What qualifies as a special performance in the home run department? If we use the Immaculate Grid game as part of making that determination, it’s 40 home run seasons. Professional baseball has been around for more than 150 years. Compared to that huge sample size, there have only been a handful of single-season performances that have resulted in 40-plus home runs.
There have been 48 different performances of at least 50-plus dingers in Major League Baseball history. If we lower than benchmark to 40, it shoots up to more than 350. If you’re looking for some Immaculate Grid help (or some studying before the next one gets released), this team-by-team look at 40 home run seasons should be helpful.
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The Angels’ 40-homer club has gotten a bit of a makeover in recent years. But if a couple of very specific guys aren’t still with Los Angeles (and healthy) in the coming years, it’ll be hard to see how this club grows any bigger in the near future:
The Houston Astros’ 40-homer club will eventually include Yordan Alvarez, as long as that dude can stay healthy for a full season at some point again. For now, just four hitters have accomplished the feat a total of seven times:
The A’s have produced 10 different seasons of 40-plus home runs. As you can imagine, Mark McGwire has his name etched on this list a few times. However, Oakland is also the owner of baseball’s oldest single-season record for home runs:
For only being a big-league club since 1977, it feels like the Blue Jays have produced quite a few 40-homer hitters. There have been 16 of these occurrences in franchise history:
The Braves have had many hitters who have surpassed the 40-homer plateau. It helps when one of the best home run hitters of all time donned their uniform during their Hall of Fame career.
At the time of this original writing, there have been 22 Braves seasons of 40-plus homers:
The top of the Brewers’ single-season home run leaderboard provides some interesting names — some very familiar and some not-so-familiar. Here’s a peek:
The St. Louis Cardinals have produced 12 different 40-homer seasons during their lifetime. However, these accomplishments are shared by just five players:
Sammy Sosa is obviously the elite of the elite when it comes to Chicago Cubs home run history. However, there are others who join him in the franchise’s 40-homer club:
The Diamondbacks have been around since 1998, and while an Arizona hitter has produced 30-plus homers 23 times, only two of them have surpassed the 40-homer plateau (so far):
The Los Angeles Dodgers have collected 14 different seasons of 40-plus homers throughout its history. I’d imagine that many people are surprised at who owns the top spot, though.
There have been 14 instances of 40-plus homers in Giants history. The majority of them belong to Barry Bonds and Willie Mays. They’re not the only ones on this list, though:
There have been 12 instances of 40-plus homers in Guardians history, which has been accomplished by seven dudes. Some familiar ones, but also plenty of obscure names that’ll impress others if you whip them out in a conversation:
Ken Griffey Jr. should be the first name that pops up when someone wants to discuss Mariners home run history. I mean, just look at how many 40-homer seasons he racked up in Seattle:
Would you believe me if I said that Giancarlo Stanton produced just one season of 40-plus homers during his Marlins career? It was a memorable one, though, as he slugged 59 dingers during his 2017 NL MVP campaign. The only other such performance in franchise history came from Gary Sheffield. He slugged 42 homers in 1996.
The top of the Mets’ single-season home run leaderboard has gotten a complete makeover since 2019 thanks to Pete Alonso. He’s been the only player added to this franchise list since 2006:
There have been just four 40-homer seasons in Expos/Nationals history. It’s an accomplishment that’s shared by three dudes:
There have been just eight instances of 40-plus homers in a season in Baltimore Orioles history, which is shared by seven different players:
The Padres’ 40-homer club is also another small one. However, there are some dudes currently on the roster who can find their way on there in the near future:
I’m not sure if Ralph Kiner rolls off your tongue whenever someone wants to talk about Pirates home run history, but he should. Look at how much he dominates Pittsburgh’s list of 40-homer hitters:
As of the 2023 season, Kyle Schwarber has been with the Phillies for two seasons. He’s already found his way onto this list twice. Here’s the full club for Philly:
The Texas Rangers have been around since 1961 and have produced 18 different seasons of at least 40 homers. There are plenty of dudes with repeat performances on this list, too:
We’ve had some close calls in recent years, but the Rays have produced just one 40-homer season since getting established in 1998. It took place in 2007 when Carlos Peña slugged 46 dingers.
The Reds, MLB’s oldest franchise, have experienced 16 performances of 40-plus homers during its lifetime. However, just one has gotten over the half-century mark in a single season. Here’s a look at the list:
When I think of “Red Sox” and “home runs”, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are the first two sluggers that come to mind. Here are the 19 total instances of 40-plus homer seasons in a Boston uniform:
You’d think that with a ballpark like Coors Field to call home, there’d be plenty of 40-homer seasons in Rockies history. There are, especially when compared to other expansion teams. However, of the 14 instances listed below, only four have come after 2001 (by just two guys):
The Kansas City Royals were the final MLB team to register a 40-homer season. And then they got a second one just a few seasons later. They at least made each instance count — Jorge Soler led the AL in 2019 with 48 home runs before Salvador Perez shared the AL Home Run crown in 2021. He also slugged 48 dingers.
Compared to Coors Field, it’s a lot harder to hit home runs at Comerica Park. The Tigers are also the owners of one of baseball’s oldest single-season home run records. Here are the 11 seasons of 40-plus homers in franchise history:
Before even thinking about who to enter into your grid for Twins 40-homer hitters, you might as well just disregard Harmon Killebrew. Only because he’ll be a popular answer. Otherwise, he owns this area of Twins history:
The Chicago White Sox have produced 12 different 40-plus homer seasons. There are some popular names on here, but probably a couple that’ll help the ol’ rarity score on the Immaculate Grid:
The New York Yankees quite easily have produced the most 40-homer seasons in MLB history, because of course they have. Someone in pinstripes has slugged at least that many homers in a season on 32 (!) different occasions. Here they are:
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