It’s time again for Baseball Roundtable’s Trivia(l) Tidbit Tuesday. I hope you are enjoying this weekly presentation of baseball occurrences that for some reason caught The Roundtable’s eye. (I’m particularly fond of unexpected performances and statistical coincidences.) These won’t necessarily be momentous occurrences, just events, statistics or coincidences that grabbed my attention. I’m also drawn to baseball “unicorns,” one-of-a-kind MLB accomplishments or statistics.
This week, we’re looking at power-hitting teams. For example. Did you know the 2019 New York Yankees had a record 14 players reach double-digits homers? This week’s post looks at the teams with most players with 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 (or more) homers in the same season.
Side note: There may be something to the theory that hitting can be contagious. You’ll find 33 names on this list and, of those, 17 made the list in theor career-high home run season.
2019 Yankees
Despite having 14 players with ten or more home runs – and 306 total roundtrippers – the Yankees did not lead MLB, or even the AL, in team homers in 2019, as the Twins bashed a new (since tied) MLB record 307 home runs (more on that in a bit). The 2019 Yankees did lead the majors in runs scored (943) and won the AL East title with a 103-59 record. Gleyber Torres led the team in homers and his 38 long balls were sixth in the AL. The Yankees defeated the Twins in the AL Division Series, before losing to the Astros in the American League Championship Series.
Side Note: Edwin Encarnacion hit 14 homers in 44 games for the Yankees after New York acquired him in a trade with the Mariners in mid-June. He also hit 21 long balls for the Mariners that season.
- The 2019 season saw the career-high in home runs for eight of the 14 Yankee double-digit home run hitters: Gleyber Torres; Gary Sanchez; Brett Gardner; DJ LeMahieu; Gio Urshela; Mike Tauchman (his only season with 10+ homers); Clint Frazier (his only season with 10+ homers); and Cameron Maybin.
- It was Mike Ford’s rookie season and he popped 12 homers and drove in 25 runs in just 50 games. In six MLB seasons (2019-24 … Yankees, Giants, Mariners, Braves, Angels, Reds), Ford hit 37 home runs in 251 games.
- Aaron Judge played in just 102 games, but stroked 27 homers. He, of course, has had (to date) a 62-homer season and three seasons of between 52 and 58 home runs.
- Luke Voit followed his 21-homer 2019 season with a league-leading and career-high 22 homers in the 2020 (short) season.
- Didi Gregorius hit his 16 2019 roundtrippers in just 82 games and Aaron Hicks hit 12 in 59 games.
- Edwin Encarnacion had ten career seasons with 20 or more homers – putting up a career line of .260-424-1,261 over 16 seasons.
The 2019 AL MVP did not come from the first-place and homer-heavy Twins or Yankees. It was Mike Trout of the 72-90 (fourth-place, AL West) Angels. Trout went .291-45-104 and led the AL in slugging percentage and on-base percentage. He finished second in home runs, ninth in RBI and sixth in runs scored.
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2019 Twins
The Twins set a new (since tied) MLB team record for home runs in a season with 307, while going 101-61 and finishing atop the AL Central. That season, Minnesota also set the records for the most 20-homer players on a season roster, as well as for the most 30-homer players. They lost to the Yankees in the Al Division Series.
- It was one of 11 20+ homer seasons (and one of four seasons of at least 40 long balls) for Nelson Cruz, who retired with 464 career homers.
- 2019 remains the career high in homers for Max Kepler (he has had three seasons of 20 or more roundtrippers); Miguel Sano (who has had three 20+ homer seasons); Eddie Rosario (who has had four career 20+ homer seasons); and Mitch Garver (his only season with 15 or more homers).
- C.J. Cron had four 20+ homer seasons; Jonathan Schoop had five 20+ homer seasons; Jorge Polanco has had three 20+ homer seasons.
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The 1973 Braves led MLB with 206 home runs and 799 runs scored, but still finished at 76-85 for fifth place in the AL West (Don’t ask me why Atlanta was in the “West”). Side note: That season, the Braves’ pitching staff had the worst earned run average (4.25) in the National League.
The 1996 Rockies led the NL in homers (221) and runs scored (961), but like the 1973 Braves had the NL’s worst earned run average (5.59). They finished 83-79, third place in the four-team NL West Division.
In 1997, the Rockies repeated as NL leaders in home runs (239) and runs scored (923), but also again had the NL’s worse ERA (5.25) and repeated their 83-79 third-place finish.
