On this date (June 10) in 2010, White Sox’ 3B Omar Vizquel took Tigers’ starter Max Scherzer deep to right field with one out in the bottom of the first inning – becoming just the fourth MLB player to homer in four different decades (nice symmetry there). Vizquel hit his first MLB home run on July 23, 1989 – a seventh-inning solo shot as his Mariners beat the Blue Jays 5-2. It was Vizquel’s only home run in the decade of the 1980s. In the 2010’s, Vizquel hit one more home run (two dingers total in 2010) and then played 118 games in 2011-12 without adding a home run. We’ll take a look at the players who have homered in four decades (Vizquel, Ted Williams, Willie McCovey and Rickey Henderson) in some detail, but first a few “factoids” about the feat.
- Timing can be crucial – all four members of the Four Decade HR Club began their MLB careers in the final year of a decade. Ted Williams (1939); Willie McCovey (1959); Rickey Henderson (1979); Omar Vizquel (1989).
- Two of the four players (Williams and McCovey) played just one season in both the first AND final decades of their four-decade HR streaks.
- Williams, McCovey and Henderson are all in the Hall of Fame. Vizquel will be eligible in the upcoming voting cycle.
- Vizquel is the only one of the four without at least one MVP Award (Williams earned two).
- Williams (Red Sox) is the only member of the four-decade homer club to play his entire career with one team.
- Williams and McCovey have the most home runs of any club members (tied at 521), Vizquel the fewest (80).
- Rickey Henderson played for the most teams (nine) as he worked his way into the “Home Runs in Four Decades Club.”
- Just coming in under the wire: Willie McCovey qualified with just one home run in the 1980s; Rickey Henderson with just one in the 1970’s; and Omar Vizquel with just a single round tripper in the 1980’s. Note: Vizquel also had just two long balls in the 2010 decade.
- Rickey Henderson’s first and last MLB home runs, appropriately, came as the lead-off hitter in the first inning. He hit a record 81 round trippers leading off a game for his team.
CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR
Ken Griffey, Jr. began his career as a 19-year-old rookie in 1989 – going .264-16-61. By his final season (2010), he had belted 630 home runs and gone deep in the decades of the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s. In 2010, his final season (at 40-years-old), he played in 33 games for the Mariners, but did not homer.
Now, here are a few more details about the members of the Home Runs in Four Decades Club.
TED WILLIAMS, LF, RED SOX (The Kid, Teddy Ballgame, Splendid Splinter, Thumper) – Career: 1939-1960; 19 seasons (time lost due to military service).
Ted Williams hit his first MLB home run on April 23, 1939. The 20-year-old Williams’ first-inning two-run shot came in his fourth game for the Red Sox – a 12-8 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics. Williams ended that rookie season at .327-31-145 (his 145 RBI led the AL.) His last home run came on September 28, 1960 – an eighth-inning solo shot as his Red Sox topped the Orioles 5-4. It was the 42-year-old Williams last MLB at bat. Williams finished the 1960 season at .31-29-72.
Williams’ career line was .344-521-1,839. His homers by decade:
1930’s – 31 home runs
1940’s – 234
1950’s – 227
1960’s – 29
In Baseball-Reference.com, in the notation for “Buried”, where most deceased players have a cemetery listed, Williams’ notation is “Frozen.”
WILLIE MCCOVEY, 1B/OF, GIANTS/PADRES/A’S (Stretch, Big Mac) – Career: 1959-1980; 22 seasons.
Willie McCovey hit his first MLB home run on August 2, 1959 – in his fourth MLB game (late July call up). It was a fourth-inning, two-run shot in a Giants’ 5-3 win over the Pirates. McCovey finished the season at .354-13-38. His final home run came on May 3, 1980 – a fourth-inning solo blast as the Giants nipped the Expos 3-2. It was the 42-year-old McCovey’s only home run in 1980 (his last MLB season) and he finished at .204-1-16 in 48 games (113 at bats).
McCovey’s career line was .270-521-1,555. His home runs by decade:
1950’s – 13 home runs
1960’s – 300
1970’s – 207
1980’s – 1
Willie McCovey won the 1959 NL Rookie of the Year Award despite playing in just 52 MLB games – that’s what a .354-13-38 line will do for you. Before being called up, McCovey had hit .372-29-92 in 95 games at Triple A.
RICKEY HENDERSON, OF, A’s/YANKEES/BLUE JAYS/PADRES/ANGELS/METS/MARINERS/RED SOX/DODGERS (Man of Steal) – Career: 1979-2003; 25 seasons.
Rickey Henderson’s first home run came on September 17, 1979 – in his 78th MLB game. The 20-year-old rookie hit a solo shot, leading off the bottom of the first inning as his A’s lost to the Rangers 6-3. It was Henderson’s only home run of the season (.274-1-26 in 89 games) and, of course, his only home run in the decade of the 1970’s. Henderson’s last home run came on July 20, 2003 (at age 44) – another solo shot leading off the first inning (this time for the Dodgers, who lost to the Cardinals 10-7). Henderson went .208-2-5 that season.
Henderson put up a career line of .279-297-1,115 – not to mention a MLB-record 1,406 stolen bases.
His home runs by decade:
1970’s – 1
1980’s – 137
1990’s – 140
2000’s – 19
OMAR VIZQUEL, SS/3B, MARINERS/INDIANS/GIANTS/RANGERS/WHITE SOX/BLUE JAYS (Little O) Career: 1989-2012; 24 seasons.
Omar Vizquel hit his first MLB home run On July 23, 1989. The 22-year-old smashed a seventh-inning solo shot as his Mariners bested the Blue Jays 5-2. It as Vizquel’s only home run of the season (.220-1-20) and the decade. Vizquel’s final home run came on September 8, 2010 – a fourth-inning solo shot for the 43-year-old – as his White were downed by the Tiger 5-1. Vizquel played two more MLB seasons (118 games) without a home run. His 2010 line was .276-2-30.
Vizquel finished his career at .272-80-951. His home runs by decade:
1980’s – 1
1990’s – 33
2000’s – 44
2010’a – 2
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