As the 1998 Major League Baseball season winds down, all of the talk lately has been about Mark McGwire breaking Roger Maris’ single season home run record. Since McGwire and Sammy Sosa have already broken it, the question is how many will they hit?

Well, while baseball fans have been keeping a close eye on this situation the entire season, there have been some other interesting developments in baseball this year.

Not only did McGwire break the single season home run record, he also has a chance of breaking Babe Ruth’s record for the most walks drawn in one season. Sure, this might not be as intriguing as the home run chase, but this record has stood even longer.

With all of the hype lately going to McGwire and Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr. has become a forgotten man. Griffey has hit 50 home runs in two straight seasons now and is just entering the prime of his career. Its quite possible we could be following Griffey’s pursuit of Hank Aaron’s career home run record 10 years from now.

Griffey’s teammate Alex Rodriguez has joined Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco as a member of the 40/40 club. However, Rodriguez has the potential to become the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season.

Rodriguez has only been in the league a few seasons and should continue to improve on his game, which is scary when you consider that he is already one of the premier players in the game.

This season we have also witnessed that Tony Gwynn is human. Gwynn will fail to win the batting title this season, partially due to the fact that he has been plagued by injuries throughout the season.

This season also marks the reemergence of Jose Canseco and Eric Davis. Canseco, who teamed up with McGwire to form the Bash Brothers with the A’s, has found his home run swing again and continues to help the Toronto Blue Jays with their quest for a wild card spot.

Eric Davis has also made an incredible comeback this season. After being sidelined for much of last season with cancer, Davis has been one of the few bright spots for the disappointing Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles, despite many lucrative contracts, will fail to make the playoffs this season, while a low budget team like the Blue Jays may squeak their way into a wild card spot.

Another disappointment this season was the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies boast one of the more potent offenses in baseball but have a pitching staff with ERAs higher than their shoe sizes. However, some of this can be attributed to the thin air at Coors Field, where routine fly balls seem to find their way to the stands.

After unloading the majority of their superstars, the Florida Marlins have gone from World Champions to cellar dwellers. The 1991 Minnesota Twins went from worst to first, and now the 1998 Marlins have gone from first to worst.

Now that Mike Piazza has found a home in New York, the Mets find themselves in a battle for a playoff berth. Another important trade was Randy Johnson going from Seattle to Houston. The Big Unit has made the Astros into instant contenders for the National League Championship.

The Astros along with San Diego and Atlanta are on pace to win over 100 games this season. The New York Yankees have already reached that mark with over 20 games remaining in the season. Rarely do four teams win 100+ games in the same season.

The end of the season also means award time. So who will win the AL MVP? Albert Belle, Juan Gonzalez and Griffey have all had phenomenal years.

How about the AL Cy Young award? Roger Clemens has had another outstanding campaign as well as David Wells and his perfect game. As a matter of fact, anyone on the Yankees’ staff has a shot at it.

The National League is even cloudier. Greg Maddux does appear to be the front-runner again for the Cy Young award, but the rest of the Braves’ rotation as well as Kevin Brown from the Padres are having superb seasons also.

I’m sure glad I’m not voting for the NL MVP this season. It would almost seem unfair to not award McGwire and Sosa for their record- breaking seasons. Maybe a co-MVP is necessary this year.

Baseball is America’s game, and it is always refreshing to watch throwback players like Cal Ripken Jr. and Gary Gaetti; how they love the game and play with such integrity.

With fall approaching and the temperature dropping, who knows, hell may freeze over and the Cubs could win the World Series (even though most of our great-grandparents weren’t even born when the Cubbies last took the title). In an amazing season like this, anything can happen.

So while the nation follows McGwire and Sosa and the home run saga, remember the rest of baseball, because it’s the purest sport around and it is America’s pastime.