1986
The Season of the Home Run
56 Home Runs
What was once such an impressive Home Run single season record now seems downright pedestrian. What has changed? Rumors of a juiced ball and the reality of some extreme hitter’s parks has possibly changed at how we will judge any power hitter in the future. Some might argue that the players are simply better than before, but after diving into some numbers that does not necessarily seem to be the case. Save for a few exceptions.
There are six players in RLB that have broken the previous record for Home Runs in a season, and four more that have a real or outside chance of reaching that milestone as well. Nine of those players reside in the NL league, and of those nine the top seven are from the same three teams. Is it only because of those three stadiums that power numbers are up? Not quite, but check out the home/road splits.
After looking at the numbers, it is starkly clear that three of the players are the elite power hitters regardless of where they play their games. Brian Arnaut, Jason Davis, and Sam Davis. An argument could be made for Krueger to join that list as he has previously had three 40+ Home Run seasons, but the numbers do not lie for 1986.
As for the other seven players, where would they be without the boost of their hometown stadium? Assuming home numbers more on par with their performance on the road, none of those players would have reached the 56 Home Run mark, and only a handful would be within striking distance of the record with just over three weeks left in the regular season. This does not take away what the players have done, they cannot be punished for performing in the situation they were given. There should be no push for an asterisk next to the new Home Run record. But can we really call Okano one of the best power hitters ever in a single season when he has been given such an advantage? The argument is not about the numbers, but about the legacy.
When we look back on 1986 in future seasons, we should take it as what it was. An outlier of a season, one that will most likely never be matched again. Anybody would be hard pressed to say that we will see so many players approaching 70, even 80 Home Runs in a single season. When the ball settles down and we players in the future leading the league with 45 round-trippers, let’s not automatically assume that they are any lesser of a player than what we are seeing now. Many of these home run hitters are simply a product of their environment, not to be counted among the greats of all-time.
Comments