Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire: Who had the better home run swing?

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In 1998, the world watched as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa smashed innocent baseballs out of the park in an epic home run race chronicled in an ESPN '30 For 30' episode titled "Long Gone Summer", premiering on Sunday.

According to two experts, McGwire and Sosa weren't just trying to crush the ball every at bat, they had impressive swings displaying proper mechanics.

First, let's take a look at Sosa's 60th home run from 1998.

"I really like that stance where the hands start low because then as he goes to load, they go back up," former Philadelphia Phillies scout and current hitting instructor at Strikes Baseball Academy in Broadview, Illinois Steve Hayward said.

"Look at 1:12, he's already hit the ball, his hands are even with the logo and his head is still where he made contact. The longer you keep your head down through the ball, the more direct path through the ball you get, the harder you hit it, the more backspin you get. 

"In fact, even after that, his head is still down, his hands now have passed the Cub logo, finishing outside his shoulder with both hands still on the bat and his chin is resting on his back shoulder. A lot of players, when they get done hitting, their head goes up way too soon. 

"He really stayed through that ball. If you look before he hits it, 1:11, look at how the back leg is already committed and the hands are still back. That's where the power comes from. Back leg starts the swing."

Former Cubs outfielder David DeJesus, who played for 13 years in the show and whose .307 batting average in 2008 was good for eighth best in the American League, also saw a lot of positives with Sosa's swing.

"He was much smaller in stature than McGwire, but you can just see how explosive he was," DeJesus said. "Sosa stepped back slightly with his front foot to start his momentum or coil his body, and then attacked the ball with speed and power."

As much as DeJesus admired Sosa's cut, it was what came next that always wowed him.

"What I loved about watching Sammy hit homers was that hop!," David said. "It was so unique and you knew right away when he hopped, it was gone!"

Now let's take a look at McGwire's 70th home run in '98.

"One thing I like about McGwire, just how relaxed he is," Hayward said. "Got that little rhythm going with his hands."

According to the former scout, where McGwire excelled was in keeping things simple.

"To me, it's just the right fundamentals, getting the back leg started, that starts the power," Steve said. "His back knee, if you watch in slow motion before he even hits the ball, his back knee is already facing the pitcher. He's already driven his back leg and his hands are still back and his knee is already turned, so getting that back leg into it. 

"And then just putting the barrel on the ball with good extension, that creates the backspin. Looks to me like he just stayed on top of the ball. It's just hitting the ball where it's pitched. 

"Sometimes you have to swing up and sometimes you have to swing down. But it looks to me like he just stayed barrel above the ball, hands above the ball and then just dropped the head of the bat onto the ball."

DeJesus noticed an obvious size advantage for "Big Mac", but echoed what Hayward said with McGwire being relaxed at the plate. 

"When I was watching this I was like, 'Wow, he looks humongous.' He was 6’5 and used leverage really well," David said. "What I loved is how relaxed he looked while the pitcher was getting set to throw. 

"He wasn’t gripping the bat tightly, just wiggling it, and then how he threw his hands to the ball. It was almost like he flicked the ball out the park. 

"He didn’t have a lot of motion, just hands to the baseball with the knowledge that if he squares it up, it’s going out the park. And last at bat of the season hits number 70, that’s special!"

McGwire's 70 homers at the end of the '98 regular season won the home run showdown over Sosa's 66. But, who had the better swing?

"[Sosa] had a little bit more of a load than McGwire, who just sat on his back leg, stepped and swung," DeJesus said. "Both of their paths to the baseball were short and compact. Knob went to the ball and both had great extension through the baseball. Also, both of their heads were down on contact and stayed down even after contact."

David wasn't quick to declare who possessed the best swing after analyzing each video.

"Can’t answer on who had the best swing overall because if you look on the back of their baseball cards, both have some seriously good numbers. Each of their swings worked for them and that’s all that mattered," he said.

A lot of the same fundamentals for each hitter stood out to Hayward, who did think one swing edged out the other.

"I just think they were trying to put on a good swing," Steve said. "If you watch Sosa, Sosa does a great job. McGwire just kept that head down and stayed right through it. 

"So in other words, 'through it' means if there were seven or eight more balls directly behind the ball that he hit, his bat would have hit all seven or eight of them. Instead of pulling off, he just stayed right through it, good back leg and then good finish."

"One thing [Sosa] and McGwire do [well] is . . . your belly button or belt buckle is your power point. If you can get a side angle, both McGwire and Sosa keep their head way behind their belly button or their belt buckle and directly over their back knee and the guys who can do that, you're going to hit for a lot of power. The guys whose head gets over their belly button or too close to their front knee, they're dead."

So Steve's winner??

"Sosa," he said. "Better mechanics. Did a better job of keeping his head down."

That might explain why Sosa's .308 batting average for the '98 season edged out McGwire's .299, despite the former Cub losing a home run race for the ages. 

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