Giancarlo Stanton Makes History & Mike Schmidt’s 4-Homer Game – OTD in HR History For Week of 4/14
Stay for a stroll down this week in home run history, stay to remember Alfonso Soriano's consistent flirtation with the 40-40 club.
MLB’s regular season is back! And now that games count again, my weekly home run videos have fully 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, 4/14
4/14/2021: Ronald Acuña Jr. slugged a pair of homers for the Braves. Through his first 54 plate appearances of the season, Acuña was hitting .447/.500/1.000 with 6 homers, 6 doubles, 12 RBI, and 15 runs scored.
4/14/2011: In today’s edition of “They played for who?!” Johnny Damon slugged this walk-off homer for the Rays.
4/14/2021: After starting his season 0-for-13, Alejandro Kirk got himself into the hit column by hitting this homer.
Tuesday, 4/15
4/15/2009: Ian Kinsler went 6-for-6 for the Rangers, which included hitting for the cycle by the sixth inning, in a 19-6 Texas win.
4/15/1998: While playing a make-up game against the Angels, Darryl Strawberry hit this homer at Shea Stadium as a member of the Yankees.
4/15/2016: As part of a nine-run seventh inning against the Rangers, Mark Trumbo slugged two homers for the Orioles. He’d finish the year with a league-leading 47 dingers.
Wednesday, 4/16
4/16/2015: Giancarlo Stanton became the Marlins’ all-time home run leader after slugging this two-run dinger. That’s a spot he’ll hold onto for a while.
4/16/2017: Brian Dozier put on his P.F. Flyers to record this inside-the-park home run at Target Field while facing the White Sox.
4/16/2009: Grady Sizemore helped spoil the debut of the new Yankee Stadium by hitting this grand slam. Things eventually got better for the Yankees that year.
Thursday, 4/17
4/17/1976: The Phillies come back from an 11-run deficit to beat the Cubs 18-16 at Wrigley Field. Mike Schmidt had a hand in the ridiculousness by hitting four home runs.
4/17/2006: Mark Loretta sent Red Sox fans home happy by slugging a walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth.
4/17/2015: Mike Trout hit his 100th career homer, becoming MLB’s youngest to reach the 100-homer, 100-steal plateau at 23 years and 253 days old.
Friday, 4/18
4/18/1987: Michael Jack Schmidt became the 14th member of the 500-homer club by blasting this ball over the wall at Three Rivers Stadium. This is also just a classic call from Harry Kalas.
4/18/2004: Sammy Sosa passed Ernie Banks as the Cubs’ all-time home run leader by slugging his 513th homer for the franchise.
4/18/2009: On their way to a 22-4 victory in the Bronx, Cleveland racked up 14 runs in the second inning. It included home runs by Shin-Soo Choo, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Grady Sizemore.
Saturday, 4/19
4/19/1977: The 268th and final home run of Brooks Robinson’s MLB career was this walk-off three-run shot for the Orioles.
4/19/2000: Ivan Rodriguez tied things up for the Rangers in the ninth inning by slugging a pinch-hit home run off Mariano Rivera.
4/19/1987: With the Brewers’ 11-game win streak on the line, Rob Deer tied things up with this three-run homer. They’d go on to win the contest.
Sunday, 4/20
4/20/2004: Barry Bonds hit a home run in his seventh straight game. He slashed a ridiculous .722/.828/2.167 during the streak. Lol.
4/20/1990: Larry Walker hit the first home run of his Hall of Fame career. He slugged 19 dingers with 51 RBI in 133 games for the Expos as a rookie.
4/20/2006: At 47 years and 240 days old, Julio Franco became the oldest MLB player ever to hit a home run.
Alfonso Soriano’s Flirtation With the 40-40 Club
Alfonso Soriano flirted with joining the 40-40 club a few times before actually getting the job done:
2002: 39 homers, 41 steals
2003: 38 homers, 35 steals
2005: 36 homers, 30 steals
He finally got there in 2006 by slugging 46 homers with 41 steals in his only season with the Washington Nationals. He’s also the franchise’s single-season HR record holder.
The 40-40 club has gotten two new members over the past two years: Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2023 and Shohei Ohtani in 2024. You can find the full list with context and videos on my blog.
Single-Season HR Performances | Career HR Performances | Postseason HR Leaders | HR Derby Performances
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