Edwin Encarnacion helped the Blue Jays to a 5-0 win over the Angels Friday night. He hit a two-run homer, his 40th of the season. That’s the second time he reached that milestone in the last five seasons. He hit 42 in 2012, and has consistently posted HR totals in the mid to high 30s since. Over the last five seasons, he is second in the majors in home runs to Chris Davis.
If you peruse the top 11, (Mark Trumbo and Albert Pujols are tied for 10th at 144), you’ll notice there are a number of past prime players among the leaders. Encarnacion is seasonal age 33, so three of his five seasons were past prime (Miguel Cabrera fits this bill as well). Nelson Cruz, David Ortiz, Jose Bautista, and Pujols were all past prime. Davis, Adam Jones, and Trumbo covered their prime years, while Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout were mostly pre-prime.
Home runs depend on skill as well as strength, so they age differently than most hits. There is an experience factor to knocking the ball out of the back, swinging the right way and selecting the right pitches. That’s a reason that older players can smack a lot of home runs and keep up with the youngsters.
The other interesting thing is the number of Orioles and Angels, present and past on the list. Some GM is doing a good job of selecting power talent.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2cy5Dm2
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