Editorials

The 2019 Dodgers Could Become The Best Home Run Hitting Team in Franchise History

The other day I took to Twitter to point out some simple Dodgers home run numbers, for anyone willing to take 30 seconds to look them up…

…so I won’t take much credit there. Where I will take the slightest amount of credit is looking at the extremely balanced slugging attack of the launch angle friendly offense.

With 2 more home runs on Tuesday night in San Diego, the Dodgers stand at 231 for the season, 4 behind last season’s total — which just so happened to be the most in franchise history.

Where this story gets fun is that with AJ Pollock’s 10th homer of 2019, LA now has 9 batters with 10 or more bombs this season. Of course, Cody Bellinger paces the club with 42 (and is likely to best Shawn Green’s single season record of 49 from 2001), but the rest of the club is ready to hit one out at any given time.

So we know that the 2019 Dodgers will be the home run hittingest club in franchise history. But assuming that Chris Taylor and eventually David Freese add at least 1 HR each, that would give the team 11 batters with double digit home runs.

The 2018 version of the Dodgers featured 10 batters with 10+ home runs, which is the most in franchise history. The 2015-2017 clubs each had 8 with 10+ (along with several more seasons dating back through the Dodgers’ time in Brooklyn). Most recently — beyond 2018 — the 2004 club featured 9 batters with 10+.

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All those numbers are a long way around to the point that, not only can the 2019 Dodgers become the all-time franchise leader in team home runs (they will), but they can also set the mark when it comes to batters with double digit home run totals.

Chris Taylor will hit his 10th; David Freese should eventually hit his 10th; and therein will be franchise history for the Dodgers.

If we want to be greedy, with enough playing time, Matt Beaty can pick up 3 more dingers and further cement this team’s legacy as the home run hittingest team in franchise history.

Of course, that all doesn’t really mean all that much without a World Series title to button up the loose ends. But still a cool and fun note to help you enjoy the final month+ of the season.

Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

3 Comments

  1. Clint, correct on your last part of this post. Nobody will care that much about a franise team HR record if Dodgers were to lose a 3rd WS in a row. CT3 should be able to hit another HR, but it depends upon if Freese gets enough opportunities once he finally returns. And Beaty? If teams throw a lot of LHP at the Dodgers from here on out, Beaty won’t start against them, what with his .154 BA against them.

  2. Ya know what is too funny? In 1968 the Dodger team hit a TOTAL of 67 HR’s for that entire year! A former Giant, Len Gabrielson led the team with 10 of them for that year. It was no wonder at all that before the following year, 1969, home plate was moved up by 10 FT. closer to CF and before the 1973 season they lowered the fences and moved them in an additional 5 FT.

  3. OH, and one other thing about that 1968 season… Dodgers were not even last in that HR department. The Cardinals that year hit a total of 66. Can anyone imagine those HR totals for an entire season in this day and age?

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