mlt@mb2c.UUCP (Mark L. Tompkins) (10/03/85)
In last night's (10/2) game with Toronto, Darrell Evans of the Tigers became the first player in major league history to hit 40 homers in a season in both the American and National Leagues. His 40th came off Dave Steib, and helped the Tigers beat the Jays for the second night in a row. This feat is surprising when you consider the number of great power hitters that have played in both leagues ( Frank Robinson, Frank Howard, and Dave Kingman immediately come to mind - I'm sure there have been others ). I would have thought it had been done before. Evans is also the oldest AL player ever to hit 40 homers, and could become the oldest AL'er to win the HR title if he can hold off Carlton Fisk. Also - he may become only the second Tiger lefty to win the AL home run title. The other?? Ty Cobb. The poor guy is losing all his records this year. BTW, Evans' homer was followed by an inside-the-parker by Kirk Gibson, his 29th of the season. He has an excellent chance of becoming the first Tiger ever to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season. As of today, he has 29 HRs and 28 SB, with four games left. Last year, he was the first Tiger ever to get 20-20 ( 27 HRs, 29 SB ) - just missed 30-30. This surprised me - I thought for sure Al Kaline had done that; he hit 20 HRs for something like 9-10 years straight, but I guess hitting in the middle of the lineup does not lend you too many chances to run. Question: Who was the last major leaguer to get 30-30? ( Maybe Bobby Bonds? ) Does anyone have a list of the players who have accomplished this feat? I know Bonds did it 4 times ( almost got 40-40 once; 39 HRs, 42 SB ), and Mays did it 3 times. What about Mantle ( I think only once ). Seems as though only 6 or 7 players in history have ever done this. Mark Tompkins