Aaron Judge Nearly Leaves Safeco & Christian Yelich’s 499-Foot Tank -- Random HR History for Week of 1/20
Come for the random homers, stay to reminisce about Mickey Mantle.
Just because it’s the offseason doesn’t mean I still don’t share home run videos every day. Instead of discussing “on this date in home run history,” you now get a chance to see which random players/moments I’ve been thinking about recently.
And since you’re on this email list, you get a sneak peek of what I’m sharing for the upcoming week before everyone else does. Enjoy!
Monday, 1/20
10/7/1989: Jose Canseco visited the *fifth* deck during the Athletics’ ALCS Game 4 matchup against the Blue Jays.
8/11/1988: Gary Carter slugged the 300th home run of his Hall of Fame career. He’d eventually finish with 324 dingers.
10/6/1995: Ron Gant gave the Reds an early NLDS Game 3 lead over the Dodgers with a two-run homer off Hideo Nomo.
Tuesday, 1/21
10/10/1982: Ben Oglivie slugged this solo homer during ALCS Game 5. The Brewers clinched the AL pennant later that evening.
10/12/1996: Darryl Strawberry hit a pair of homers for the Yankees during their ALCS Game 4 victory over the Orioles.
5/28/2006: Pirates slugger Jason Bay went deep for the sixth straight game. He finished his second All-Star campaign with 35 homers and 109 RBI for Pittsburgh.
Wednesday, 1/22
7/21/2017: Aaron Judge absolutely crushed the 31st home run of his AL Rookie of the Year campaign, nearly leaving Safeco Field completely.
7/19/1985: Steve Balboni slugged his 15th home run of the year for the Royals. He finished the year with a then-franchise record 36 dingers to go along with 88 RBI.
9/28/1996: Ellis Burks crushed this ball at Coors Field to reach the 40-homer plateau. His campaign also included 128 RBI, a league-leading 142 runs scored, 32 steals and a .639 slugging percentage.
Thursday, 1/23
10/20/2007: J.D. Drew gave the Red Sox a first-inning lead with a grand slam against Cleveland in ALCS Game 6. Boston would win the contest and clinch the AL Pennant the next night.
7/27/2004: Gary Sheffield launched the 400th home run of his big-league career. He slugged 36 homers with 121 RBI in ’04 for the Yankees.
4/6/2000: Cliff Floyd helped push the Marlins past the Giants with this two-run walk-off homer.
Friday, 1/24
9/6/2022: Christian Yelich absolutely demolished this baseball 499 feet at Coors Field. It was the second-longest home run of the season.
10/4/2014: Brandon Belt broke a 1-1 tie in the 18th (!) inning against the Nats with a solo home run. It was the difference in an NLDS Game 2 win for San Francisco.
10/23/2011: Mike Napoli extended the Rangers’ World Series Game 4 lead by pummeling this three-run homer against the Cardinals.
Saturday, 1/25
10/5/2021: Xander Bogaerts gave the Red Sox an early lead vs. the Yankees in the AL Wild Card Game with this two-run homer at Fenway Park.
6/22/2013: Hanley Ramirez visited the third deck at Petco Park for the Dodgers. He racked up 20 homers, 57 RBI and a 1.040 OPS for LA in 86 games.
9/26/2007: Mike Piazza hit his 427th and final big-league homer as a member of the Athletics.
Sunday, 1/26
4/20/2013: Eric Chavez delivered for the DBacks with an eighth-inning pinch-hit two-run homer. It was his first dinger of the season.
7/4/2003: Carl Crawford delivered his own Independence Day fireworks for Tampa Bay by slugging a walk-off homer to beat the White Sox.
5/9/2015: Kris Bryant slugged the first home run of his MLB career. He’d hit another 159 dingers for the Cubs before getting traded to the Giants in 2021.
Mickey Mantle’s Amazing Consecutive MVP Seasons
Mickey Mantle’s back-to-back MVP Award seasons produced some eye-popping numbers.
Over 1,275 plate appearances from 1956-57, he slashed .358/.487/.686 with 86 home runs, 224 RBI, and 253 runs scored. He recorded a ridiculous 22.9 fWAR over this period.
His 1956 performance was especially impressive. In addition to winning the triple crown (.353 average, 52 home runs, 130 RBI), he also led the league in runs scored (132), slugging percentage (.705), and OPS (1.169).