Brian Dozier is rewriting the home run record books
The Twins second baseman’s power outpour has placed him in range to rewrite the record books, as well as in fair mention with a pair of legends.
The incredible season of Brian Dozier reached record heights on Tuesday night. A night after hitting three homers to celebrate Labor Day versus the Kansas City Royals, the Minnesota Twins slugger continued his improbable second half surge by hitting his 39th home run on the year, which moves him into second place on Major League leaderboards for long balls this year, behind only Mark Trumbo’s 41. It was his fifth consecutive game clearing the fences, and 25th homer since the All-Star Break.
However, in-season context aside, the run that Dozier has taken off on since the All-Star Break has become one of the most prodigious home run tears in baseball history. Last night’s shot tied the American League record for most homers in a season by a second baseman, a mark he now shares with Alfonso Soriano’s 2002 season. It also places him clearly in sights of the all-time single-season record of 42, shared by Davey Johnson and the legendary Rogers Hornsby.
Until recently, Dozier’s outbreak had been muted by the shear struggles of the Twins’ season, who remain relegated well in the cellars of the American League with a circuit-worst 51-88 record. And while Dozier’s record pace likely won’t win him many MVP votes due to his team affiliation, it has earned him mention with none other than home run titans Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds.
Dozier has hit 31 home runs since June 19, which plays out to a 72 home run pace over 162 games. That places him one homer short of Barry Bonds single-season record of 73 from 2001, and also outdoes any 70-game stretch that Ruth embarked in in any of his record 12 seasons of leading the AL in home runs. As a result of the tear, Dozier’s full-season OPS has leapt up to .929, while his slugging percentage has increased to .580, due to his second-half tear of .767 and 1.138, both of which sit firmly in the regular range of that of Bonds and Ruth during their top statistical years.
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The baseball season is a long, winding and often strange road. And while Dozier is no stranger to putting up some strong power totals, having hit 18, 23 and 28 long balls in his past three seasons, but among the many things that could not have been predicted even just a few months ago, legitimately comparing Brian Dozier to Ruth and Bonds has to rank as high as anything in recent memory in regards to unlikely mid-summer outcomes.