Baseball Questions We All Must Answer: Who Is The Most Obscure Player To Hit 35 Home Runs?

Updated Feb 17, 2011, 6:17 PM UTC

UPDATE: Y’all have responded. Here are your answers.

Introducing a new feature, Baseball Questions We All Must Answer. There are questions that, within our lifetimes, every baseball fan -- each one of us -- must account for. These questions are of utmost importance. This is one of those questions.

Who is the most obscure baseball player to hit 35 or more home runs in a single season?

Before you respond, one guideline: this player’s obscurity can’t owe itself primarily to the passage of time. For example, Ripper Collins (1934) wouldn’t be a good suggestion, but Ron Kittle (1983) would. In other words, it’s probably best to select someone from the past 30 or 40 years.

After the jump, I ask for your answer and give you mine:

My answer is Ed Sprague.

Year	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	Awards
1991	TOR	61	183	160	17	44	7	0	4	20	0	3	19	43	.275	.361	.394	.754	106
1992	TOR	22	50	47	6	11	2	0	1	7	0	0	3	7	.234	.280	.340	.620	70
1993	TOR	150	596	546	50	142	31	1	12	73	1	0	32	85	.260	.310	.386	.696	86
1994	TOR	109	445	405	38	97	19	1	11	44	1	0	23	95	.240	.296	.373	.669	72
1995	TOR	144	602	521	77	127	27	2	18	74	0	0	58	96	.244	.333	.407	.740	93
1996	TOR	159	670	591	88	146	35	2	36	101	0	0	60	146	.247	.325	.496	.821	105
1997	TOR	138	562	504	63	115	29	4	14	48	0	1	51	102	.228	.306	.385	.691	80
1998	TOT	132	510	469	57	104	25	0	20	58	1	2	26	90	.222	.280	.403	.683	76
1998	TOR	105	419	382	49	91	20	0	17	51	0	2	24	73	.238	.301	.424	.725	86
1998	OAK	27	91	87	8	13	5	0	3	7	1	0	2	17	.149	.187	.310	.497	29
1999	PIT	137	564	490	71	131	27	2	22	81	3	6	50	93	.267	.352	.465	.817	104	AS
2000	TOT	106	298	268	30	65	16	0	12	36	0	0	25	58	.243	.312	.437	.749	90
2000	TOT	73	175	157	19	41	12	0	10	27	0	0	13	40	.261	.326	.529	.854	119
2000	SDP	53	131	117	17	32	10	0	10	25	0	0	10	28	.274	.336	.615	.951	142
2000	BOS	33	123	111	11	24	4	0	2	9	0	0	12	18	.216	.293	.306	.599	50
2000	SDP	20	44	40	2	9	2	0	0	2	0	0	3	12	.225	.295	.275	.570	51
2001	SEA	45	107	94	9	28	7	0	2	16	0	0	11	18	.298	.374	.436	.810	119
11 Seasons		1203	4587	4095	506	1010	225	12	152	558	6	12	358	833	.247	.318	.419	.737	90

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/17/2011.

I have to confess, I posed a similar question on Twitter, and I'm stealing my answer from @SamMillerOCR. My rationale: while most people who followed baseball in the 90s probably know who Ed Sprague was, thanks to the World Series rings he won with the Blue Jays, I sure as hell forgot that he hit 36 home runs one year. To me, he and Pat Borders were either the same person, or have so much in common that they may as well be.

My answer may not be correct. If your answer is different, let me know, either in the comments below or on Twitter (@jon_bois).

One more word: as a consequence of their tremendous importance, these discussions tend to be emotionally fueled, and they sometimes grow hostile. While we may disagree on who is the most obscure 35-home run-hitter, let us please remember that at the end of the day, we are equals working toward a common -- and fundamental -- goal. Thank you.

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