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Sosa Reaches 60 Homers On This Day in Chicago Cubs History

On this day in Chicago Cubs history, Sammy Sosa achieved a rare feat and Kyle Hendricks tossed a gem to remember.

60 home runs by one player in one season is a rare feat in Major League Baseball. Only four players have achieved in the league's history. Former Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa is a member of this exclusive club.

On this day in 1998, Sosa launched his 60th homer of the season in a 15-12 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. The historic blast came off of Brewers' Valerio de los Santos in the seventh inning. 

He went on to hit 66 dingers in the 1998 season, and eclipsed 60+ home runs in a single season two more times in 1999 (63) and 2001 (64). 

On this day in the Cubs' 2016 championship season, starter Kyle Hendricks took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals. Unfortunately, Jeremy Hazelbaker (who hasn't played baseball professionally since 2019) hit his 12th homer of the year to end Hendricks' no-no attempt.

Chicago still won the contest 4-1, though, Hendricks improved his ERA to 2.03 in his 15th win of the season. The Cubs picked up their 92nd win of the year, and their magic number to clinch the NL Central dropped to three as a result of Hendricks' gem.

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