Rangers outfielder Joey Gallo hit his 100th career home run on Wednesday afternoon, a two-run home run off of Pirates starter Nick Kingham that cleared the seats in center field at PNC Park, breaking a scoreless tie.
As MLB.com’s Sarah Langs notes, Gallo is the first player in baseball history to reach 100 career home runs before 100 singles. Gallo has 93 singles. Previously, the fewest singles hit before one’s 100th career homer was 172 by Russell Branyan. So, Gallo obliterated that record like he does so many baseballs.
Gallo is emblematic of modern baseball, which has seen a marked rise in the “three true outcomes” -- events that don’t involve the defense -- which are strikeouts, walks, and home runs. Entering Wednesday, Gallo had 523 career strikeouts, 195 career walks, and 99 homers, accounting for about 59 percent of his 1,393 plate appearances. For comparison, the league avearage TTO% is about 35.5 percent, a rate that has gotten higher and higher with each passing year.
Gallo finished the afternoon 1-for-2 with three walks along with the homer. He’s now batting .274/.426/.679 with 12 homers, 28 RBI, and 27 runs scored in 136 plate appearances on the season.