Angels' Mike Trout Mike Trout becomes the youngest player in history to hit 200 home runs and steal 200 bases. At 21 years, 271 days old, he breaks a record previously held by Barry Bonds.
Trout reached this mark in just his third full season (age 22). He's now the second youngest player ever, behind only Joe DiMaggio who played at age 21 years, 274 days when he hit his 56th home run in 1936. Of course, it should be noted that baseball has been keeping better records recently than it used to, so some of these numbers are likely higher today than they were back then. For example, current statistics site Baseball-Reference.com estimates that DiMaggio hit around 65 home runs during his age-22 season.
In addition to being one of the best hitters in baseball, Trout also leads all players with 20/20 potential. At 6' 0" and 175 pounds, he has great size for a hitter and is considered by many to be the best defensive player in baseball. In fact, three other players have won the Gold Glove award for best defender in each of the last two seasons: Trout, Giancarlo Stanton and Adam Jones.
Barfield established the team record for most home runs in a season the year he hit 40. He was the first Blue Jay to hit a pinch grand slam (1982), as well as the first Blue Jay to have a 20-20 season; aside from that season, Barfield never stole more than 8 bases.
Other than Willie Mays and Barry Bonds, no other player has hit 40 home runs and stolen over 315 bases in a same season. It's difficult to say which season was Brady Anderson's most productive. Anderson stole 53 bases as the Orioles' leadoff runner in 1992.
Jose Canseco set an all-time record for power and speed on September 23, 1988, when he hit forty home runs and stole forty bases in the same season. Baseball Almanac is proud to introduce the 40-40 Club's distinguished membership.
With such stats, he became the only player in American League history to have 20 home runs, 75 RBI, and 50 stolen bases in the same season. Anderson's finest year in terms of power was his other outstanding season.
Barfield established the team record for most home runs in a season the year he hit 40. He was the first Blue Jay to hit a pinch grand slam (1982), as well as the first Blue Jay to have a 20-20 season; aside from that season, Barfield never stole more than 8 bases.
Trout, Mike. The baseball-reference.com Almanac has him at 308 homers when he retired in 2017 after his 30th season. He's the only player to reach 300 homers before age 40; the average age of a hitter who hits 300 homers is 36.9 years old.
It's safe to say that Michael Trout is one of the greatest hitters in MLB history. The Baseball Hall of Fame voter's ballot will be released next month, and while it's too early to tell what percentage of votes he'll receive, it's easy to see why he gets a strong vote every year from our panel. Trout has an infinite number of subtle ways to beat you with his batting eye information, but most important is his ability to turn any pitch into a bomb. He uses the whole plate, from corner to center, and his outstanding hand-eye coordination makes him such a tough out that even high heat feels like low ball to him.
Trout has two main rivals as the best hitter of all time: George Brett and Barry Bonds. It's hard to argue against either one of them, but Brett has the edge over Trout because of his longer career.
Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez, nicknamed "A-Rod," became the youngest player in history to smash 500 career home runs in 2007, at the age of 32. And those aren't the only home homers A-Rod has hit recently. He's also hit five home runs this year, bringing his season total to 51, which is one more than the current leader, Mark McGwire.
A-Rod's success on the baseball field has made him a millionaire many times over. In 2009, his first season with the New York Yankees, A-Rod made $27 million, which was then a record for a hitter. His salary was so high because he was under contract with the New York Yankees until 2017.
But even though he makes a lot of money, it hasn't stopped A-Rod from getting involved in some controversial incidents throughout his career. In 2012, A-Rod was accused of using steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs during his time with the Texas Rangers. The MLB suspended him for three games as a result of the allegations.
In August 2013, A-Rod came out of retirement to play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. The United States team was coached by Joe Torre, who later that year would hire A-Rod as his manager. It was reported that A-Rod received $1 million for playing in the tournament.
The Washington Nationals have the youngest roster in Major League Baseball for the second year in a row. That guy, infielder Luis Garcia, became the first player born in the 2000s to hit a home run in a major league game, making the rest of us feel ancient. He did so in the ninth inning of an 11-8 win over the Miami Marlins on Oct. 24.
Garcia is not the only young player on the Nationals. Third baseman Anthony Rendon (28) and outfielder Juan Soto (23) are both two years removed from their last majors games. But with the exception of Soto, who played 63 games last season after coming over from the Chicago Cubs, this team is full of players in their early 20s. The average age of the Nationals' roster is just under 30 years old; only the Tampa Bay Rays are younger (average age: 29.1).
This youth movement began in 2015 when the Nationals drafted him with the first overall pick, Juan Soto was one of the most highly regarded prospects in baseball. A year later, they took another Cuban defector, Yoenis Cespedes, with the second overall pick. Both players came over during that period when the MLB banned international signings by free agents. The Nationals were able to get around the ban by using its minor league system as a proxy. They signed both players out of Cuba and placed them with its club before they could reach maturity.
Joey Gallo, Mike Trout, and Roland Acuna Jr. are your top three home run hitters for 2020. It makes no sense to choose anyone beyond the age of 28. Baseball is a game for young men. Last year's top three were 24, 27, and 27 (Pete Alonso, Eugenio Suarez, and Jorge Soler).
In fact, every hitter over the age of 28 has more home runs than strikeouts. That's because power numbers tend to drop off as players get older. There are two main factors that determine how many homers a player will hit: strength and swing type. Older players usually have less muscle mass per body weight so they can't produce as much energy when they make contact like younger players can. Also, these players generally have longer swings which tends to result in more ground balls.
Here are the home run totals from all hitters over the age of 28 in 2019: 33, 37, 38, 39, 41. Even though those are a lot of home runs, it's important to remember that they came from players who were already past their prime. A 29-year-old Joe Mauer has never hit more than 26 homers in a season and only once has he even hit 25. The only other players over the age of 28 to hit 20 or more homers last year were Mark Trumbo, Nelson Cruz, and Joey Votto. That's it. Young players are going to blow by those numbers this year.
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