BY THE NUMBERS
A Striking Statistic
With Larry Walker out with an injured throwing elbow, the Colorado Rockies have turned to their young first baseman, Todd Helton, for leadership. Heading into this weekend, Helton led the National League in batting with a .387 average with 21 home runs and only 25 strikeouts. While 58 players had more home runs than strikeouts in a season during the 1900s, only one--George Brett in 1980--has done it since 1958.
Greatest difference between homers and strikeouts in a season:
19: Tommy Holmes (Boston Braves, 1945), 28 homers, 9 strikeouts
18: Lou Gehrig (Yankees, 1934), 49 homers, 31 strikeouts
17: Joe DiMaggio (Yankees, 1941), 30 homers, 12 strikeouts
16: Yogi Berra (Yankees, 1950), 28 homers, 12 strikeouts
14: Ted Kluszewski (Cincinnati Reds, 1954), 49 homers, 35 strikeouts
Source: Baseball Prospectus
Reported by Bob Rohwer
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
