Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Nelson Cruz, Carlos Gonzalez, and Albert Pujols Combine to Set the Major League Record For Most Players to Finish a Season With 40 or More Home Runs and Less Than 100 RBIs

Harper hit 42 HRs in 2015 yet drove in just 99 runs

Much of the focus on the 2015 baseball season has centered on stories such as the excellence of pitchers Jake Arrieta and Zack Greinke, the surprising emergence of the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs, and the shocking struggles of the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers.  One story that has flown under the radar is the unusual number of players who finished the season with 40 or more home runs yet drove in less than 100 runs.  In fact, five well-established sluggers:  Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Nelson Cruz, Carlos Gonzalez, and Albert Pujols combined to set the major league record for most players to achieve this odd and somewhat dubious feat during the 2015 campaign, in the process breaking the previous record set by two players during each of the 1969, 1973, 1994, and 2006 seasons.

Ever since winning their league's respective Rookie of the Year Awards in 2012, Bryce Harper and Mike Trout have been compared to the legends of the game.  Through their first three full seasons, Trout was undoubtedly the more impressive of the two sluggers, finishing runner-up in the AL MVP Award in his first two full seasons before unanimously being selected for the honor last year.  However, coming off an injury-plagued 2014, Harper took his game to another level in 2015, smashing 42 longballs and in the process nearly doubling his previous career-high.  Despite his spectacular campaign, Harper's Washington Nationals--a pre-season favorite of many to win the World Championship--finished a disappointing 83-79 and missed the playoffs.  Although Harper's team failed to make the postseason and the slugger pulled up just shy of 100 RBIs, as the NL leader in home runs, runs scored, OBP, slugging percentage, OPS+, and WAR, the young phenom appears poised to win his first MVP Award.

Falling shy of 100 RBIs in 2015 may cost Trout AL MVP votes

Unlike Harper, Trout did not necessarily take his overall game to a new level but the Los Angeles center fielder was able to maintain his excellence and lead the AL in WAR for an amazing fourth year in a row.  However, the 2015 Angels club experienced significant drops in OBP, slugging, and runs scored compared to the previous year's squad.  This dip in team offense had a direct effect on Trout's RBI totals which slid from a league-leading 111 in 2014 to just 90 in 2015, despite the reigning AL MVP stroking a career-best 41 home runs and seeing decline in his strikeout rate from last season.  Even though Trout fanned less, both he and his NL contemporary Harper each can attribute their respective whiff totals of 158 and 131 as reasons why they finished 2015 with under 100 RBIs.  The combination of Trout's team missing out on the postseason and not having a triple digit RBI total may cost him support in what should be a close MVP vote between him and Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson.

Free agent pick up Nelson Cruz proved that moving from the Baltimore Orioles' hitter-friendly home ballpark of Camden Yards to the spacious Safeco Field of the Seattle Mariners could not keep him from being a consistent home run threat as the slugger's longball total jumped from 40 in 2014 to 44 in 2015.  However, the combination of the Mariners' weaker offense in a less forgiving home venue coupled with Cruz's uptick in strikeouts set the stage for the free agent acquisition to finish 2015 under the 100 RBI threshold.

Playing his home games in the thin air of Coors Field and a torrid second half of the season were not enough to push Colorado Rockies right fielder Carlos Gonzalez past the 100 RBI line.  Coming off a knee injury which cut short his 2014 campaign, Gonzalez got off to a slow start to the 2015 season and was briefly dropped as low as sixth in the batting order.  Gonzalez eventually worked his way out of the slump, then went on an absolute tear after the All-Star break, crushing 27 homers with 62 RBIs in just 285 plate appearances.  Gonzalez's incredible rebound in the season's latter half allowed the slugger to reach 40 longballs but his slow start doomed him to end the 2015 campaign shy of 100 RBI.

