Last week, Twins slugger Brian Dozier tied the American League record for home runs in a single season by a second baseman by hitting his 39th dinger of the 2016 campaign. He tied Alfonso Soriano, who hit 39 with the Yankees in 2002.
Dozier broke that tie in the third inning on Monday, hitting a solo home run off of Tigers starter Daniel Norris to tie the game at 1-1. He’s the first second baseman to hit 40 home runs in a season since Ryne Sandberg hit 40 for the Cubs in 1990. Rogers Hornsby and Davey Johnson hold the all-time single-season record for home runs by a second baseman at 42, a record which Dozier seems certain to obtain by season’s end.
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Dozier is the first Twin with a 40-homer season since Harmon Killebrew had a nice season in 1969. Killebrew, in fact, had eight of the Twins’ 10 40-homer seasons. Dozier and Roy Sievers (42, 1957) have the other two.
The 29-year-old Dozier entered Monday’s action batting .277/.348/.571. While Mike Trout is running away in the American League when it comes to WAR, it will be interesting to see where Dozier ends up in MVP voting, particularly relative to Jose Altuve.
