Great Home Run Seasons
Four National League Sluggers and Their Record Home Runs
Statistical anomalies abound. Hack Wilson, Mark McGwire, Luis Gonzalez, and Barry Bonds had great home run seasons that seem like discrepant events.
The wonder of statistical anomalies. In 1930, the year of the hitter, Hack Wilson set a National League single season home run record with 56 home runs, only 4 short of Babe Ruth's major league mark of 60. The most home runs Hack Wilson ever hit in a season was 39 in 1929. Wilson hit 30 or more home runs only one other time. Following the 56 home run season, Wilson's home run total dropped to 13. His 1930 batting average of .356 became .261 in 1931, which can be explained. Wilson was an alcoholic, and it is claimed that while Cubs' manager Joe McCarthy could handle Wilson, his successor Rogers Hornsby could not.
Hack Wilson Was Powerfully Built
Physically, the statistical anomalies abound. Wilson, at 5'6" tall, was the same height as Phil Rizzuto, but the 195 pound outfielder outweighed the Scooter by a good margin. He had the arms of a blacksmith, and was all muscle. Wilson wore a size 6 shoe and had a size 18 shirt collar. In December of 1931 Wilson was traded to the Cardinals, but he never played for St. Louis, who traded him to Brooklyn in January. As a Brooklyn Dodger, Hack managed 23 home runs, but his career ended in 1934. In 1979, Hack Wilson was elected to the Hall of Fame.
70 Home Runs is a Statistical Anomaly
In 1998, Mark McGwire broke Wilson's National League record, setting a new major league mark with an incredible 70 home runs. The previous season, split between Oakland and St. Louis, Big Mac blasted 58 home runs, and in 1996, he hit 52. McGwire had some big home run seasons, but 70 is certainly a statistical anomaly when one considers that Roger Maris hit "only" 61 when he set the record. With the passage of time, 60 or 61 are still huge numbers, but unlike 70, they do not seem bizarre. Eleven seasons later, Big Mac's 70, even in today's Arena Baseball, seems unachievable.
Amazing Statistical Anomalies: Luis Gonzalez
Now we come to the most amazing statistical anomalies of all -- Luis Gonzalez and Barry Bonds. In 2001, Luis Gonzalez, whose single season home run high was 31 in 2000, surpassed Hack Wilson's old record of 56 with 57, but thanks to Big Mac, Gonzalez didn't come close to the new National League record. From 1991-1997, Gonzalez hit between 8-15 home runs.
Barry Too
Bonds was even more extreme. The most home runs Bonds hit in a season until 2000 was 46, which is a lot but well short of any record. In 2000, Barry blasted 49, and in 2001, he inexplicably broke Big Mac's record of 70 with 73. As Bonds was hitting the home runs, the significance of hitting more than 70 home runs in a season was not incomprehensible, as it has become today.
More Than Sixty Home Runs But No Title
Of course, Big Mac, Luis, and Barry all can be explained by the statistical anomaly. Just look at Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak, the Yankees five consecutive World Championships, the 1969 Mets, Denny McLain winning 31 games in 1968, and Bob Gibson's 1.12 ERA. Oh, and one more. Sammy Sosa breaking Roger Maris' record of 61 home runs and NEVER WINNING A HOME RUN TITLE any of his 60 or more home run seasons.
