Last Updated on October 4, 2023 by Matt Musico
If you’ve ever wondered what the Brewers single season home run record is at each position, then you’re in the right place. Outside of pitcher, each player had to man their position for at least 100 games (or 75% of games played) for the season in question.
After you’re done checking this out, head over to the Brewers’ all-time and single-season home run leaderboards.
Want to see the Brewers slug dingers in person? Grab tickets from our friends at Vivid Seats. And before you get to the stadium, make sure you’re decked out in the right gear. Get official Brewers merch from the MLB Shop or a ‘Big Dinger Energy’ shirt from our apparel store.
Brewers Single Season Home Run Record
Catcher: Yasmani Grandal, 28 Home Runs in 2019
Yasmani Grandal spent just one year with the Brewers before heading to the Chicago White Sox. But man, he sure made the most of it. In addition to setting the catcher home run record, the veteran backstop was also selected to his second All-Star Game and finished 15th in NL MVP voting.
It was the first half that propelled Grandal to the midsummer classic and a multi-year deal in Chicago. Through 341 plate appearances, he accumulated 19 homers, 48 RBI, and a .897 OPS. Over his final 291 trips to the plate, he slugged nine dingers with 28 RBI and a .787 OPS. Also, outside of hitting just three homers combined between July and August, Grandal slugged at least six in every other month.
Pitcher: Yovani Gallardo, 4 Home Runs in 2010
Yovani Gallardo was a workhorse for Milwaukee during the early stages of his career. As it turns out, he could hit a little bit, too. The 2010 season was his second straight year with at least 13 wins, a sub-4.00 ERA, and 200-plus strikeouts. It also included his only All-Star Game appearance and a Silver Slugger Award.
Gallardo hit 12 homers and collected 42 RBI with a .563 OPS during his big-league career. All of those numbers were at their highest in 2010, as he paired those four homers with 10 RBI and a .837 OPS.
First Base: Prince Fielder, 50 Home Runs in 2007
Prince Fielder‘s 2007 campaign is the most powerful season in the Brewers’ history to date. It was the first and last time he reached the half-century mark in the home run department. However, it was also the beginning of a six-year stretch of hitting at least 30 dingers per season. The year prior, Prince finished seventh in Rookie of the Year voting. This breakout (which also included a 1.013 OPS and 119 RBI) helped him finish third in NL MVP voting.
His production was quite even throughout the course of a game, too. From innings 1-3, Fielder slugged 19 homers with a 1.096 OPS. Those numbers checked in at 19 and 1.004, respectively, for the middle innings before finishing at 11 and .908 for the last three.
Second Base: Rickie Weeks, 29 Home Runs in 2010
Rickie Weeks finished sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting as a 22-year-old. The breakout season everyone was waiting for didn’t come until 2010, though. He made the most of it by making some franchise history, at least. These 29 homers were a single-season career-high mark for Weeks. The same could be said about his 83 RBI and .830 OPS. This was actually the start of a three-year stretch where the infielder slugged at least 20 homers per year.
Weeks spread out his power production quite evenly in several situations. He hit 16 at home and 13 on the road, while 15 were in the first half and 14 came after the All-Star break. The second baseman did slug nine dingers in July. But other than that, he didn’t hit fewer than three or more than five.
Shortstop: Bill Hall, 35 Home Runs in 2006
During Bill Hall‘s 11-year MLB career, the 2006 campaign sticks out like a sore thumb. He did produce five seasons of double-digit home runs, but this was the only time he hit more than 18. Entering ’06, Hall had slugged just 32 dingers across 343 games. So, he more than doubled this career home run total with this performance.
The shortstop was actually at his best when helping the Brewers fight back from a deficit. When Milwaukee was losing, Hall slashed .298/.364/.627 with 17 homers and 35 RBI. He also made great adjustments after seeing a starting pitcher for the first time. After posting a .866 OPS in his first at-bat of the day, that jumped up to 1.059 once the lineup turned over once.
Third Base: Mike Moustakas, 35 Home Runs in 2019
Just two seasons after setting the Royals home run record for third basemen, Mike Moustakas did the same during his only full year in Milwaukee (he landed there at the trade deadline in 2018). It helped him get a multi-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds. However, between 2020 and 2022, Moustakas slugged just 21 homers combined across 654 plate appearances.
American Family Field is typically a haven for left-handed power hitters. Moustakas enjoyed playing on the road more, though. He posted a .765 OPS with 14 homers and 34 RBI at home, compared to a .920 OPS, 21 homers, and 53 RBI as a visiting player.
Brewers Single Season Home Run Record
Left Field: Ben Oglivie (1980) & Ryan Braun (2012), 41 Home Runs
Ben Oglivie put together two seasons of 30-plus homers in his career. His first was this performance in 1980, which led to his first All-Star Game selection, a 13th-place finish in MVP voting, and a Silver Slugger Award.
He enjoyed three months with an OPS above 1.000. The outfielder really ended with a flourish, too. Over his final 126 plate appearances, Oglivie hit .345/.373/.639 with nine homers and 30 RBI.
Ryan Braun also didn’t win the MVP Award during his 2012 campaign, but he came in second. He added 30 steals to register his second consecutive 30-30 season. The outfielder also just torched left-handed pitching in 2012.
While he slugged 24 homers with a .915 OPS in 509 plate appearances when facing righties, he needed just 168 plate appearances to hit another 17 dingers with a 1.209 OPS against southpaws.
Center Field: Gorman Thomas, 45 Home Runs in 1979
Gorman Thomas‘ 1979 season was the first of two times he led the league in home runs. No campaign was better than this one, and it was part of a clear power peak for the center fielder. Between 1978 and 1982, Thomas slugged 30-plus homers four times.
While his offensive performance was solid throughout all phases of the game, he was at his best in the first inning. Thomas obviously liked starting fast, and that happened by hitting .352/.405/.732 with eight home runs and 34 RBI.
Right Field: Christian Yelich, 44 Home Runs in 2019
Christian Yelich was unreal between 2018 and 2019. He produced back-to-back performances of at least 30 homers, 95 RBI, and 20 steals with one MVP Award and one second-place finish in MVP voting. He won the batting title in 2019 with a .329 average, as well as leading the league in on-base percentage (.429) and slugging percentage (.671).
Unlike some other left-handed hitters on this list, Yelich took advantage of the friendly confines at American Family Field. He slugged 27 of his 44 homers in front of the home fans while posting a 1.201 OPS. The only team he slugged more than four dingers against was the St. Louis Cardinals. Yelich collected eight with 19 RBI and a .347/.522/.878 line in 67 plate appearances.
Designated Hitter: Dave Parker, 21 Home Runs in 1990
The 1990 season was Dave Parker‘s second-to-last year in the big leagues. Based on his numbers, it was also his last hurrah regarding above-average production at the plate. He paired those homers with 92 RBI and a .289/.330/.451 line. Parker was selected to his seventh All-Star Game while winning his third Silver Slugger and finishing 16th in MVP voting.
What’s interesting here when looking at Parker’s split stats is how his homer production was spread out. He had just two homers heading into June and hit just one dinger in three different months (April, May, and September). Parker never hit fewer than five or more than seven between June and August, though.
If you like what we’re doing here at MLB Daily Dingers, you can support us in several ways. You can check out our apparel shop, grab your official MLB gear at the MLB Shop, join the community by signing up for our email list, or follow us on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
