Soto Surpasses 200 Career Homers at age 25: What Next, and Who Did He Pass?

    'Tis the season of Juan Soto, the winter of his maxing out his free agency, and making a lot of moolah. He is still young and very high up on most of the charts. I wish he would join, or re-join the Washington Nationals. If he joined my second favorite team, the Chicago White Sox, that would be grand.

    

    Not the Dodgers, not the Braves. No, no, and others no. Not the Phillies. Heavens, how many Hall of Fame Nats need to go there? 

    Today I was trying to remember a case when a great player waited to sign till near the end of the off-season, like deep into February. Was it Barry Bonds? Alex Rodriguez? I said Manny Ramirez. I don't know. I told a friend that talks baseball with me that I would Google it. I will. 

    Maybe now.

    Here is Soto's recent achievements by the end of 2024, the Yankees came up short against Los Doyers. It was a year. Kershaw did not play; he was hurt.

    Here is the near 200 club, all time.

    

371.	Buddy Bell (18)	201	10009	R	HR Log
	Juan Soto (7, 25)	201	4088	L	HR Log
	Gene Tenace (15)	201	5527	R	HR Log
374.	Rafael Devers (8, 27)	200	4215	L	HR Log
	Bill Freehan (15)	200	6900	R	HR Log
	Oscar Gamble (17)	200	5197	L	HR Log
	Josh Hamilton (9)	200	4350	L	HR Log
	Adam Lind (12)	200	5029	L	HR Log
	Don Mincher (13)	200	4726	L	HR Log
	Corey Seager (10, 30)	200	4442	L	HR Log
381.	César Cedeño (17)	199	8133	R	HR Log
	Jackie Jensen (11)	199	6080	R	HR Log
	Juan Uribe (16)	199	6715	R	HR Log
384.	Eric Hosmer (13)	198	6977	L	HR Log
	Barry Larkin+ (19)	198	9057	R	HR Log
	Justin Turner (16, 39)	198	6311	R	HR Log
	Rondell White (15)	198	5852	R	HR Log
388.	Michael Cuddyer (15)	197	6102	R	HR Log
	Dave Henderson (14)	197	5677	R	HR Log
	Dick McAuliffe (16)	197	7162	L	HR Log
391.	Cody Bellinger (8, 28)	196	4109	L	HR Log
	Cliff Johnson (15)	196	4603	R	HR Log
	Justin Smoak (11)	196	4750	B	HR Log
	Ken Williams (14)	196	5625	L	HR Log

    How much more will Justin Turner play after age 39? Former Dodger. Bellinger (age 28) is special. Seager, too. Age 30. Devers got pop. He's only 27. I would guess each of those four will be around till 2034, you think? Where will we be?

    I hope to talk about them later. Cuz, baseball is special. It may not be the most exciting, but it brings a special thing to us. Like Ohtani. Amazing prowess.

    Soto and Ohtani together? With Betts? Oy ve.

    Josh Hamilton on this list. A man of travails and hopes. I hope he is okay. Mincher and Tenace look like players before my time. I know about Ken Williams. I think. The later commentator? The Hawk?

Who did Bryce Harper pass in Home Runs in 2024? Well, at Least the Last Few

114.	Joe Adcock (17)	336	7305	R	HR Log
	Bryce Harper (13, 31)	336	7085	L	HR Log
116.	Robinson Canó (17)	335	9550	L	HR Log
	Darryl Strawberry (17)	335	6326	L	HR Log
118.	Moisés Alou (17)	332	7913	R	HR Log
	Bobby Bonds (14)	332	8090	R	HR Log
120.	Hank Greenberg+ (13)	331	6098	R	HR Log
	Derrek Lee (15)	331	7963	R	HR Log
	J.D. Martinez (14, 36)	331	6865	R	HR Log
123.	Shawn Green (15)	328	7963	L	HR Log
	Mo Vaughn (12)	328	6410	L	HR Log
125.	Jermaine Dye (14)	325	7214	R	HR Log
	Willie Horton (18)	325	8052	R	HR Log
	Justin Upton (16)	325	7649	R	HR Log
128.	Gary Carter+ (19)	324	9019	R	HR Log
	Lance Parrish (19)	324	7797	R	HR Log
	Carlos Santana (15, 38)	324	8780	B	HR Log
131.	Ron Gant (16)	321	7320	R	HR Log
132.	Vinny Castilla (16)	320	7384	R	HR Log
	Troy Glaus (13)	320	6355	R	HR Log
134.	Jay Bruce (14)	319	6642	L	HR Log
	Cecil Fielder (13)	319	5939	R	HR Log
	Prince Fielder (12)	319	6853	L	HR Log
	Andrew McCutchen (16, 37)	319	9156	R	HR Log

