Jul 31, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins designated hitter Brian Dozier (2) celebrates his run against the Chicago White Sox in the first inning at Target Field. The Twins win 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Minnesota Twins slugger Brian Dozier joins an elite group of second baseman after hitting his 40th home run on September 12th. Only three other second baseman in history have accomplished this feat.
Second baseman are rarely relied on to be power-hitting players. But in today’s league, power is at a premium and middle infielders with power are considered gold. Currently, Brian Dozier is among the league leaders in MLB for home runs with 41. The closest middle infielder to him is Robinson Cano with 33.
With Dozier’s 40th home run on September 12th, he brought some excitement to the Minnesota Twins by being a part of history. Only three other second basemen have ever hit 40 home runs or more in a season.
A look at the second baseman single-season home run record list shows that Dozier is among some amazing players.
Given that Dozier still has time in September, he has a very good shot at breaking Hornsby’s and Johnson’s shared record. He sits at 41 currently and the Twins finish their season off against Detroit, Seattle, Kansas City, and the Chicago White Sox.
Now, a look at this elite class of second basemen:
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Brian Dozier
Brian Dozier and the Minnesota Twins have had a disappointing season. The Twins are 55-95 this year after finishing second in the AL Central in 2015 with 83 wins and 79 losses. On an underwhelming team that looks to be lost, Dozier has been one of the few bright spots. Despite his success, Dozier still maintains the team-first mentality.
“I’m sure when the season is over, it will mean a lot more, but I just wish this was happening in [first-place] Cleveland’s position or Detroit’s position, where we were making a run,” Dozier said. “We’re still looking at losing 100 games. … That takes something away from this.”
Dozier is the second Minnesota player to reach 40 home runs in a season. Harmon Killebrew was the other and did so in 1970. Dozier also has an 18-game hitting streak along with 33 home runs in his past 76 games.
This season, Brian Dozier is hitting .280/.353/.573 with 41 home runs and 96 RBI. Furthermore, in the month of September, he’s been on fire, slashing .356/.420/.781 with nine home runs through 17 games. Dozier’s tremendous 2016 has been driven by an absolutely incredible second half.
Before the All-Star break, Dozier hit .246/.335/.450 with 14 home runs in 83 games. Since the break, though, he’s slashed .322/.375/.720 with 27 home runs in 62 games. Dozier’s career high in home runs before this season was 28 in 2015.
Rogers Hornsby is a Hall of Fame second baseman and one of the best hitters of all time. He spent the majority of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and won a World Series title as well as multiple MVP and Triple Crown awards. Hornsby spent 12 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, one with the New York Giants, one with the Boston Braves and four with the Chicago Cubs, before returning to the Cardinals for one season and playing four with the St. Louis Browns to end his career.
Through his 23-year career, Hornsby had 2,930 hits and 301 home runs. His career batting average of .358 is second only to Ty Cobb’s (.366). In 1922, Hornsby was arguably the best hitter in baseball. He led the league in batting average, hits, doubles and RBI multiple times. In the 1922 season, Hornsby signed the largest contract in baseball history and then went on to hit 40 home runs and bat over .400. He’s the only player in history to do both in the same season.
After the 1922 season, Hornsby won the first of his two Triple Crowns. He led the league in batting average (.401), RBI (152), OBP (.459), doubles (46) and runs scored (141). He also had 450 total bases which were the highest mark for any National League player ever.
His batting performance in 1922 was, and still is, one of the best in MLB history, and his 42 home runs are still the most ever for a .400 hitter.
David Allen “Davey” Johnson was a second baseman with a prolific career on championship teams. While playing for the Baltimore Orioles (1965-1972) he won four American League pennants and two World Series championships. Through his 13-year career, he was a four-time All-Star and a three-time Gold Glover.
Davey Johnson had an interesting trip to his 42 home run season. In 1972 for the O’s, Johnson hit only .221 in 118 games and was traded to the Atlanta Braves. In his first season with the Braves, Johnson exploded for the best statistical year of his career. He tied Rogers Hornsby’s record for most home runs in a single season by a second baseman with 42. He hit .270/.370/.546 that season but the Braves were fifth in the West division with a 76-85 record.
Johnson actually hit 43 home runs that year but one did not count toward the record due to it being a pinch hit at bat. Before his 43 home runs, his second highest total was 18.
Johnson was also a part of history by being part of the first trio of teammates to ever hit 40 home runs each. The 1973 Braves had Davey Johnson hit 43, Darrell Evans hit 41, and Hank Aaron hit 40.
After his playing career, he enjoyed coaching multiple successful teams. In 1986, he led the New York Mets to a World Series title. Johnson also led the 1995 Reds, the 1996 and 1997 Orioles to their respective League Championship Series. Currently, Johnson is retired from baseball after managing the Washington Nationals from 2011 to 2013.
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Ryne Sandberg
Ryne Sandberg is the most recent second baseman, before Dozier, to have hit 40 home runs in one season. Sandberg was a perennial All-Star and Gold Glove candidate. He made 10 consecutive All-Star appearances and won nine Gold Glove awards from 1983 to 1991. His career .989 fielding percentage is a second base major league record. Sandberg was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2005.
Sandberg’s 1990 season with the Chicago Cubs was one of the best ever for a second baseman. He was the third in history to hit 40 home runs after Hornsby and Johnson. Sandberg also drove in 100 runs and hit for a .306 batting average. Sandberg was also one of three players in history to hit 40 home runs (1990) and have 50 steals (1985) in a season during their career. The other two players are Brady Anderson and Barry Bonds. Sandberg won the Home Run Derby in 1990 at his home ballpark of Wrigley Field. In 2015, Todd Frazier became the next player to win the Home Run Derby in his home stadium (Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park).
Sandberg played for sixteen seasons between the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs. He became the interim manager of the Phillies in August 2013 before being named the official manager at the end of the season. This made him the only Hall of Fame player managing in the league. In June of 2015, Sandberg resigned from his managerial duties and was succeeded by Pete Mackanin, who is the current Phillies manager.
