Joey Gallo hit two home runs Wednesday afternoon in an 11-7 Rangers win over the Mariners. That brings his total for the season to 31, giving him a good shot at hitting at least 40 home runs in 2018. With a .202 BA and a .314 OBP, could he could become the worst hitter ever to hit 40 home runs in a season? Here is a list of 40 home run hitters since 1957, measured by BPO, batting average plus OBP.
| Hitter | Season | Home Runs | Batting Average | On Base | BA + OBP |
| Todd Frazier | 2016 | 40 | 0.225 | 0.302 | 0.528 |
| Adam Dunn | 2012 | 41 | 0.204 | 0.333 | 0.537 |
| Joey Gallo | 2017 | 41 | 0.209 | 0.333 | 0.542 |
| Chris Carter | 2016 | 41 | 0.222 | 0.321 | 0.544 |
| Curtis Granderson | 2012 | 43 | 0.232 | 0.319 | 0.551 |
| Albert Pujols | 2015 | 40 | 0.244 | 0.307 | 0.551 |
| Khristopher Davis | 2016 | 42 | 0.247 | 0.307 | 0.553 |
| Jose Canseco | 1998 | 46 | 0.237 | 0.318 | 0.554 |
So Gallo is already on the list, and recent history dominates. His .516 BPO would be worst by quite a bit. It’s clear that teams are willing to accept high home run totals for little other offense.
This spreadsheet tracks the probability of Gallo breaking the single season strikeout record.