He tied Joe Adcock at age 31, for 114th all-time with 336 overall homers? Who was Adcock? He played till age 38 from 1950 to 1966. Started with the Reds for three years, then to the Milwaukee Braves, and finishing with the California Angels, with a touch of Minnesota. No, Cleveland. I guess in 1964 they were the LA Angels? Then California for two years. He had 38 homers in 1956, age 28. His second-best year was 35 long balls in 1961, the great year of Roger Maris.

    Maris should mean something to a few history buffs of baseball. Overall, not one of the career leaders, but was a bright star that out did the single-season record of the Babe. Was it 61 in '61? For the record, the great Maris hit a total of 275 in 11 years. A flash in the pan, as it were, but quite a flash. His second-best year was 39 in 1960, at age 26. 1961, what a season! He was seeing the ball, and must have peaked in strength. Maybe the pitchers were caught unawares, or the back up behind him were raking...

    Robinson Cano and Darryl Strawberry both played 17 years. The Straw man was huge with the Mets, especially 1986, and then the Dodgers. Cocaine may or may not have helped him on the field. Off the diamond, probably not. Oh, yeah, of course Darryl finished with the Yankees in 1999, helping them win two titles. He played in the outfield with my guy Tim Raines. Brief stint in San Fran in 1994 till the strike. That ruined a lot... for me, for everyone. Perhaps it ruined the Giants for a while.

    Cano ended his career with the Mets, Padres, and Braves in 2022, and that was it. Pretty good run.

    I'll let you look through the other names below. I know most of them as they are mostly in my lifetime. Lessee... Yeah, only Hank Greenberg was an oldie but goodie. He finished his Hall of Fame career in 1947. I saw all of the others play during the course of my half century of watching the game.

    Better than football, or soccer, in my opinion.

    

Staying Up Late and Testing the Fates: BYU Loses on a Karma Bitten Night

    These were late games lately. Trying to get another chunk of audiences. They got me! I would be at some of these games if I could. My old acquaintance in the Green Valley area of central California goes to every game. I try to watch everyone, but I have to miss some because of work, and I was guilted by another acquaintance for other observations of a game for staying home from a church party and watching the game the next week...

    

    We can't have everything, huh? Certainly not as far as unbeaten seasons for the football Cougars...

    "Oh, yeah," I told my wife a day or so later. "This is what it feels like to lose."

    Yep, the great and sometimes lucky, and certainly opportunistic BYU Cougars could not get it done. They had chances, and played till the end, but blew opportunities left and right. Through the whole game.

    

    BYU should have been up at the half by 3, or 7, or 10, or 14. Nope. Tied.

    Then in the third quarter nothing much else on offense. We scored only a field goal the whole second half. And lost in the last possession. There was the dumb turnover on the pooched kick that led to Kansas' only score in the second half.

    And that was it. Jayhawks have beaten us two years in a row, and both times did not have to be that way. Last year the referees were worse when they called no targeting or foul against the egregious hit on Parker Kingston. But Saturday night, the 16th, they missed some fouls too.

    Oh, well. At least it was worse last year.

    BYU earned its own loss. Must improve.

    The offense has to be better. 13 points against Kansas was not good enough at all.

    The D really only gave up 10. Not their fault for the last seven.

    QB and Co lost the game, plus special teams. 

    Arizona State is looking tough. Must-see TV. I am glad there are no church parties scheduled then. No more guilt for watching Saturday football games! Sunday is another matter...

    Undefeated Army plays a tough one-loss Notre-Dame. My IU plays at Ohio State, a huge game! Do I have to get used to Indiana losing again?

    What a season. My main complaint is BYU itself, not playing its game.

    They can, they should, they will. Maybe.

    Stay tuned.