RESULTS: The Most Obscure 35-Homer Players Of All Time

Feb 17, 2011, 9:03 PM UTC

So earlier today, I asked y’all who you thought was the most obscure player ever to hit 35 home runs in a single season. My discussion-starting guess was Ed Sprague, but you people out-did me. Here are the names I was most impressed with:

Geronimo Berroa (suggested by @kennybenny, @lowposts, @mteravest, and @MatthewHLeach): 36 in 1996. In the mid-90s, I was peripherally aware of Berroa, but did not know that he was old enough to have played with the Braves in 1989, and I certainly didn't realize that he ever hit 20 home runs, much less 36... and ... oh Lord, I am just now realizing that I have confused Geronimo Berroa with Geronimo Pena.

Ben Oglivie (suggested by @wdreusike): 41 home runs in 1981. I thought that if you hit 40 or more home runs in a season pre-Todd Hundley, you were awarded a $50 million prize, a certificate confirming your "household name" status, and keys to every lock in the United States. We can confirm that this isn't true, since Oglivie definitely isn't a household name, and I now I can live without the fear that Dave Kingman lives in my post office box.

Willard Marshall (suggested by @sweetbob): 36 in 1947. Very obscure, although probably too far back to expect most of us to have a fighting chance of remembering him. However: if a stranger walked up to me and claimed that he was a time traveler from the 1940s, I would instinctively guess that Willard Marshall was his name. Then I'd show him all of my electronics, starting with a solar-powered calculator so as not to freak him out too badly.

Wally Post (suggested by @danluceroshow): 40 in 1955, 36 in 1956. Suffers from the same problem Marshall does, but earns bonus points for the name. Wally Post is the name of the annual Christmas letter disseminated by Wally Joyner (it was formerly known as The Joyner Journal before his relatives complained that it was too much of a tongue-twister).

Richard Hidalgo (suggested by @suss2hyphens): 44 in 2000. My goodness... 44 in... 2000... Hidalgo? For a couple of my high school years I completely checked out of pro sports fandom altogether. This is what I missed? Why didn't anyone tell me?

Bill Hall (suggested by @rcbooth): 35 in 2006. Not terribly obscure just yet, because we all know him as the "hit 35 home runs one time" guy. I suspect, though, that he will be Grand Champion of this debate when we resurrect it circa 2030. And that is a promise that both myself and my 47-year-old cane-wielding shiny belt-buckled railroad magnate self intend to keep. (Note to self: start railroad factory.)

John Jaha (suggested by @xmasape and PriceJD): 35 in 1999. I looked up Jaha earlier today and reflected on how weird it was that he hit 20 home runs one time. Then this discussion became structured, and I looked him up again and thought, “damn, he hit 34 one year. Didn’t see that. He almost got there.” And I just now looked it up a third time and saw that he did indeed hit 35. Next time I look at his baseball-reference page I’ll see that he’s going to hit 79 home runs in 2015 (in the future they call them “space-homers”).

Henry Rodriguez (suggested by @natepatrin and SchlomSD): 36 in 1996. In 1993, when The Sandlot was released, I thought this guy's name was Benny Rodriguez and that the movie was a promotional vehicle for him. This was obviously not the case, although the pitcher in the movie clearly grew up to be CC Sabathia.

Morgan Ensberg (suggested by GBSimons): 36 in 2005. In addition, Morgan Ensberg may be the most Astros player who has ever played. But that's a conversation for a different day.

(No, seriously, at some point we'll discuss who is the most Houston Astros player of all time. Stay tuned.)

Thanks again, everybody!

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