Mitchell Has Best Shot at Maris Mark

Every year, it seems, some baseball player starts the season hitting two homers a week, and talk of Roger Maris begins to circulate.

That talk was bound to surface this year, no matter what. It is the 30th anniversary of Maris hitting his record 61 home runs for the New York Yankees in 1961.

It’s especially worth noting because of the Giants’ Kevin Mitchell, the NL’s top home runhitter this year and the last three years. With 10 home runs, Mitchell is at least on pace with Maris, who had hit 12 at the end of May 1961. But Mitchell also is now hampered by a strained ligament in his left knee. If he goes on the disabled list, his quest might end early.

Maris went on to hit 15 homers in June and 13 in July. The only player since to homer at close to that pace was Reggie Jackson, who stood at 37 homers at the 1969 All-Star break while playing for Oakland. Jackson hit 10 home runs the remainder of the season.

Detroit’s Cecil Fielder, who entered the Maris chase briefly last year, finished July with 33 homers, seven behind Maris.

Can anyone ever equal the performance of the former New York Yankee slugger? And if so, would it be Mitchell?

“I remember way back before it happened, I thought it couldn’t be done,” said Bobby Richardson, the Yankees second baseman during Maris’ tear. “I guess it could be done. But it would have to be a guy who was injury free, with somebody good batting behind him so he could get good pitches to hit.

“The ballpark would have to be ideally suited for him. Yankee Stadium in those days was 196 feet down the right field line, and a left-handed hitter like Roger, with his compact swing, could really take advantage of it.”

Maris actually hit 31 homers on the road that year, which indicates the strength of the Yankees lineup was more important. Maris spent most of the year batting with Mickey Mantle on deck.

Mantle, who finished the year with 54 homers, also chased Babe Ruth’s then-standing record of 60 home runs in a season before injuries quieted him in September.

With Mantle on deck, Maris batted .293 with 54 homers, one every 8.8 at-bats, and he didn’t receive an intentional walk all year. With other hitters on deck, Maris batted .174 with seven homers, one every 16.4 times up.

In Mitchell’s case, the protection was there last year, when he hit 35 homers and Matt Williams, batting behind him, hit 33. But Mitchell received no appreciable protection in 1989, when he hit 47 homers, and this year Williams is hitting .190 behind Mitchell.

“Kevin Mitchell hit 47 two years ago with no one behind him, but I think it’s improbable he can hit 61,” said Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, who sees quite a bit of Mitchell as a color commentator on some Giants telecasts. “Even if Matt Williams is hitting well, who would you rather pitch to?”

Morgan adds another reason it’s not probable Mitchell could hit 61 homers: The specialization of pitchers in today’s game makes hitting tougher in general.

“The probability of that record being broken goes down every year,” said Morgan. “Every year, with relief pitchers, you get more and more specialization. Now, you’ve got the long man in case the starter just doesn’t have it, and the middle man if you need him to get to the short man. It all goes together to make it improbable.”

What isn’t so improbable, said Morgan, is the fact that Mitchell has become such a consistent home run threat. “He’s matured from the time he was with the Mets (1986) and San Diego (briefly in ‘87),” said Morgan. “It’s bound to take a little while. You don’t just walk into the league and start hitting 40 home runs. He’s always had it in him.”

But neither he, nor anyone else, probably has the Maris record in him.