Ted Williams & Mickey Mantle Go…Back-to-Back?! Random HR History for Week of 2/17

Come for the random homers, stay to remember Mark McGwire's historic power binge.

Feb 17, 2025

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!

MLB HR Records Ebooks

Monday, 2/17

7/10/1956: Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle hit back-to-back home runs for the American League during the 1956 All-Star Game.

7/19/1982: A 75-year-old Luke Appling went deep during an Old Timers’ Game at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C.

7/15/2003: Todd Helton became the first Rockies player to hit a home run in the All-Star Game with this two-run blast.

Tuesday, 2/18

10/4/1980: Mike Schmidt hit his 48th and final homer of the season in Game 161 for the Phillies. It was also his fourth straight game with a dinger.

7/20/2004: Albert Pujols tortured the Cubs at Wrigley Field with a five-hit day that included three homers.

10/11/2001: Edgar Martinez extended the Mariners’ ALDS Game 2 lead to 4-0 with a two-run tater.

Wednesday, 2/19

8/18/2000: Mo Vaughn tied things up in the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium with this monster home run for the Angels.

6/7/2003: Angel Berroa got the scoring started for the Royals with this second-inning solo homer. He finished the year with 17 dingers and 73 RBI en route to winning AL Rookie of the Year.

5/28/1989: In the Blue Jays’ final game at Exhibition Stadium, George Bell won it for Toronto with this walk-off homer.

Thursday, 2/20

6/20/2003: Rondell White took the Padres from the brink of defeat to celebrating a walk-off victory with this grand slam.

8/10/2000: Jose Canseco’s first home run in pinstripes hit off the facing of the upper deck in the Bronx.

7/13/2000: Derrek Lee extended the Marlins’ lead over the Yankees with a three-run homer for Florida.

Friday, 2/21

6/8/1995: The Royals were leading the Rangers 6-1 after seven innings. Texas eventually won 10-9 in 10 innings, which was capped off by a Rusty Greer walk-off tater.

5/31/1997: Andres Galarraga hit a home run in Miami that’s probably still in orbit somewhere. He finished the year with 41 homers and 140 RBI.

10/4/2005: Reggie Sanders had a huge day for the Cardinals in NLDS Game 1. He enjoyed a two-hit, six-RBI performance, with one of those hits being a grand slam.

Saturday, 2/22

9/30/2004: Bobby Crosby beat the Mariners with a walk-off home run for the A’s. It was the 22nd and final homer of his AL Rookie of the Year campaign.

10/28/2011: Allen Craig gave the Cardinals a lead in the third inning during World Series Game 7 with this solo home run.

7/23/1991: Robin Ventura sent the White Sox home happy after blasting this walk-off home run for Chicago.

Sunday, 2/23

9/27/2021: Mitch Haniger absolutely torched this ball for a three-run shot in Seattle. It was his 36th homer of the year for the Mariners.

6/7/2016: Joey Votto sent the Reds home happy after crushing a walk-off home run at Great American Ball Park. He knew that bad boy was gone immediately.

5/8/2013: While manning third base for the Yankees, Vernon Wells enjoyed a three-hit day, which included a two-run homer.

Big Mac’s Historic Power Binge (It’s More Than Just 1998)

A lot of attention for Mark McGwire is focused on 1998-99 when he slugged 135 total homers (70 in ’98 and 65 in ’99), and rightfully so. But his historic power streak started a couple of years before that.

McGwire also hit 52 homers in 1996 and 58 in 1997. So, once he reached the half-century mark in ’99, he became the first MLB hitter ever to slug 50 taters in a season for four straight years.