Kyle Schwarber, Cal Raleigh and Shohei Ohtani Help Make Rarely Seen Home Run History

Schwarber's big year

Now 32, Schwarber is setting himself up for a massive payday in the offseason. A free agent to be, he's got 45 homers and a league-best 109 RBIs. He's also hitting .248 with a .371 on-base percentage while owning an OPS+ of 154.

The Phillies currently lead the National League East and are working for their first World Series title since 2008, and Schwarber is a major reason why they could get it.

He's homered twice in his last five games.

Raleigh is making history

The Mariners backstop went deep twice on Sunday in an 11-4 win over the A's, giving him a league-best 49 for the season. He now has the most home runs of any catcher in single-season history, and he's surpassed Ken Griffey Jr. for the most multi-home run games in team history (9) in any one season.

He's battling with Aaron Judge for the American League MVP Award.

Ohtani time

Now hitting .280 with 45 homers and 84 RBIs, Ohtani looks like the frontrunner for the National League MVP as well. He's got an OPS of 1.008, an OPS+ of 177, and he's got 17 steals. Furthermore, he's returned to the mound, making his case even stronger. He's already won three MVP awards and is one of just two players (Frank Robinson) to win the award in both leagues.

The 1998 home run race

Widely credited with saving baseball following the 1994 strike, McGwire and Sosa both worked to surpass the 61 home runs hit by Roger Maris in 1961. McGwire led the way with 70, while Sosa hit 66. Griffey checked in with 56 to lead the American League. It was the second straight year that he had hit 56 for Seattle.

The 2001 home run race

Bonds set the major league record for homers in a season this year, hitting 73 to surpass McGwire's single-season high. Sosa hit 64 blasts, marking his third season over 60, and his 160 RBIs led baseball. Gonzalez won the Home Run Derby at Safeco Field in Seattle, and he finished the year with 57.

Most importantly, he led the D-backs to the World Series title, delivering the game-winning hit in Game 7 against the New York Yankees.