Is This One of The Most Overlooked 50-Homer Seasons of All-Time?

The 1998 season had *four* different players reach the 50-homer plateau. Can you name them all?

The 1998 season was wild when it came to the home run department. The show Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa put on will forever be tainted because of performance-enhancing drugs. But heck, this author had no clue about any of that while it was happening.

Mostly because I was an oblivious and impressionable 11-year-old baseball fan. I still remember my excitement coming down each morning and flipping on Sportscenter to see who hit a home run the day before. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

This season had four different players reach the 50-homer plateau. Considering it’s now only been done 50 total times in baseball history, seeing it happen four times in one year is just outrageous. You already know two of them, but can you remember the other two?

• Mark McGwire: 70 homers

• Sammy Sosa: 66 homers

• Ken Griffey Jr.: 56 homers

• Greg Vaughn: 50 homers

I’ve talked about Griffey’s 50-homer efforts plenty around here. But if Greg Vaughn rolled right off your tongue when thinking about this, my guess is you’re in the minority. And I salute you.

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Greg Vaughn’s Career Year (& The One After)

Vaughn played for five teams across his 15-year MLB career. He was a four-time All-Star, but it’s clear what he did in ‘98 (and ‘99) was better than the rest.

The outfielder suited up for 158 games in 1998 as he helped the Padres qualify for the postseason and reach the World Series. He slashed .272/.363/.597 across 661 plate appearances. His .960 OPS was a single-season career-high mark, as were the 50 homers, 119 RBI and 112 runs scored he accumulated.

He earned his third All-Star Game selection, first (and only) Silver Slugger Award and a fourth-place finish in NL MVP Award voting.

I’m pretty sure his performance flies under the radar with the vast majority of casual baseball fans. What’s even better, though, is he nearly duplicated his performance the following year.

Vaughn landed with the Cincinnati Reds for the 1999 season. While his .881 OPS was significantly lower, his power numbers were almost identical. He slugged 45 homers with 118 RBI and 104 runs scored through 153 games. He wasn’t named an All-Star but earned his second consecutive fourth-place finish in MVP voting.

It Kinda Came Out of Nowhere, Too

I’m not saying Vaughn never showed considerable power before this two-season stretch. It was just far and few between. He put together four years of 20-plus homers, including 30 in 1993 and 41 in 1996.

His 50-homer barrage kind of came out of nowhere because his time with San Diego before 1998 wasn’t very powerful.

He hit 31 homers in 102 games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1996 before finishing the campaign with the Padres for 43 games. He slugged another 10 dingers but it was accompanied by a .783 OPS. The 1997 season included just 18 homers with a .393 slugging percentage in 120 games played.

So, it’s not like many were expecting the dude to pop off the way he did. And obviously, that makes me love it even more.

He Still Reigns Supreme on the Padres’ Leaderboard

Vaughn still has a stranglehold on the Padres’ single-season home run record. Here’s a look at the top eight most powerful seasons in franchise history:

• Greg Vaughn: 50 homers in 1998

• Fernando Tatis Jr.: 42 homers in 2021

• Phil Nevin: 41 homers in 2001

• Ken Caminiti: 40 homers in 1996

• Adrian Gonzalez: 40 homers in 2009

• Nate Colbert: 38 homers in 1970 and 1972

• Adrian Gonzalez: 36 homers in 2008

You can get fun insights and videos for most of these performances on my blog. Check it out here!