The season also saw Sammy Sosa, along with Mark McGwire, surpass the existing single-season home run record of 61.

and his singing of "Take me out to the ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch made Caray a fan favorite both locally and, thanks to WGN's superstation status, on a national level as well.

In the final game of the season, with the Cubs and Giants tied for the Wild Card lead, a Terry Mulholland throwing error cost the Cubs a victory against the Houston Astros, as San Francisco held an early lead in Colorado, and the team's playoff hopes were in jeopardy.

However, a Neifi Pérez walk-off home run gave the Rockies a win and forced a one-game playoff at Wrigley Field.

= Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts One-game playoff to break tie in regular season standings Chicago Cubs 5, San Francisco Giants 3 (Wrigley Field) NL Division Series (Best of 5) Atlanta Braves 7, Chicago Cubs 1 (Turner Field) Atlanta Braves 2, Chicago Cubs 1 (Turner Field) Atlanta Braves 6, Chicago Cubs 2 (Wrigley Field) Braves win series 3-0 All-Star Game [4]