1998 World Series

The 1998 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1998 season. The 94th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National League (NL) champion San Diego Padres. The Yankees swept the Padres in four games to win their second World Series championship in three years and their 24th overall. Yankees third baseman Scott Brosius was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.

The Yankees advanced to the World Series by defeating the Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series, three games to zero, and then the Cleveland Indians in the AL Championship Series, four games to two. The Padres advanced to the series by defeating the Houston Astros in the NL Division Series, three games to one, and then the Atlanta Braves in the NL Championship Series, four games to two. It was the Yankees' second appearance in the World Series in three years, and San Diego's second World Series appearance overall, their first since losing in .

This was officially the first World Series that Bud Selig presided over as Commissioner of Baseball, although he had presided over the Commissioner's Trophy presentation at the end of the and 1997 World Series as the interim Commissioner. For the first time, the same city—San Diego—hosted both the final World Series game and the Super Bowl the same year; not only were they held in the same city, they were both also held in the same stadium, Qualcomm Stadium.

Background

San Diego Padres

After winning their first National League pennant in 1984, the Padres fell into futility. Disagreements between then-manager Dick Williams and the Padres front office led to his dismissal in 1986. Following multiple consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs, friction between players, management, and front office personnel, and two ownership changes, the team's fortunes changed when the club hired Bruce Bochy as their next manager in 1995. In his first season, he had turned around a club that had won only 40 games in 1994 (though the season was cut short by a players' strike) into a 70–74 team the following year. In 1996, the Padres finished with a 91–71 record winning the National League West, earning Bochy NL Manager of the Year honors. Though they were swept by the St. Louis Cardinals in that year's National League Division Series. Despite taking a step back in 1997 in which they finished in last place with a record of 76-86, they would rebound the next year and finished with a franchise record 98–64 record in 1998. Key players such as Tony Gwynn (who was a part of the team's 1984-pennant winning season), Greg Vaughn, and pitchers Andy Ashby, Trevor Hoffman (who saved 53 games that season and was a runner-up in Cy Young Award voting), and Kevin Brown all contributed heavily to San Diego's success in 1998. Vaughn in particular drew notice for his home run count during the regular season as it compared to the counts star sluggers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa; Vaughn had 50 while McGwire and Sosa had 70 and 66, respectively.

The Padres began their playoff run by defeating the Houston Astros in the division series 3 games to 1, thanks to timely hitting from relatively unknown hitter Jim Leyritz, who hit 3 home runs in the NLDS alone (Leyritz had hit 4 homers in 62 games played during the regular season). In the championship series against the 106-win juggernaut Atlanta Braves, the Padres dismantled the "Big Three" lineup of the Braves consisting of John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux thanks to more timely hitting from the team's lineup. The Padres defeated the Braves in the NLCS 4 games to 2, winning the franchise's second pennant en route to the World Series.

New York Yankees

In contrast to the Padres, the Yankees entered the 1998 with high expectations. Following their victory in the 1996 World Series, the Yankees regressed to second place in the AL East in 1997 and were dealt a stunning five-game defeat against the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series. During the 1997–98 offseason, the Yankees made multiple moves, most notably trading for Scott Brosius from the Oakland Athletics, Chuck Knoblauch from the Minnesota Twins, and purchasing the contract of Alfonso Soriano from Nippon Professional Baseball. Alongside these new acquisitions, the Yankees boasted a plethora of talent across numerous positions, both on offense and defense. The team's "Core Four" of pitcher Andy Pettitte, shortstop Derek Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada, and closer Mariano Rivera, alongside other stars like pitchers David Cone

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