Miguel Cabrera's 3-Homer Day, Plus 3-Run Taters Galore -- Random HR History for Week of 2/24
Stay for the random homers, stay for an interesting observation about Frank Thomas.
Baseball (that counts!) is closer than ever now that spring training is finally here. But until the regular season starts, you 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, 2/24
9/15/2010: Adrian Beltre dropped to one knee for this towering home run. His lone season with the Red Sox resulted in a .919 OPS, 29 homers, 49 doubles, and 102 RBI.
10/17/1982: Robin Yount went oppo-taco for the Brewers to register his fourth hit of World Series Game 5.
10/10/1978: Dusty Baker gave the Dodgers an early World Series Game 1 lead with this solo home run.
Tuesday, 2/25
5/19/2013: Miguel Cabrera enjoyed a four-hit, five-RBI day for the Tigers. Three of those hits left the yard.
7/30/2015: Justin Upton blasted this ball to give the Padres a lead they wouldn’t relinquish after trailing 7-1 earlier in the game following a long rain delay.
7/10/2007: Alfonso Soriano got the National League All-Stars within a run in the ninth inning by slugging this two-run homer.
Wednesday, 2/26
4/30/2013: Edwin Encarnacion hit an absolute tank that eventually landed in the fourth deck at the Rogers Centre.
6/26/2009: Jack Wilson extended the Pirates’ lead with this solo home run in the sixth inning at PNC Park.
6/18/2013: Paul Goldschmidt went dead central to give the DBacks a walk-off win in Arizona.
Thursday, 2/27
5/29/1997: Larry Walker, Andres Galarraga and Dante Bichette hit three straight homers against the Marlins.
4/20/2010: Troy Glaus slugged a two-run homer for the Braves. He finished his final year in the big leagues with a .744 OPS, 16 homers, and 71 RBI in 128 games.
4/19/2000: Ivan Rodriguez tied things up for the Rangers by hitting this ninth-inning pinch-hit home run off Mariano Rivera.
Friday, 2/28
9/9/2009: Jorge Posada gave the Yankees an eighth-inning lead with this pinch-hit three-run homer in the Bronx.
10/4/2003: Eric Karros enjoyed a two-homer performance during NLDS Game 4 for the Cubs.
10/1/1997: Bobby Bonilla gave the Marlins an early lead in NLDS Game 2 with this two-run homer off Shawn Estes.
Saturday, 3/1
5/11/2017: Mike Napoli’s second homer of the game was a three-run walk-off shot for the Rangers.
8/31/1995: Paul O’Neill had a monster day at the dish, going 4-for-5 with three homers and eight RBI for the Yankees.
4/1/1996: John Olerud extended the Blue Jays’ lead over the A’s in Las Vegas with a three-run homer.
Sunday, 3/2
6/8/2014: Hanley Ramirez hit a tape-measure dinger at Coors Field to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead over the Rockies.
10/11/1995: Javy Lopez gave the Braves a cushion in the 10th inning of NLCS Game 2 with this three-run homer.
4/20/2013: Adam LaRoche slugged the 200th homer of his big-league career. It was a three-run tater against the Mets at Citi Field. LaRoche finished his playing days with 255 homers.
Frank Thomas’ Lack of Single-Season Home Run Crowns
Frank Thomas was one of baseball’s most feared power hitters during his 19-year career, which spanned from 1990 to 2008. He surpassed the 30-homer plateau 10 times, which included five different seasons of 40-plus taters.
Despite those huge power numbers, Thomas racked up more MVP Awards (two) and Home Run Derby titles (one) than single-season home run titles (zero).
My favorite stat about single season home run leaders is that Sammy Sosa produced the 3rd, 5th, and 6th highest single season HR totals of all time (66, 64, and 63 respectively) and didn't lead the MLB in any of those seasons.
The one season he did take the HR title in 2000 he finished with 50.