[PISANO]

...are a lot of reasons why he didn't set the record before he did

I really don't wonder why he set the record when he did I ONLY WONDER why HE has NEVER hit 50 in his career BEFORE or AFTER the 74 monster year. That is my question. Except for Hank Aaron I don't think ANY baseball player in HISTORY (I may be wrong) THAT was considered a HOME RUN hitter (you know 500+ HR's in Lifetime) has NOT hit 50 in one or more years. That is why it sticks in my HEAD. WHY so many? 74 and never at least 50?? Maybe it is ONLY my mystery and means little to anyone else.

[Sabertooth]

Except for Hank Aaron I don't think ANY baseball player in HISTORY (I may be wrong) THAT was considered a HOME RUN hitter (you know 500+ HR's in Lifetime) has NOT hit 50 in one or more years.

Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew, Reggie Jackson, Mike Schmidt, Ted Williams, Willie McCovey, Rafael Palmiero, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, Mel Ott, and Eddie Murray all hit 500 in their careers without hitting 50 in a season. Gehrig, Stargell, and Musial all came close without hitting 50.

Only Ruth, Mays, Bonds, McGwire, Sosa, Foxx, and Mantle are in the 500/50 club. Most guys that hit 50 don't hit 500 in their careers.

You needs to look at Bonds' AB/HR ratios vs. his walks and total at-bats to see why he hasn't hit 50 HRs several years running.

[discostu]

He hit 49 in a year where he missed 19 games. And 34 in a year where he missed 60 games. Those were before the record. After the record (a whopping TWO seasons, a little early to be talking "nevers") he's hit 46 and missed 19 games and 45 while missing 32 games. Simple math says he had a pretty good chance of making 50 in all four of those seasons if he's closer to playing complete seasons.

[Alberta's Child]

The irony is that Hank Aaron was not a "slugger" in any sense. He was a line-drive hitter who quietly amassed a large number of home runs because of the small park in which he played most of his career. If you look at a photo of him from his playing days, the only unusual physical characteristic that stands out is his extraordinarily large wrists.

People tend to forget that Aaron finished his career with nearly 4,000 hits -- his 755 home runs made it easy to overlook the fact that he was such a great all-around hitter.

[Chu Gary]

"I really don't wonder why he set the record when he did I ONLY WONDER why HE has NEVER hit 50 in his career BEFORE or AFTER the 74 monster year. That is my question. Except for Hank Aaron I don't think ANY baseball player in HISTORY (I may be wrong) THAT was considered a HOME RUN hitter (you know 500+ HR's in Lifetime) has NOT hit 50 in one or more years. That is why it sticks in my HEAD. WHY so many? 74 and never at least 50?? Maybe it is ONLY my mystery and means little to anyone else."

Actually, you're wrong. Check it out at a baseball reference site. As an example, who's the leading HR hitter of all time (at least in MLB), Hank Aaron; how many times did he hit 50 or more HRs?