Bryce Harper and Nolan Arenado are pulling off an interesting feat. The two sluggers are hitting home runs without striking out.
| Hitter | Season | HR | K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barry Bonds | 2004 | 45 | 41 |
| George Brett | 1980 | 24 | 22 |
| Lou Skizas | 1957 | 18 | 15 |
| Vic Power | 1958 | 16 | 14 |
| Bryce Harper | 2016 | 7 | 6 |
| Nolan Arenado | 2016 | 6 | 4 |
| Gates Brown | 1968 | 6 | 4 |
| Ted Kluszewski | 1957 | 6 | 5 |
Bonds walked over 200 times in 2004, while the low Ks helped George Brett hit .390. If you look at the MLB home run leaders so far, most are already in double digits when it comes to Ks.
As a New Yorker, my first thought was that Mattingly and Carter would be on this list. But not quite. Mattingly hit 31 homers in ’86 and fanned 35 times. Carter wasn’t that close: 32 and 46, in ’85. Not bad though.
Ah, pulling a Joe DiMaggio. 1937-1941 streak. Amazing.
rbj » I know people who consider DiMaggio’s career 361 home runs with just 369 K one of the most amazing stats in the history of baseball.
DiMaggio’s numbers in that area are surreal: seven times, all with 25 or more HR, and six of them with 30 or more. Ted Williams managed it only three times, with the last one in 1955.