Ted Williams Ends The All-Star Game With a Walk-Off Home Run – Random HR History for Week of 11/25
Come for the random homers, stay for a fun fact about Adam Dunn's incredible consistency.
Just because it’s the offseason doesn’t mean I still don’t share home run videos every day. Instead of discussing “on this date in home run history,” you now get a chance to see which random players 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, 11/25
7/8/1941: Ted Williams won the All-Star Game for the American League thanks to this walk-off home run. He eventually finished what was a pretty good year for him with the Red Sox, too.
9/29/2004: Carlos Lee enjoyed a two-homer performance for the White Sox.
7/27/2015: Welington Castillo hit a tank and celebrated with a tremendous bat flip.
Tuesday, 11/26
6/18/1988: Dave Winfield hit an absolute moonshot for the Yankees and enjoyed every minute of it.
9/14/1975: Hank Aaron hit his first career homer at Fenway Park.
10/28/2018: Steve Pearce finished off his World Series MVP performance with a two-homer night.
Wednesday, 11/27
7/12/2003: The Cardinals beat the Padres off the strength of Albert Pujols’ first career walk-off home run.
6/28/2003: Mike Lowell helped the Marlins complete a crazy comeback with this three-run homer.
5/14/1972: Willie Mays went deep for the first time as a member of the Mets.
Thursday, 11/28
6/9/2019: Yordan Alvarez hit his first career home run. Things have gone pretty well for him since then. There’s a top-notch reaction from the booth, too.
10/4/1989: Kevin Mitchell extended the Giants’ NLCS Game 3 lead with a three-run homer.
5/31/1987: Dave Parker hit an absolute tank for the Reds.
Friday, 11/29
4/4/2005: Why hit one home run on Opening Day when you can hit two? That was the route Adam Dunn took for the Reds.
10/7/1992: Ron Gant slugged a grand slam for the Braves in NLCS Game 2.
4/21/2009: Eric Byrnes went deep in Arizona for the Diamondbacks.
Saturday, 11/30
9/9/2022: C.J. Cron slugged the second-longest home run in Statcast history, sending this ball 504 feet.
4/3/2014: Coco Crisp won it for the A’s with a 12th-inning walk-off homer.
8/12/2021: Tim Anderson ended the Field of Dreams Game with one swing of the bat.
Sunday, 12/1
8/23/2023: Aaron Judge helped the Yankees end a nine-game skid with this first career three-homer game.
8/18/2000: Mo Vaughn hit a towering home run to tie things up for the Angels.
9/17/2004: Ben Grieve hit his first and only home run for the Cubs.
Adam Dunn’s Incredible Consistency
Left-handed slugger Adam Dunn was a formidable source of power during his 14-year MLB career. He slugged 462 home runs with 1,168 RBI and 1,097 runs scored while playing for five teams. He reached the 40-homer plateau six times but hit *more than* 40 taters just twice: 46 in 2004 for the Reds and 41 in 2012 for the White Sox.
His consistency in the power department from 2004-12 was remarkable. Check it out:
2004: 46 homers, 102 RBI
2005: 40 homers, 101 RBI
2006: 40 homers, 92 RBI
2007: 40 homers, 106 RBI
2008: 40 homers, 100 RBI
2009: 38 homers, 105 RBI
2010: 38 homers, 103 RBI
2011: 11 homers, 42 RBI (played in 122 games)
2012: 41 homers, 96 RBI
When you can essentially pencil in a hitter for at least 38 homers and 92 RBI each season for nine straight years, that’s pretty special.
P.S. It’s time to start thinking about the holidays. I know — crazy. If you’re looking for a fun gift for the baseball fan in your life, check out my book about each team’s single-season home run leaders.