Here's the thing about Mark McGwire's rookie home run record: It was an impressive number. A lot of baseball records are kind of a manufactured manipulation of statistics, but McGwire's record was simple and straightforward: Most home runs by a rookie. His total of 49 was 11 more than any other rookie. Before this season, nobody else had come close.
It was even more impressive because McGwire didn't even start the season as a regular for the A's. He was platooning at first base with a guy named Rob Nelson and only started five of the team's first 13 games.