As he was rewriting history, Sammy Sosa paid tribute to one of the best in the game.
Sosa hit 20 home runs June 1998, a Major League Baseball record. The bat he used for the milestone homer on the final day of the month was actually a Babe Ruth model, he claims.
When NBC Sports Chicago sat down with Sosa earlier this season, he recounted the story of that magical dinger:
"The bat that I used that last home run was a Babe Ruth bat," Sosa said. "Somebody gave it to me somewhere because I received so many gifts. And one day, I'm like, hmmm...kinda looking good."
Sosa doesn't remember who gave the bat to him, but he knows 100 percent it was the lumber he used to go yard off Alan Embree in the 8th inning on June 30, 1998.
En route to a 66-homer season, Sosa really turned it on as the weather warmed up that summer. He had only 13 homers entering June before crushing 20 in 27 games (114 at-bats).
Sosa's slash line for that month was absolutely ridiculous: .298/.331/.842 with a 1.173 OPS. Yes, you read that right — an .842 slugging percentage! He also drove in 40 runs in those 27 games, but somehow, the Cubs managed just a 12-15 record that month.