This Day in Baseball History: September 1st, 1947

Williard Marshall.

On September 1, 1947:

The New York Giants hit their 183rd, 184th, and 185th home runs of the season.


So we all know what player has hit the most home runs in a single-season -- Barry Bonds with 73 --, but who knows what team has the most home runs in a single-season (answer a little later)? From 1936-1947, the New York Yankees held that claim with 184 home runs hit during their 1936 season, but oddly enough, that did not include any contribution from Babe Ruth. Lou Gehrig (49 home runs), however, had a huge impact on that total. Joe DiMaggio (29) and Bill Dickey (22) were the only other two Yankees to eclipse 20 home runs, but the rest of the starting lineup, with the exception of Jake Powell (7), hit double-digits. They were also the beneficiaries of 6 home runs by pitchers, including 5 from Red Ruffing.

But the New York Giants took the Yankees down in 1947, and they did it quickly. With a month left in the season, they used 3 more home runs to officially claim to have the most powerful lineup in baseball history to that point. Willie Mays was still 4 years away from his entrance into baseball, so he wasn't part of the offensive explosion. Johnny Mize led the way with a career-high 51 home runs. Following him were a couple of 30+ homer guys in Williard Marshall (36) and Walker Cooper (35), and young Bobby Thomson would add 29 in his breakout season. Buddy Kerr was the only starter to fail to hit double-digits (coincidentally, like Powell, with 7), and they also (like the Yankees) received 6 home runs from pitchers, with 4 from Clint Hartung. The Giants went on to hit 221 home runs for the season.

Okay, so what's your guess for team with the most home runs in a season? Well, the 2004 Houston Astros hit 247, but that's only the most for an NL team. The winner is the 1997 Seattle Mariners with 264. Ken Griffey Jr., of course, leads the list with 56 round-trippers. Oddly, neither team holds the record for most home runs at home or on the road. The 1996 Colorado Rockies, not surprisingly, hold the record with 149 home runs, and the 2001 San Francisco Giants, behind Bonds' 73 (37 at home, 36 on the road), hold the away record with 138.


Trivia Time
Put these players in order from most home runs to fewest for the 1997 Seattle Mariners -- Griffey, Edgar Martinez, Alex Rodriguez, Dan Wilson, Paul Sorrento, Russ Davis, Jay Buhner, Joey Cora, and Jose Cruz. Good luck.

Yesterday's Answer -- She was indeed talking about Pete Rose.