The Year of the Home Run

[notin]

So yesterday Paul DeJong Hot 3 home runs, one day after Robinson Cano accomplished the feat, making him the - well, I’ve lost count how many have hit 3 home runs in a game this year.

 

I totally expect someone to hit 4. 18 players have hit 4 in a game to date in MLB history, most recently in 2017 by JD Martinez. Number 19 has to happen this year. Right?

 

And does this mean at some point this year, someone will become the first player to hit FIVE home runs in a game? Who will it be? And how many will he hit off Rick Porcello?

[Bellhorn04]

It's the year of the Manfred Missile.

[moonslav59]

It's the year of the juiced ball more than the year of the home run.

 

I'm seeing so many badly hit balls going over the fence. You can even see the surprise on some player's faces when the ball goes out after a poor swing.

 

This is not the baseball I have loved for so long, but I guess the "new generation" is what this is all about.

 

The one thing the new generation may force is the shortening of the game. We need that badly!

[bkzwhitestrican]

Last year the Yankees barely set the single season HR record with 267. The stars aligned with Torres, Andujar, Didi, and Hicks entering their prime; Judge, Stanton, and Sanchez continuing to be sluggers in their prime; and other power hitters offering various contributions throughout the year such as Voit, Bird, Neil Walker, Tyler Austin.

 

This year, four teams are on pace to surpass 267 HRs (Twins, Dodgers, Brewers, Yankees) with two more on pace for about 265 (Astros and Mariners). The leader of the group, the Twins, is on pace for 311 HRs (44 HRs or 16% more than last year's record). What took a lot of things going right for the Yankees last year is now an accomplishment that the tanking Mariners are on pace to duplicate. The evidence of the juiced ball is obvious, not sure why Manfred continues to deny it.