milwood followed him with another dominant performance and a big sixth inning was enough for the Atlanta win.

[00:19:05]Unfortunately, things only got worse for the Mets in game three at home when Tom Glavin was untouchable for seven innings. The series was practically over for the Mets after the backbreaking one zero loss. But with their season on the brink in game four, just four outs away from a brave sweep, New York's John Olarude knocked a go-ahead two-run single to center that changed the energy of the series and forced an even crazier game five where Atlanta was now within two outs of the penant in the bottom of the 15th inning. But with the bases loaded, Robin Ventura hit a walk-off grand slam that made Shea Stadium go berserk. In the celebration, Ventura was mobbed by his teammates before fully circling the bases. technically turning the hit into one of the strangest walk-off singles in baseball history.

[00:19:51]Still, after trailing three games to none, the Mets had real juice going down to Atlanta for game six. After a fiveun Braves first inning, the two teams traded blows throughout the night in a slugfest that eventually pushed into extra innings once again. In the top of the tenth, the Mets grabbed the lead with a sack fly, but Azie Gillian tied it in the bottom half. Then in the 11th, the Braves loaded the bases after Mets pitcher Kenny Rogers issued two intentional walks. With the count running full against Andrew Jones, Rogers missed badly up and away for ball four, forcing home the winning run and ending the Wild Series on a walk-off walk.

[00:20:36]The World Series featured the top team from each league. The Yankees were chasing their third championship in four years while the Braves had the best record in all of baseball. But from the very beginning, New York was calling the shots. The Yankees took game one on the road with a two-run eighth inning and seven strong from El Duk. Game two though was even more lopsided. David Cohen dominated while the Yankees offense played seven and Tino Martinez drove in two. After a pair of games in Atlanta, the Yankees headed back to the Bronx with a two-0 series lead. While the Braves searched desperately for offense, but game three was finally the type of battle many expected entering the series. A two-run Chuck Knoblock homer in the eighth tied the game at five. Then in the bottom of the tenth, Chad Curtis parked a walk-off solo homer into the left field seats, pushing the Yankees within one win of another title.

[00:21:28]And with the Braves facing elimination, it was Roger Clemen's turn in game four, who outdooled John Smoltz and held Atlanta to one run through seven and two/3. Jim Larretz's insurance homer in the eighth made it 4 to1 and Mariano's 1239th secured championship number 25, surpassing the Montreal Canadians for the most titles by any North American professional sports franchise. The Yankees had now won back-to-back World Series in dominant fashion three in four years and were officially one of the sport's defining dynasties. Despite ruling the National League throughout the decade, the Braves had just one World Series title to show for it.