HERE'S WHAT I'M LOOKING AT...
20 HOMERS AND NINE TO KNOW
FUN WITH 20+ HOMER HITTERS
Occasionally, I’d like to step away from the daily grind of the pennant races to look at and play with stats. There will be plenty of time to do that in a couple of months, but it gives you and me a preview of some of the things Billy-Ball will be doing after the season ends.
Today, I’m looking at players who hit at least 20 homers.
There are 68 players who hit 20+ homers this season. Last September 4, there were 64 players who had 20+ homers, so the difference is insignificant. The good news for you and me is that we don’t need to waste time or rabbit holes on that.
Of the 68 with 20+ homers this season, only 46 are in the 20 homers/20 doubles club.
There are 13 members of the 20 homers/20 steals club: Randy Arozarena, Byron Buxton, Corbin Carroll, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Pete Crow-Armstrong, Francisco Lindor, Zach Neto, José Ramírez, Julio Rodríguez, Juan Soto, Trevor Story, Kyle Tucker, and Bobby Witt Jr.
The record for the most players with 20 homers and 20 steals in a season is 19. It was first set in 1999, and then repeated in 2023, and then again last season.
Wyatt Langford needs two more steals, Shohei Ohtani needs three more steals, George Springer needs four more steals, and James Wood and Christian Yelich need five more steals. Fernando Tatis Jr., Oneil Cruz, and Elly De La Cruz are each one homer away. Brice Turang and CJ Abrams are three homers away.
I want to give special kudos to Trevor Story, who has hit 23 homers, stolen 25 bases, and has not been caught stealing. Byron Buxton, who has hit 29 homers, stolen 21 bases, and has not been caught stealing. George Springer, who has hit 27 homers, stolen 16 bases, and has not been caught stealing.
Here’s a fun group (Is it possible that I’m a nerd? I don’t think of myself that way, but, my goodness, I’m calling this a “fun” group(!))
There are four players who have hit 20+ homers and have at least fifty more hits this season than strikeouts:
José Ramírez has 26 homers, 140 hits, and only 61 strikeouts, a hit-to-strikeout differential of +79.
Yandy Diaz has 22 homers, 151 hits, and 82 strikeouts, a hit-to-strikeout differential of +69.
Cody Bellinger has 27 homers, 140 hits, and 73 strikeouts, a hit-to-strikeout differential of +67.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has 22 homers, 147 hits, and 83 strikeouts, a hit-to-strikeout differential of +64.
So far, there are three batters with at least 20 homers, over a hundred runs scored, and who are approaching adding 100+ RBI to their totals. It is a trio of superstars.
Aaron Judge has 43 homers, scored 112 runs, and driven home 97.
Shohei Ohtani has 46 homers, scored 125 runs, and driven home 87.
Juan Soto has 37 homers, scored 107 runs, and driven home 91.
So far, there are six batters with at least 20 homers, over a hundred RBI, and who are approaching adding 100 runs scored to their totals. It is a great group as well.
Kyle Schwarber has 49 homers, driven home 119, and scored 96 runs.
Pete Alonso has 33 homers, driven home 113, and scored 76 runs.
Cal Raleigh has 51 homers, driven home 109, and scored 90 runs.
Eugenio Suarez has 42 homers, driven home 105, and scored 80 runs.
Riley Greene has 32 homers, driven home 103, and scored 75 runs.
Junior Caminero has 40 homers, driven home 102, and scored 83 runs.
This duo is in an unusual 20/20 club:
Randy Arozarena has hit 26 homers and has been hit by 23 pitches.
Willson Contreras has hit 20 homers and has been hit by 20 pitches.
I’ll end this madness with a pair who have a good/bad 20/20 pairing:
Junior Caminero has hit 40 homers and has grounded into 29 double plays.
Pete Alonso has hit 33 homers and has grounded into 22 double plays.
I hope you had a good time. Here’s an update on where we stand today.