In 2023, the Braves set a new NL record (and tied the overall MLB record) for home runs in a season with 307. They also led MLB with 947 runs scored. They finished 104-58, atop the NL East, but lost to the Phillies in the NL Division Series.
1973 Braves
- 1973 was Davey Johnson’s only season with forty or more homers. In fact, it was his only season with more than 18 home runs. In 13 MLB seasons, he hit 136 home runs (31.6 percent of them in 1973).
- Darrell Evans had just two seasons of at least 40 homers: 1973 (41) and 1985 (40). Evans did have two additional seasons of thirty or more dingers. He finished his 21-season MLB career (1969-89 … Braves, Giants, Tigers) with a .248-414-1,354 stat line.
- Henry Aaron was, of course, no stranger to 40-homer seasons (a high of 47 in 1971), he had eight of them on his way to 755 career long balls.
1996 & 1997 Rockies
- Andres Galarraga was on both the 1996 and 1997 Rockies’ squads, leading the league with 47 home runs in 1996 and adding 41 in 1997. He led the league in RBI in both years, with 150 and 140, respectively. Galarraga played 19 MLB seasons, going .288-399-1,425 and hitting forty or more home runs three times (30+ twice more).
- Vinny Castilla also hit 40 homers for the Rockies in both 1996 and 1997 (40 each time), as well as a career-high 46 in 1998. He played in 16 MLB seasons, going .276-320-1,105.
- Ellis Burks was the Rockies’ third 40-homer player in 1996, as he logged his only 40-homer season. He played 18 MLB seasons, going .291-352-1,206. He topped 30 homers in four seasons (including 1996).
- Replacing Burks as the Rockies’ third 40-homer batter in 1997, Larry Walker hit 49 long balls (to go with a .366 average). It was his only 40-homer season, although he did log three seasons of 35+ homers in his 17-season MLB career (.313-383-1,311).He was the 1997 NL MVP.
2023 Braves
- The Braves had an entirely new cast of 40-homer players in 2023, led by Matt Olson, with a league-topping 54 (he also led the league in RBI with 139). It is, to date, the only 40+ homer season by Olson, who has three additional seasons of 30+ homers. As I write this, Olson has 302 career homers on 10+ seasons.
- Ronald Acuna, Jr. rapped 41 homers in 2023, as he became MLB’s first 40-70 player, with 73 stolen bases to complement his 41 dingers. It was Acuna’s second 40+ homer season and, as I key this in, he has 188 career homers and 212 career steals in 8+ seasons.
- Marcell Ozuna popped 40 homers in 2023, his only 40-homer campaign to date. Again, as this is posted, he has 301 career long balls in 13+ seasons, with three seasons (including 2023) of thirty or more dingers. The Braves came closest to adding a fourth 40-homer player (and securing a solo spot on this list), with Austin Riley hitting 37 dingers in 2023.
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1961 Yankees
This of course was the exciting Maris/Mantle pursuit of Babe Ruth’s (then) record 60 home runs in a season, with Maris reaching 61 on the final day of the campaign.
The Yankees finished 1961 at 109-53, leading the American League. They went on to win the World Series four games-to one over the Reds. They led MLB with 240 team home runs and were second in runs scored (827 to the Tigers’ 841). Maris was the AL MVP.
From 1955 through 1962 (eight seasons), Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris won a combined five AL MVP Awards. Over those eight seasons, the Yankees made it to the World Series seven times and won it four.
- Roger Maris’ 61 homers were, of course, his career high and 1961 was, in fact, one of only three seasons of 30 or more homers for the power hitter. In 12 MLB seasons, he went .260-271-850.
- Mickey Mantle’s 54 homers were, like Maris’ 61, his career high. Mantle, however, had two seasons of 50+ homers, two more of 40 or more and another five of thirty or more. He retired with a .298-536-1,509 line over 18 seasons.
Roger Maris hit his 61st home run of the 1961 season in the Yankees’ final regular-season game. It was the only run in a 1-0 win over the rival Red Sox in Yankee Stadium. Surprisingly, only 23,154 fans showed up for a chance to see the record breaker.
Final Tidbit: Five MLB teams have had a record 25 hitters hit at least one for them in the same season: 2001 Rockies; 2011 Diamondbacks; 2016 Mets; 2017 Giants; 2022 Reds; 2023 Angels.
Primary Resource: Stathead.com
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