Probably the most surprising of the five sluggers to have a 40 home run/sub-100 RBI season in 2015 was Mike Trout's teammate Albert Pujols who just barely completed the odd feat, hitting his 40th round tripper on the final day of the regular season.  Pujols' 40-home run campaign was the seventh of his career but his first since 2010.  After a steady decline in power over the last few seasons, Pujols proved he was still a serious longball threat in 2015.  Although, after finishing the year with a career low .244 batting average--which loomed large in his inability to reach 100 RBIs--it is clear that Pujols' days as a dominant player are over.

Below are the statistics from the five 40 or more home run/less than 100 RBI campaigns from the 2015 season.  League-leading totals are highlighted in bold:

	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Harper	153	654	521	118	172	38	1	42	99	124	131	0.330	0.460	0.649	1.109	195
Trout	159	682	575	104	172	32	6	41	90	92	158	0.299	0.402	0.590	0.991	176
Cruz	152	655	590	90	178	22	1	44	93	59	164	0.302	0.369	0.566	0.936	160
Gonzalez	153	608	554	87	150	25	2	40	97	46	133	0.271	0.325	0.540	0.864	115
Pujols	157	661	602	85	147	22	0	40	95	50	72	0.244	0.307	0.480	0.787	118

With the trend over the last several seasons showing a rise in strikeouts, drops in batting average, OBP, and runs scored, along with a sustained focus on power it is likely seasons of 40 or more home runs with less than 100 RBI may become more common.  In fact, Pujols was the only one of the five sluggers to complete the odd feat who was not a regular strikeout victim.  What's more, none of the five 40 or more home run/sub-100 RBI seasons produced in 2015 were abbreviated by injury or had any other special circumstances.  However, having five players produce this rarely seen combination in one season amounts to a statistical anomaly that may never happen again.  Prior to 2015, the odd combination of the 40 or more home runs/less than 100 RBI season had only been completed sixteen times by thirteen different players.  Obviously not a celebrated group like the Triple Crown, 300-strikeout, or 40 home run/40 stolen bases clubs, the 40 home run/less than 100 RBI club, nevertheless, has its own unique history.  Not surprisingly, most of the players to join the 40 home run/less than 100 RBI club were feared power-hitters and were often among the best of their era.  However, a few of these odd seasons were produced by unexpected contributors:

Snider was the charter member of the 40 HR/less than 100 RBI club

In 1957, Duke Snider became the first slugger to reach the 40 home run plateau while finishing a season shy of 100 RBIs.  Capable of hitting for both power and a high average while playing his home games at the hitter-friendly Ebbets Field for the perennial Pennant-contending Brooklyn Dodgers, Snider was coming off of four straight seasons with at least 40 home runs and 100 or more RBIs going into the 1957 campaign.  However, the 1957 Dodgers lacked the punch of the Brooklyn teams from previous years, scoring their lowest number of runs in a season since 1944.  In addition, Snider's 139 games marked his lowest total over a full season up until that point in his career.  Snider hit his 40th round tripper on what turned out to be his final at bat of the season--as he did not play in the final four games.  Snider's drive also wound up being the last home run hit at Ebbets Field--as the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles for the 1958 campaign.  Interestingly, Snider almost became the first player to reach 40 homers without driving in 100 runs the prior year when he went into the 1956 season finale with 41 longballs and 97 RBIs but smacked two round trippers and drove in four runs to finish with 101 RBIs.

Snider’s 1957 season

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
139	592	508	91	139	25	7	40	92	77	104	0.274	0.368	0.587	0.955	143

Mickey Mantle became the second player to reach the 40 home run plateau while driving in less than 100 runs in 1958 and first to do it a second time when he performed the odd feat again in 1960.  Each of those campaigns took place during Pennant-winning seasons for Mantle's New York Yankees.  Mantle led the AL with 40 longballs in 1960 but his inability to reach 100 RBIs likely caused him to lose out to teammate Roger Maris in one of the closest MVP votes.  A noted free-swinger for his time, Mantle led the AL in strikeouts in 1958 and 1960, just as Snider had led the NL in whiffs during his 40 or more home run/sub 100 RBI season.  Mantle and Snider were able to offset their high strikeout totals by drawing walks on a regular basis.  In fact, Mantle paced the AL in free passes in 1958.  Snider's and Mantle's 40 or more home run/sub 100 RBI campaigns occurred just before baseball expanded the regular season from 154 to 162 games.  Had Snider and Mantle each had the extra eight games then it is possible they would have reached the 100 RBI mark.    

