Given that home runs have increased since the 19th century, unlike wins by a single pitcher, this record applies to all of baseball history. After looking at pitching wins, I wanted to look at the most proficient final-season home run hitters. Only twelve players have ever hit more than twenty home runs in their final season. Here's the list:
- Dave Kingman, 1986, 35
- Mark McGwire, 2001, 29
- Ted Williams, 1960, 29
- Hank Greenberg, 1947, 25
- Jack Graham, 1949, 24
- Roy Cullenbine, 1947, 24
- Albert Belle, 2000, 23
- Kirby Puckett, 1995, 23
- Phil Nevin, 2006, 22
- Paul O'Neill, 2001, 21
- Will Clark, 2000, 21
- Dave Nilsson, 1999, 21
Ted Williams was the only player on the list over 40 (he was 41) and Dave Nilsson was the only player under 30 (he was 29). The average age of the players was 35.2. Will Clark and Phil Nevin were the only two on the list to play for more than one team in their last year.
Here's the players age 35 or older in 2007 to hit 20+ home runs:
- Jim Thome (36 years old) - 35
- Ken Griffey (37) - 30
- Chipper Jones (35) - 29
- Barry Bonds (42) - 28
- Frank Thomas (39) - 26
- Gary Sheffield (38) - 25
- Carlos Delgado (35) - 24
- Raul Ibanez (35) - 21
- Sammy Sosa (38) - 21
- Matt Stairs (39) - 21
- Jeff Kent (39) - 20
- Manny Ramirez (35) - 20
- Jorge Posada (35) - 20
I don't know if any of them will retire this offseason, but they'd obviously join the list if they do.
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