Dmitri Young’s 3-Homer Day & Barry Bonds’ Impeccable Aim -- Random HR History for Week of 2/3
Come for the random homers, stay to remember Joe DiMaggio's most powerful season.
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, 2/3
4/13/2009: Jermaine Dye slugged the 300th home run of his MLB career. He hung up his spikes at the end of this season with 325 total dingers.
7/28/1993: Travis Fryman became the first Tigers hitter to complete the cycle since Hoot Evers in 1950.
4/11/2014: Grady Sizemore slugged this three-run homer for the Red Sox while visiting the Yankees in the Bronx.
Tuesday, 2/4
10/5/2022: Mike Trout’s 40th homer of the year was his last of 2022. It was also the 350th of his career, and that bad boy was absolutely obliterated.
9/26/1999: After the Cardinals took a lead in the top of the 12th, Pokey Reese spoiled things by giving the Reds a victory with this walk-off homer.
6/3/1999: Mike Lowell slugged the first home run of his MLB career. He’d hit another 222 before retiring after the 2010 season.
Wednesday, 2/5
4/4/2005: Dmitri Young made this particular Opening Day a memorable one by clubbing three homers for the Tigers.
5/9/2015: Torii Hunter hit a long home run for the Twins against Cleveland at Progressive Field.
9/15/2022: Francisco Lindor broke the Mets’ single-season franchise record for homers by a shortstop with this blast on Roberto Clemente Day.
Thursday, 2/6
9/29/2001: The Braves completed a comeback with a seven-run ninth inning after Brian Jordan slugged this walk-off grand slam.
10/4/1995: Eddie Murray extended Cleveland’s ALDS Game 2 lead with this two-run homer.
10/5/2000: J.T. Snow was called upon as a pinch-hitter in NLDS Game 2 and responded with this game-tying home run for the Giants.
Friday, 2/7
6/5/2001: Mike Hampton slugged not one, but two homers for the Rockies in a game against the Astros. He also allowed four runs in 7.2 innings on the mound to earn the victory.
6/22/1999: Troy O’Leary visited Eutaw Street at Camden Yards with this tank for the Red Sox.
8/19/2014: Chris Carter’s 30th homer of the year for the Astros might still be in the air. He finished the year with 37 homers and 88 RBI.
Saturday, 2/8
7/7/1998: Barry Bonds showed off some impeccable aim at the 1998 All-Star Game. He sent an offering from Bartolo Colon into the upper deck, hitting the Giants sign in the process.
8/26/2002: Alex Rodriguez wasn’t impressed with El Duque’s eephus pitch and crushed the second one over the Yankee Stadium wall.
5/20/2000: In his first at-bat as a member of the Mariners, Rickey Henderson left the building. Because of course he did.
Sunday, 2/9
7/8/2000: Moises Alou ripped this ball to the Crawford Boxes in Houston. That baby got over the wall in about 0.2 seconds.
5/18/2014: Victor Martinez hit his 10th homer of the year for the Tigers. At that moment, he had more homers on the season (10) than strikeouts (9).
4/10/13: Jon Jay, Carlos Beltran, Matt Carpenter, and Matt Adams all homered for the Cardinals in a matchup against the Reds.
Joe DiMaggio’s Most Impressive Power Display
Joe DiMaggio played for 13 years during his Hall of Fame career (he lost three years in his prime due to military service). However, his most powerful big-league season came as a 22-year-old. In 1937, he slashed .346/.412/.673 with career-high marks in homers (46) and RBI (167).
Crazy enough, he did that despite accumulating just one plate appearance in April. His best month was July — he hit .430/.504/.984 with 15 homers and 42 RBI in 139 plate appearances.