Fernando Tatis Sr.’s Historic Inning & Red Sox Hit 4 Straight Homers – OTD in HR History For Week of 4/21
Come for a stroll down this week in home run history, stay to properly appreciate Andres Galarraga's late-90's power surge.
With MLB’s regular season in full swing, my weekly home run videos have shifted from being random to looking at what happened on each specific day in home run history.
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, 4/21
4/18-4/21/1996: Brady Anderson led off four straight games with a leadoff home run. He’d go on to set a new Orioles single-season record with 50 dingers.
4/21/2014: Ike Davis slugged this broken-bat grand slam. He became the first big leaguer to hit a grand slam for two different teams in the same month.
4/21/2018: Jesus Aguilar entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the ninth inning. After a 13-pitch battle, he delivered a walk-off homer for the Brewers.
Tuesday, 4/22
4/22/2007: The Red Sox become the fifth MLB team ever to hit four consecutive home runs. Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek all went deep against the Yankees.
4/22/1991: Frank Thomas christened the new Comiskey Park with the first White Sox home run.
4/22/2014: Albert Pujols became the 26th (and third youngest) player to reach the 500-homer club.
Wednesday, 4/23
4/23/1999: Fernando Tatis Sr. had an inning for the ages, hitting a pair of grand slams for the Cardinals. Both were served up by Chan Ho Park.
4/23/2000: Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada became the first pair of teammates to each hit homers from both sides of the plate in the same game.
4/23/2013: B.J. and Justin Upton hit back-to-back homers, becoming the second set of brothers to accomplish this feat. It was the first time it happened since 1938.
Thursday, 4/24
4/24/2013: Carlos Quentin launched this ball to the top floor of the Metal Supply Co. at Petco Park.
4/24/2003: Chase Utley recorded his first MLB in his third at-bat. He made the moment as memorable as possible by hitting a grand slam.
4/24/2016: Chris Heisey ended a 16-inning marathon at Nationals Park with this walk-off home run.
Friday, 4/25
4/25/1997: Goodbye, Baseball… x3! Ken Griffey Jr. enjoyed a three-homer performance north of the border against the Blue Jays.
4/25/2012: Paul Konerko slugged his 400th career home run while facing the A’s in Oakland. His 432 homers for the White Sox are second all-time in franchise history.
4/25/2012: David Wright slugged this two-run homer against the Marlins, which also pushed him to the top of the Mets’ all-time RBI leaderboard.
Saturday, 4/26
4/26/2004: Richie Sexson slugged the 200th home run of his MLB career, and it was an absolute tank.
4/26/2007: Wily Mo Peña hit this eighth-inning grand slam to give the Red Sox a lead against the Orioles. It ended up being the difference in the ballgame.
4/26/2006: Mike Piazza became the 41st player in MLB history to join the 400-homer club.
Sunday, 4/27
4/27/2004: Jacque Jones sent the Twins home happy with this walk-off three-run homer.
4/27/2016: Khris Davis hit this nuke for the A’s at Comerica Park against the Tigers.
4/27/2004: Chad Moeller became the first Brewers player to record a cycle at home. He was also the first Milwaukee player to accomplish the feat since Paul Molitor in 1991.
Andres Galarraga’s Power Surge Deserves More Attention
I feel like the three-year run Andres Galarraga went on between 1996 and 1998 doesn’t get talked about enough. And yea, I know about the Coors Field stuff, but he still raked and did it while playing for Atlanta in ’98:
1996: .958 OPS, 47 homers (led the league), 150 RBI (led the league)
1997: .974 OPS, 41 homers, 140 RBI (led the league)
1998: .991 OPS, 44 homers, 121 RBI
If non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma didn’t force him to miss all of the 1999 season, he wouldn’t still be sitting at 399 career homers.
Single-Season HR Performances | Career HR Performances | Postseason HR Leaders | HR Derby Performances
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