As an Expos fan since 1981 and a Nationals fan since living in the DC area, I can tell you that a lot of people are excited about Bryce Harper.
This season, his fourth in the majors, is looking like he is living up to the hype. The previous three seasons as a precocious young talent he had shown flashes of greatness, especially his rookie year as a teenager. Injuries and impulsive behavior seemed to be overwhelming his natural talent and savvy, however. The young Mike Trout (only a year older than Bryce) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was lapping the Nats proclaimed savior/wunderkind in all categories. Trout, despite his inexperience and young age, similar to Harper, was putting up numbers and in my opinion looking like Mickey Mantle, one of the best players of all time. Bryce was looking as though he was playing not second but third fiddle their first three years in the majors.
This year? He is catching up. He is putting up Mike Trout/Mickey Mantle-like stats.
And he has a few of us fans dreaming and projecting. Hence this blog post about Moose Solters and the other 7 at 83 career home runs.
Who is Moose Solters? One of eight major league players with an all-time count of 83 homers, thus putting them in the top 1,000 home run hitters of all time, tied at 998.
It doesn't seem like a big deal to the casual observer to be in the Major League Baseball top thousand home run hitters, but in many ways it is an elite and select group.
Most of us never play well enough to make the majors, period. Start with that.
Some really great athletes try and don't get 83 total homers in their entire, sometimes, Hall of Fame careers in the game. One of the eight players that Bryce is approaching this season, Luis Aparicio, only hit that total in 18 years but made the Hall of Fame, which means he was much better in other measured categories while a pedestrian power slugger. Homers do not define the quality or greatness of effectiveness of a player, offensive force, but in some ways the home run is the ultimate signature of greatness for many things baseball, and Bryce could be one of them in the long term, if he plays 20 years and not too many unforeseen interruptions occur (injuries, strikes, pandemics, wars, catastrophes.. [edited July 2020]
Who were they? Who has Bryce tied in only his fourth season?
Some lived a long time ago and died a long time ago.
And now the young "future" hope of the Nationals and the National League is attempting to join their ranks.
And then what? Who knows?
About 16 or so to go to get to 998. We shall see, end of May, early in the season.
Blog on, EMC.
Sept 7 2015 note:
This may be different or counted differently since last may, but maybe my list was erred before:
It is very possible that current players have now displaced who I had before, or maybe the list I used was not updated as of last May 2015 and this was more accurate to begin with.
Ray Knight is now a MASN commentator and huge Nationals fan.
