Last Updated on May 9, 2024 by Matt Musico
If you’ve ever wondered which players are among the Texas Rangers single season HR leaders 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 our Rangers all-time and single-season home run leaderboards.
Texas Rangers Single Season HR Leaders
Catcher: Ivan Rodriguez, 35 Home Runs in 1999
When I think of Ivan Rodriguez and his Hall of Fame career, the first thing that comes to mind is his defense. That’s bound to happen when you win 13 Gold Glove Awards. But the guy was also a great hitter. He slugged 311 home runs with 1,332 RBI and 1,354 runs scored in 9,592 plate appearances.
The 1999 season was easily his best. The veteran backstop set career-high marks in home runs (35) and RBI (113) to go along with a .332/.356/.558 line and 25 stolen bases. He won a Silver Slugger Award, a Gold Glove Award, and his only AL MVP Award. Pudge turned on the turbo jets down the stretch following the 1999 All-Star break, too. His OPS went up from .815 in the first half to 1.015 in the second half. The only time Rodriguez hit more than six homers in a month was in August. He slugged 12 with 28 RBI in 133 plate appearances.
Pitcher: Bennie Daniels (1961) & Mike McCormick (1966), 2 Home Runs
Bennie Daniels slugged five homers during his big-league career, but the only time he slugged more than one in a single campaign was in 1961. He also added a 12-11 record with a 3.44 ERA in 212 innings pitched to his ledger.
Mike McCormick‘s general pitching stats from 1966 are almost identical to what Daniels did in ’61. The southpaw went 11-14 with a 3.46 in 216 innings. The similarities don’t stop there. McCormick hit a total of seven homers during his 16-year career, but the 1966 campaign was the only time he finished with more than one.
First Base: Rafael Palmeiro, 47 Home Runs in 2001
Rafael Palmeiro had some extra help when it came to his late-career power surge. However, stats are stats and this is one of two times he shows up on this list. The 47 homers he hit tied a single-season career-high mark, which he set just a couple of years earlier in 1999. It was also the third time he surpassed the 40-homer plateau. He’d do it once more in 2002 for Texas.
If there’s one thing Palmeiro was in 2001, it was consistent in the home run department. After hitting five to start the year in April, he hit eight in May, June, and August, as well as seven in July before finishing the year with a bang by slugging 11 in September/October. His favorite inning of a game? The third inning. While he produced just a .233 batting average, it was accompanied by a .644 slugging percentage, 10 home runs, and 22 RBI.
Second Base: Alfonso Soriano, 36 Home Runs in 2005
Alfonso Soriano was part of the Yankees’ trade package that sent Alex Rodriguez to the Bronx. All the right-handed slugger gave Texas was a pair of All-Star seasons that resulted in Silver Slugger Awards before heading to the Washington Nationals. Soriano did a little bit of everything for Texas in 2005. He slugged those 36 homers and paired it with 104 RBI, 43 doubles, 30 steals, and 102 runs scored.
The Rangers only faced off against Cleveland six times in ’05, but it was a matchup that Soriano enjoyed. In just 24 plate appearances, he slashed .409/.458/1.000 with four homers and eight RBI. All of that production came when Cleveland visited Arlington. At Progressive Field, Soriano produced just a .333 OPS with two singles in 12 plate appearances.
Shortstop: Alex Rodriguez, 57 Home Runs in 2002
A-Rod only spent three seasons with the Rangers. While the club didn’t have much overall success, Rodriguez put up video-game numbers (also with extra help). His peak when it came to power production was in 2002. It included those 57 homers and 142 RBI, both of which led the league. The only other time he led the league in both categories during the same year was 2007 (54 homers, 156 RBI).
And it’s not just that A-Rod owns the Rangers shortstop home run record. No shortstop has hit more homers in a single season than him in MLB history.
Third Base: Dean Palmer, 38 Home Runs in 1996
I could’ve very easily put Joey Gallo here since he hit 41 homers for the Rangers in 2017. However, he only played 49% of his games at third base, so that isn’t going to cut it for me. The next dude on the list is Dean Palmer and his 38 taters in 1996.
During this specific campaign, Palmer was essentially the same hitter whether he was playing at home or on the road. In front of the home crowd, he posted a .884 OPS with 19 homers, 12 doubles, 55 RBI, and 49 runs scored. As a visiting player, he produced a .868 OPS with 19 homers, 14 doubles, 52 RBI, and 49 runs scored.
Texas Rangers Single Season HR Leaders
Left Field: Frank Howard, 48 Home Runs in 1969
Frank Howard had a great four-year run from 1967-70 where he didn’t finish with fewer than 37 home runs. It included three straight seasons of 40-plus taters. The 48 dingers he slugged in 1969 were a career-high mark and a single-season franchise record for left fielders. But that number didn’t lead the league. Howard led the league in homers twice during his career. It happened in the years immediately surrounding 1969. He slugged 44 in both ’68 and ’70.
The majority of Howard’s 1969 playing time came in the first half (432 plate appearances) compared to the second half (270 plate appearances). It’s not surprising that most of his power production came in the first half, but the difference in his slugging percentage is quite eye-opening. He hit 34 homers with a .628 slugging percentage in the first half, which was followed by 14 homers and a .487 slugging percentage down the stretch.
Center Field: Josh Hamilton (2012) & Juan Gonzalez (1992), 43 Home Runs
Josh Hamilton‘s MVP performance in 2010 gets a lot of attention, and rightfully so. But the best year he had in the power department came in 2012. His 43 homers and 128 RBI were both career-high marks (even though neither led the league). What he did over the first two months of the season was unreal. Across 47 games played (207 plate appearances), Hamilton hit .368/.420/.764 with 21 home runs and 57 RBI. He also had as many runs scored during this time as strikeouts (39 each).
Juan Gonzalez is the Rangers’ all-time home run leader. So, it’s only appropriate that he appears in this article twice. Across Juan Gone’s first three big-league seasons (191 games played), he slugged 32 homers with 121 RBI to go along with a .777 OPS. He appeared in 155 games during the 1992 season and more than doubled his career homer output with 43 dingers. It was accompanied by 109 RBI and a .833 OPS. Gonzalez enjoyed two months with 10-plus homers and 20-plus RBI (11 homers with 24 RBI in June and 12 homers with 25 RBI in August).
Right Field: Juan Gonzalez, 47 Home Runs in 1996
Gonzalez’s 47 homers in 1996 ended up being a career-high mark. It was the third time he reached the 40-homer plateau and the first time since 1993. This performance kicked off an incredible power peak for the right-handed hitter, too. Gonzalez would slug 40-plus homers in 1997 and 1998 before just missing that benchmark in 1999 (he hit 39 homers).
Juan Gone missed most of May, playing just six games. He returned to action on June 1 and went absolutely bonkers for two months. Across 242 plate appearances from the beginning of June to the end of July, Gonzalez slashed .361/.426/.792 with 26 homers, 15 doubles, 65 RBI, and 42 runs scored.
Designated Hitter: Rafael Palmeiro, 47 Home Runs in 1999
Ah, and here we are — the other 47-homer performance from Palmeiro. He was again consistent with his power production, which led to one month standing head-and-shoulders above the rest. The left-handed slugger never hit fewer than five dingers in a month. But in August, he went off by collecting 15 homers with 39 RBI in 128 plate appearances.
It didn’t matter the type of team Palmeiro was facing in 1999 — he terrorized them all. When facing teams with a losing record, the slugger posted a 1.092 OPS with 18 homers and 63 RBI. Against teams with a winning record, those numbers settled in at 1.025, 29, and 85, respectively.
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