Mantle’s 1958 and 1960 seasons

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
150	654	519	127	158	21	1	42	97	129	120	0.304	0.443	0.592	1.035	188
153	643	527	119	145	17	6	40	94	111	125	0.275	0.399	0.558	0.957	162

In 1963, Harmon Killebrew became the first player to stroke 40 or more longballs with less than 100 RBIs under the 162 game schedule.  Killebrew missed 19 games early in the season yet still hunted down and passed the league leaders to capture the AL home run crown--though the missed games played a large role in the Minnesota Twins slugger's inability to reach triple digits in RBIs.

Killebrew’s 1963 season

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
142	596	515	88	133	18	0	45	96	72	105	0.258	0.349	0.555	0.904	147

The 1969 season marked the first campaign in which two sluggers reached 40 home runs without driving in 100 runs when Hank Aaron and Rico Petrocelli each completed the odd feat.  Aaron's 44 round trippers helped the Atlanta Braves capture their first NL West title.  While "Hammerin' Hank" already had five 40-home run seasons to his name and had been one of the game's premier sluggers for nearly a decade and a half, Petrocelli was a shortstop with moderate power who had topped out with a career-best 18 longballs during the 1966 campaign.  Unlike his predecessors who joined the 40 home run/less than 100 RBI club--each of whom were future Hall of Famers batted in the heart of the order--Petrocelli began the season as the Boston Red Sox's number seven hitter.  However, after smacking 12 home runs with a .357 batting average in the first 34 games, Petrocelli was moved up to fifth in the batting order.  Had Petrocelli started the season higher in the batting order, the Boston shortstop likely would have crossed the 100 RBI threshold.  The following season, Petrocelli was regularly batted fifth and despite seeing his batting average and power numbers go down, he reached the 100 RBI mark.

Aaron’s and Petrocelli’s 1969 seasons

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
147	639	547	100	164	30	3	44	97	87	47	0.300	0.396	0.607	1.003	177
154	643	535	92	159	32	2	40	97	98	68	0.297	0.403	0.589	0.992	168

Braves teammates Aaron, Johnson, & Evans each reached 40 HRs in '73

Four years later, Atlanta Braves sluggers Hank Aaron and Dave Johnson became the first teammates to hit 40 longballs while failing to reach 100 RBIs.  Aaron's 1973 campaign was unique in comparison to other seasons of the like in that his inability to reach the century mark in RBIs was directly related to his limited playing time.  The 39-year old Aaron appeared in only 120 games with just 465 trips to the plate, though the extra rest did have its benefits as he homered in a career-high 8.6% of his plate appearances.  In contrast to Aaron, Johnson was an even more unlikely player to reach 40 round trippers than Rico Petrocelli.  Johnson had come over from the Baltimore Orioles in an offseason trade.  Known more for his glove than his bat, Johnson had picked up three Gold Glove Awards at second base.  Like fellow middle infielder Petrocelli, Johnson had topped out with a career-high of 18 homers yet was coming off an injury-plagued season in which he hit just 5 longballs.  Healthy and freed from playing his home games at the pitcher-friendly Memorial Stadium, Johnson found himself on the other end of the ballpark spectrum at Atlanta Stadium which was nicknamed "The Launching Pad" for the number of home runs hit over its walls.  Similar to Petrocelli, Johnson was not batted in the heart of the order at the beginning of the season, starting the year as Atlanta's number six hitter. However, even as Johnson began to hit longballs out at a consistent rate, he still spent the bulk of his time hitting out of the six hole with nearly half of his plate appearances over the course of the season coming from that spot while seeing about equal time at the fifth and seventh spots in the order.  Atlanta Stadium certainly lived up to "The Launching Pad" nickname as Darrell Evans' 41 home runs made himself, Aaron, and Johnson the first trio of teammates to finish a season with 40 or more longballs.  Although, Evans was the only one of the three to reach the 100 RBI plateau--albeit barely--finishing the campaign with 104 tallies.     

