Comments on: Kelly Johnson, Robinson Cano, and most HR by a 2B

By: Gerry

Gerry — Sat, 01 May 2010 01:59:06 +0000

The Polo Grounds was ultra-deep in many directions, but had some of the shortest foul lines in baseball. Look at Mel Ott's home/road HR splits. If you're trying to avoid Home Run Derby, what you want is a reincarnation of Griffiths Stadium in DC.

By: Phil Haberkorn

Phil Haberkorn — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:02:31 +0000

Interesting that the entire "Top Ten" occurred during the steroid era, but half of them after MLB started "cracking down" on the steroid problem with drug tests and suspensions. I think it's more likely that they're just feasting on minor-league quality pitching, but you might check on how many times the wind was blowing out, and whether they are playing in more hitter-friendly newer parks. I almost wish somebody would build a modern version of the Polo Grounds, just to get to playing baseball instead of Home Run Derby. . . . .

By: Baseball In-Depth

Baseball In-Depth — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:34:50 +0000

The record for most HR in a single season by a 2nd Baseman is only 43 by Davey Johnson in 1973. Chase Utley could clearly take a run at that every year. I don't see Cano or Johnson hitting 43 home runs, but they're in a nice groove right now, so it might be possible.

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:21:35 +0000

ahh "with eight homers" makes a little difference :) I don't think there is a way to search for performance in given months. Splits are available so you can look it up for any given player, but I don't think there is any way to search all players on splits.

By: jon

jon — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:17:08 +0000

I read it on ESPN; they didn't really give their method's for selection. It's also possible I misread, as I went back and checked the exact line: Can Robinson Cano become the first Yankee to hit .400 with eight homers in April? Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle never did it.

By: Johnny Twisto

Johnny Twisto — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:10:35 +0000

Joe Gordon came to mind as a guy from the missing years who might have bested Utley if he got off to a quick start one season. But from skimming his HR log, it doesn't look like he ever came close. Incidentally, I wonder if there is some way the HR log could be integrated into the PI, so you could still do HR-oriented searches during the "missing" seasons, since that data is here. That's very surprising no other Yankee has ever hit .400 in April. The season used to start later -- Ruth or Gehrig or even some lesser light never hit .400 over the first 10-15 games? ...... aha, first guy I checked: Ruth hit .439 in April 1921 (12 games). Maybe whatever source you got that from was using some minimum G or PA which he couldn't reach.

By: jon

jon — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:01:13 +0000

That's pretty impressive for both Johnson and Cano. On the topic of Cano, he has the chance to be the first Yankee to hit .400+ for the month of April. Is there any way to see other players with .400+ Aprils? Sort of an interesting historical comparison I guess.