Quiz – Power Hitters (solved)

The players in this quiz include some of the great sluggers in baseball history. But, what is the career accomplishment of which only these players can boast?

Hint: an active player may join this group later this season.

Congratulations to David P and Scary Tuna! They teamed up to identify that only these players hit their 400th doubles and 400th home runs in the same season. More after the jump.

Here are those seasons featuring the double-400 milestones.

Year Age Tm Player G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
1966 ★ 32 ATL Hank Aaron 158 688 603 117 168 23 1 44 127 76 96 .279 .356 .539 .895 142
1998 ★ 33 SFG Barry Bonds 156 697 552 120 167 44 7 37 122 130 92 .303 .438 .609 1.047 178
1941 ★ 32 NYG Mel Ott 148 634 525 89 150 29 0 27 90 100 68 .286 .403 .495 .898 150
2003 35 CHW Frank Thomas 153 662 546 87 146 35 0 42 105 100 115 .267 .390 .562 .952 146
2005 ★ 33 BOS Manny Ramirez 152 650 554 112 162 30 1 45 144 80 119 .292 .388 .594 .982 153
2010 ★ 30 STL Albert Pujols 159 700 587 115 183 39 1 42 118 103 76 .312 .414 .596 1.011 173
2006 34 NYM Carlos Delgado 144 618 524 89 139 30 2 38 114 74 120 .265 .361 .548 .909 131
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/2/2015.

Evidently, it’s not possible to pull off this feat and have a bad season. So, Mark Teixeira is following the script with his dynamite campaign this year, reaching 392 doubles and 392 home runs with 58 games to go.

Year Age Tm Player G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
2015 ★ 35 NYY Mark Teixeira 97 408 342 53 91 22 0 29 74 55 70 .266 .373 .585 .957 163
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/3/2015.
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Joseph
Joseph
8 years ago

The first thing I’m noticing is that they are all part of a larger group of 25 players who have at least 450 HR and 2B.

Does it involve those categories plus something else?

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
8 years ago

Is either David Ortiz or A-Rod one of the active players?

David P
David P
8 years ago

Is the active player Teixeira, who could pass 400 home runs and 400 doubles this year?

Doug
Doug
8 years ago
Reply to  David P

Tex is the active player referred to in the hint, and his proximity to 400 doubles and home runs is why.

So, the solution is ….

Scary Tuna
Scary Tuna
8 years ago
Reply to  Doug

These players all reached 400 doubles and 400 home runs in the same season.

Scary Tuna
Scary Tuna
8 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Thanks, Doug.

And thanks, David P, for zeroing in on Teixeira’s potential accomplishment, without which there was no chance I would have figured out the connection.

David P
David P
8 years ago
Reply to  Doug

Ah, I just noticed that I was given credit for helping solve this quiz. Honestly, I think I deserve 0.000001% credit. In fact, it was Joseph’s initial comment that got me to locate Tex. He was the one who identified homeruns and doubles as the key categories. So maybe mention Joseph as well?

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
8 years ago

I ran the PI for 400+ 2B and HR by age 35. There were 18 players on the list including the 7 players on Doug’s list. The only active player on that PI list is Miggy Cabrera. That’s as far as I was able to get.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
8 years ago

I meant to say Miggy is the only active player on the PI list who is not on Doug’s list. It doesn’t matter anyway, Teixeira has been identified as the active player.

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
8 years ago

Most seasons between 400th home run and 400th double: Stan Musial, 7 (hit 400th HR in 1959, 400th 2B in 1952); Carl Yastrzemski, 6 (hit 400th HR in 1979, 400th 2B in 1973). Thome, Banks, and Ripken had separations of 5 seasons.

David P
David P
8 years ago
Reply to  Kahuna Tuna

Can someone tell me why there are so many “tunas” on this site? 🙂 🙂

We’ve got Scary Tuna, Kahuna Tuna, and Tuna Tuna.

(oh and great research Kuhuna Tuna!).

AlbaNate
AlbaNate
8 years ago
Reply to  David P

There’s definitely something fishy about it.

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
8 years ago
Reply to  David P

I was here as “Kahuna Tuna” when the site first got going, but I was away for a long time so I have no kind of claim. Scary Tuna has been a regular participant, apparently. Tuna Tuna seems to be a recent riff/sardonic comment on the tuna theme.

If the large-food-fish niche is getting too crowded, I can change my handle. I’ve been toying with a few other fish-themed names, of which Gar Sinister is probably the worst. q:-)

Scary Tuna
Scary Tuna
8 years ago
Reply to  Kahuna Tuna

We used the term “Scary Tuna” occasionally back in the 80s. A couple years ago, my wife said something to me, and I responded “Scary Tuna!” Our kids couldn’t stop laughing, swearing none had ever heard the phrase before. Shortly thereafter, I came across HHS and needed a name so I could cast my first COG vote. It did sound odd when people addressed me as Scary in their posts, so I considered changing my moniker. After all, I’m decidedly NOT scary, nor do I like tuna, But since Kahuna Tuna has returned regularly, it’s been kind of fun to… Read more »

Kahuna Tuna
Kahuna Tuna
8 years ago
Reply to  Scary Tuna

When our daughter was four or five she attended a birthday party where one of the dads provided the entertainment as “The Big Kahuna.” He was terrific. He introduced the group games, gave the rules, etc. using a ton of exaggeration and a goofy faux-islands accent. He really milked the rhymes—for the egg-carrying game he had everyone use a Kahuna spoon-a. (Groans all around.) Another game involved all the kids’ shaking a big tarp and trying to keep a small plastic fish bouncing in the air. This fish, he announced triumphantly, was no ordinary fish—it was “a Kahuna Tuna!” The… Read more »

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
8 years ago

Perhaps the next step is to see if any of them did it in the same game.

Richard Chester
Richard Chester
8 years ago

I just checked, none of them did it. Teixeira needs 8 more of each to do it, so he has a good chance to be the first one to do so.