Aaron’s and Johnson’s 1973 seasons

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
120	465	392	84	118	12	1	40	96	68	51	0.301	0.402	0.643	1.045	177
157	651	559	84	151	25	0	43	99	81	93	0.270	0.370	0.546	0.916	143

Coincidentally, twelve years later Darrell Evans became the next player to hit 40 home runs without driving in 100 runs.  After spending several years playing his home games at the cavernous Candlestick Park following a trade from the Atlanta Braves to the San Francisco Giants, Evans finally found himself back in a hitter-friendly home ballpark when he signed with the Detroit Tigers prior to the 1984 season.  Evans had an off-year in his first season with Detroit, though he was able to help the Tigers to a World Championship.  However, Evans came back strong in 1985, becoming the first player to hit 40 home runs in both leagues and at age 38 became the oldest slugger to lead his respective league in longballs.  Evans chance at 100 RBIs was hindered by the Tigers offense which did not score runs at the rapid pace of the previous year's championship squad.  In addition, Evans' usually found himself batted in the five hole but also had a combined 204 plate appearances at the number two, six, and seven spots in the order.

Evans’ 1985 season

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
151	594	505	81	125	17	0	40	94	85	85	0.248	0.356	0.519	0.875	138

Griffey Jr. & Williams joined the 40 HR/less than 100 RBI club in '94

In 1994, Ken Griffey Jr. and Matt Williams each joined the 40 home run/less than 100 RBI club though the pair's inability to reach triple digits in RBIs was the result of the player's strike limiting their team's seasons to 112 and 115 games, respectively.  Due to the rise in home runs and overall offense in the game during the mid-1990s, there were no 40 home run/less than 100 RBI seasons again until 2003 when the combination was accomplished by Barry Bonds.  Bonds' situation was similar to Hank Aaron's thirty years earlier as at age 38, he was often rested--playing in just 130 games with 550 plate appearances.  Bonds was also regularly walked by opposing pitchers--earning a staggering 148 free passes with 61 of those being of the intentional variety.  Despite not reaching 100 RBIs, Bonds was easily voted the NL's MVP at the end of the season.  Bonds nearly duplicated the odd feat the following year, once again drilling 45 home runs but this time finished just over the century mark with 101 RBIs.        

Griffey Jr.’s and Williams’ 1994 seasons

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
111	493	433	94	140	24	4	40	90	56	73	0.323	0.402	0.674	1.076	171
112	483	445	74	119	16	3	43	96	33	87	0.267	0.319	0.607	0.926	141

Bonds’ 2003 season

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
130	550	390	111	133	22	1	45	90	148	58	0.341	0.529	0.749	1.278	231

Although home run and scoring rates were still high in 2006, the unique talents of Alfonso Soriano and Adam Dunn set the stage for the fourth pair of players to hit 40 home runs while driving in fewer than 100 runs during the same season.  Soriano was a speedy power-hitter who had nearly joined the 40 home run/40 stolen base club as well as the 40 home run/less than 100 RBI club, when he smacked 39 longballs, swiped 41 bags, and drove in 102 RBIs while batting out of the leadoff spot for the 2002 New York Yankees.  Soriano was acquired by the Washington Nationals prior to the 2006 campaign.  Eligible for free agency at the season's end, Soriano immediately butted heads with veteran skipper Frank Robinson, refusing to move from second base to left field.  After the club threatened to place him on the disqualified list which would have forfeited his pay as well as his service time--which Soriano needed to be eligible for free agency at the end of the season--he relented and moved to left.  The previous year's Washington squad had finished at the bottom of the majors in both home runs as well as runs scored and started the year with the powerful Soriano batting fifth.  However, after seeing Soriano slump in the five and three spots in the order, yet flourish when batted in the one-hole, the Nationals and manager Frank Robinson announced in mid-May that they would permanently move their temperamental superstar to the leadoff spot for the remainder of the season.  Having a power-hitter like Soriano hitting at the very top of the order on an offense-starved team proved to be the perfect storm of events for a player to hit 40 round trippers while failing to drive in 100 runs.  Soriano joined both the 40 home run/less than 100 RBI club in addition to the 40 home run/40 stolen bases club--albeit while being caught stealing a staggering 17 time in 58 attempts.  After the season, Soriano signed a lucrative multi-year contract with the Chicago Cubs.

