22 Responses to “11+ HR In 1st 50 Career Games Since 1919”

1. Brian Says:
   May 22nd, 2011 at 10:29 am

   If you had to pick a year to debut in, you could do a lot worse than 1930.

2. Paul Drye Says:
   May 22nd, 2011 at 10:59 am

   Though 1986-87 (the power blip years that got me re-interested in baseball) have seven candidates between them.

3. TheGoof Says:
   May 22nd, 2011 at 1:20 pm

   I've heard of all of the guys with 12 or more except Baxes. I looked at the bullpen and still wonder, what's his story? Why did he only play the one year?

4. Djibouti Says:
   May 22nd, 2011 at 2:03 pm

   As an Indians fan, this list brings back memories of two guys who were going to be "the next Thome".

   Richie Sexson had a great rookie season in 1998 (only played in 5 games in '97), a mediocre '99 and then came out of the gate slow in '00 and was moved to the outfield full time. So he ended up getting traded to Milwaukee for a trio of pitchers (including soon-to-be closer Bob Wickman). He went on to have a nice, albeit brief career with lots of power. In Milwaukee he became the power-hitting first baseman the Indians wanted him to be, so perhaps they gave up on him too soon.

   Russell Branyan showed a lot of power early in his career. He also had a habit of swinging at everything and often missing. His BA never came around and the Indians gave up on him in '02. He never went on to much of anything, and even came back to Cleveland for part of last year. His only real distinction is that he's managed to play for 9 different teams. So maybe he'll stick around for a few more years and go for the record.

5. Adam Says:
   May 22nd, 2011 at 2:14 pm

   Last year Mike Stanton hit 14 HR in his first 54 MLB games, but only 10 in his first 50.

6. RobMet Says:
   May 22nd, 2011 at 2:50 pm

   Sam Horn and Kevin Maas. Twin sons of different mothers. They even live on with their respective Red Sox and Yankee fan bases with online message boards and blogs named after them, SonsofSamHorn.net and NoMaas.org.

7. Richard Chester Says:
   May 22nd, 2011 at 3:28 pm

   During Maas' streak I think I remember the Yankee announcers saying that he hit his first 10 homers in fewer at bats that anyone else. I am not a PI subscriber but I was able to determine that only one player hit 10 HRs in his first 25 games. Maas' game log shows that he hit 10 homers in his first 25 games in 79 at bats. Can anyone out there verify it that Maas does hold that record?

8. Neil L. Says:
   May 22nd, 2011 at 3:54 pm

   @7

   Richard, subscribe! It's worth it. Don't let some one else do the search for you.

   Then you have full access to the top three on your searches.

9. Thomas Court Says:
   May 22nd, 2011 at 4:27 pm

   @6

   Here in Pittsfield, Mass. (all the way over on the other side of the state) Sam Horn was something of a cult hero when his New Britain Red Sox teams would visit the Pittsfield Cubs.

   My older cousin used to take us to games at Wahconah Park. He had such a loud booming voice, that he used to be able to get opposing catchers to jump out of their crouch, ready to throw to second, simply by shouting, "He's going!!!" with a runner on first.

   Well, once when Sam Horn was on deck, the New Britain player at the plate was plunked. Sam was over checking on him when my cousin shouted, "You're next Horn!!!" He turned toward us with the biggest smile on his face. Later that same game, he came up with the bases loaded and smacked a pitch off the wall in the farthest part of right/center field (about 420 feet back then). After the game I was getting Sam's autograph when my cousin chimed in, "That pitcher came kinda close to you. You should have gone out there and nailed him." Sam's response? "I did... for three runs." Classic.

10. Neil L. Says:
    May 22nd, 2011 at 5:02 pm

    @9

    Thomas, thanks for the story.

    Only in small-town America could an anecdote like yours take place.
    So cool that you and your cousin were connected to the players in Pittsfield.

    Long live minor league baseball!

11. Thomas Court Says:
    May 22nd, 2011 at 5:31 pm

    @10

    Thanks for the compliment. Pittsfield actually has a pretty good baseball history. The first collegiate baseball game ever was played here. Wahconah Park is one of the nation's oldest parks, and is the only baseball park (I believe) that is built backwards - so that the setting sun is directly in the batter's eye.

    Also, a few years ago, John Thorn discovered a document in our library with a reference to baseball in 1791 - the earliest documented reference to the game we all love.

12. Neil L. Says:
    May 22nd, 2011 at 5:33 pm

    @7
    Richard, I can't remember why Kevin Maas had such a short career.

    As an AL division-rival fan of the Yankees, I remember Maas as being a sweet-swinging lefty with a devastating stroke when my team was gunning for division titles.

13. Doug Says:
    May 22nd, 2011 at 5:53 pm

    Happened only once in the '40s, and once in the '70s.

    Two eleven year gaps, '38 to '49, and '66 to '77.

    And only 4 times in 22 years, 1960 to 1981.

14. RobMet Says:
    May 22nd, 2011 at 6:00 pm

    @12, If I had to guess, he probably had a problem hitting a break ball, or something else MLB pitchers figured out. He was already 25 by the time he reached the majors, which is not exactly a sign of pending dominance, although another organization might have moved him a little guicker. Overall,though, I agree. Beyond his quick burst on the scene, his minor league numbers and good eye at the plate seemed to indicate he could hit enough to crank out at least 20 HRs a year for a few more seasons.

    I guess that's why I compared Horn and Maas. Both burst on the scene and faded away, yet both are still remembered to this day.

15. Richard Chester Says:
    May 22nd, 2011 at 7:04 pm

    @8

    Thanks Neil for the advice, I will consider it but I enjoy figuring out how to extract data without subscribing. I can't extract everything but certain things I can.

    I did what I should have done earlier, I googled Kevin Maas. He holds the record with his first 10 HRs in 72 at bats. He also holds the record with 15 HRs in 133 at bats, breaking Wally Berger's record

16. Richard Chester Says:
    May 22nd, 2011 at 7:26 pm

    @15

    According to Wikipedia Maas hit 10 HRs in 72 AB but a my search of his 1990 game log and the box score of his 25th game shows that it took him 77 AB.

17. Terry Says:
    May 23rd, 2011 at 1:41 am

    Shane Spencer was just one HR shy of making the list.

    In 1998, he smacked 10 Hrs in 73 ABs.

    Oh well, he had a nice Strat-o-matic card 🙂

18. Doug Says:
    May 23rd, 2011 at 2:47 am

    J.P. Arencibia is now at 10 HR through is first 44 games.

    He might be joining this list soon.

19. steven Says:
    May 23rd, 2011 at 10:39 am

    For about two months in 1965, Swoboda was the next Babe Ruth.

20. Richard Chester Says:
    May 23rd, 2011 at 11:01 am

    @17
    Shane Spencer had 10 HRs in 73 AB for the season but his tenth HR was in his next-to-last AB in his last game of the season. So he hit 10 HRs in his first 72 AB which I suspect is the record.

21. Tmckelv Says:
    May 23rd, 2011 at 1:07 pm

    1) I think I remember a bases clearing double by Shane Spencer that hit off the top of the wall - so he was VERY close to making this list.

    2) The top 2 guys that did make the list are named "Wally". And if you sort the listed players by RBI in those 50 games, #1 is Walt Dropo. These are the types of things that I find that interesting. 🙂

22. Richard Chester Says:
    May 23rd, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    @20

    Correction: Shane Spencer hit 10 HRs in 66 AB. I accidentally read the PA column on his home page at first. Sorry about that.