Turning the clock back when Sammy Sosa made Cubs history in June 1998

The Chicago Cubs welcomed Sammy Sosa back into the fold back in January, with the 56-year-old making a long-anticipated return to Cubs Convention. His return aligned with his induction into the Cubs Hall of Fame, and on Friday, he checks another big item off the list: returning to Wrigley Field.

Sosa has not set foot in the Friendly Confines since he reportedly left the ballpark during the team's final game of the 2004 season. That, paired with his longstanding refusal to acknowledge suspected PED usage during his career, contributed to the decades-long standoff between Sosa and the organization. But with the two sides burying the hatchet, the former face of the franchise is, once again, front and center.

Omitting Sosa from Cubs' lore was nearly impossible (despite the team's best efforts). After all, he's the club's all-time leader in home runs, ranks second in OPS and slugging and third in runs batted in. Not to mention he remains the only player in MLB history with three 60+ homer seasons in his career and played a pivotal role in the 1998 home run chase, centered around Sosa and Cardinals' slugger Mark McGwire's pursuit of a record-setting 62 home runs.

In the early going that year, Sosa wasn't really a factor in the race. If anything, the race was between McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr heading into June. But in June, the Cubs outfielder turned things on its head, hitting the ball out of the yard at a staggering pace. Opening the month with half as many long-balls as McGwire, Sosa hit a record-setting 20 home runs in June to pull him within striking distance of McGwire heading into July.

Sammy Sosa did unbelievable things with the Cubs in June 1998

In that month of June, Sosa had four multi-home run games - including a three-homer game against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 16, a 6-5 Cubs' win at Wrigley. He never went more than three games without homering that month, drove in 40 runs and slugged .842, a mark that would be a well above-average OPS in today's game, let alone a slugging mark.

That big month helped Sosa make history in 1998, with both he and McGwire eclipsing the then-single-season home run record of 61 long balls, set by Roger Maris decades earlier. Big Mac finished the year with 70 homers and Sosa closed out the year hot on his heels with 66 en route to National League MVP honors.

All this to say it feels fitting that Sosa is returning to Wrigley in the month of June. Nobody has had a June quite like Sammy did back in 1998 - and it's a performance that's certainly stood the test of time.