Soriano’s 2006 season

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
159	728	647	119	179	41	2	46	95	67	160	0.277	0.351	0.560	0.911	135

Known for his likeliness to end each at bat with either a home run, a walk, or a strikeout, Adam Dunn epitomized the "Three True Outcomes" hitter.  Going into 2006, Dunn had already had close calls at joining the 40 home run/less than 100 RBI club--reaching the 40 round tripper mark in both 2004 and 2005 while just barely crossing the 100 RBI line each time.  Dunn also drew over 100 walks and led the majors in strikeouts in both 2004 and 2005, fanning 195 times in 2004 and in the process breaking the 35-year old dubious record held by Bobby Bonds.  Finally in 2006, drops in Dunn's batting average and doubles coupled with his consistently high walk and strikeout rates resulted in the slugger producing the odd 40 home run/sub-100 RBI combination.

Dunn’s 2006 season

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
160	683	561	99	131	24	0	40	92	112	194	0.234	0.365	0.490	0.855	114

Three seasons later, Adrian Gonzalez squeaked into the 40 home run/less than 100 RBI club with exactly 40 longballs while driving in 99 runs.  At the time, Gonzalez manned first base for the punchless San Diego Padres who averaged the lowest runs scored per game in the majors, no doubt hindered by playing their home games in spacious, pitcher-friendly Petco Park.  Not necessarily known for his patience at the plate, Gonzalez took free passes at a rate not seen by the powerful first baseman before or since and led the NL in walks.  Gonzalez saw a career-high jump in home runs per plate appearance as well.

Gonzalez’s 2009 season

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
160	681	552	90	153	27	2	40	99	119	109	0.277	0.407	0.551	0.958	162

Prior to this year's explosion of 40 home run/less than 100 RBI seasons, the most recent occurrence was Adam Dunn's 2012 campaign for the Chicago White Sox.  In doing so, Dunn joined Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron as the only players with two such seasons.  Dunn's having another 40 longball/sub-100 RBI year was hardly surprising since his "Three True Outcomes" skill set made him a perennial threat to complete the odd feat.  In fact, Dunn had finished the 2008 season with exactly 40 home runs and 100 RBIs.  What was surprising was that Dunn was able to rebound after an abysmal 2011 campaign in which he hit just .159 with 11 home runs and an OPS+ of 54--all career lows.  Dunn's 2012 was certainly the ugliest of the twenty-one 40 home run/less than 100 RBI seasons as his .204 batting average was, by far, the lowest of any slugger to produce the unique combination.  In addition, the free-swinging Dunn set the AL strikeout record with 222 whiffs (fellow "Three True Outcomes" slugger Mark Reynolds had broken Dunn's major league record by fanning 223 times in 2009).

Dunn’s 2012 season

G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
151	649	539	87	110	19	0	41	96	105	222	0.204	0.333	0.468	0.800	114

Although there is a history of 40 home run/less than 100 RBI seasons, the two statistical outcomes are rarely seem together which makes this year's bumper crop of sluggers achieving the odd feat all the more interesting.

----by John Tuberty                        

Sources:  Baseball Reference, Baseball Reference Play Index, SABR, Washington Post

Photo credit:  Bryce Harper 2015 Topps Stadium Club, Mike Trout 2014 Topps Tribute, Duke Snider 1994 Nabisco All Star Legends, Hank Aaron 1972 Topps, Davey Johnson 1975 Topps, Darrell Evans 1974 Topps, Ken Griffey Jr. and Matt Williams 1995 Fleer 9

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