Chase Utley and the Homer Record for 2nd Basemen
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Five days ago, on May 29th, this blog did some checking as to the homerun record for a 2nd basemen as it’s been widely reported that Chase Utley is on a pace to hit 50 or more homeruns this season.
We found that there seemed to be some sort or discrepancy between the Baseball Almanac individual page of former Braves 2nd baseman Davey Johnson showing that Johnson hit 43 homers in 1973 and the Almanac’s recordbook page which showed Johnson tied for the all-time 2nd baseman homer record of 42 with Rogers Hornsby who accomplished the feat in 1922 with the St. Louis Cardinals where he spent the first 13 years of his 23 year career.
Apparently, this blog was not alone in spotting this discrepancy.
The Yahoo Big League Stew blog notes that “the issue that has lately been creating some confusion.”
MLB.com’s individual stats for Johnson also show him with 43 homers in 1973.
But Big League Stew provides a possible explanation for the discrepancy;
…As many have pointed out — and at least one newspaper corrected — Johnson actually hit 43 round trippers in ‘73, which would make him the sole single-season HR champ for 2B.
Why the mixup? Well, if you look at Johnson’s home run log for ‘73, you’ll see that he did hit 43 homers for the Braves that season. However, visiting the box score for the June 17 game against the Cubs shows that Johnson entered the game in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter for Sonny Jackson and responded with a three-run shot that gave Atlanta the lead.
But even though Johnson stayed in the game as a second baseman, the HR apparently counts at a pinch-hit, which is reflected in both the AP and the records at Baseball Almanac.
Take note that Big League Stew doesn’t tell you that Johnson’s pinch hit homer was in game two of a doubleheader on the 17th where Johnson played in game one and sat in game 2.
To further complicate things, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has been known to shift Utley to first base on an occasion, such as for late game defense purposes or in event of injury to first baseman Ryan Howard. Therefore, it is remotely possible that Utley could homer as a 1st baseman.
It will be an interesting sidebar to watch this season to see whether or not Utley homers to projections and whether all of his homers would be all considered as hit by a 2nd baseman. If he does, the 42 or 43 homer record controversy will be rendered academic. But if or until then, there will be pros and cons as to whether or not Johnson owns the all-time record exclusively or whether he is co-recordholder with Hornsby.
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