Guerrero Jr. becomes 10th Canadian-born player to hit 100 MLB HRs
September 15, 2022
By Neil Munro
Canadian Baseball Network
On Wednesday night, Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) connected for his 100th career home run, becoming just the 10th Canadian-born slugger to accomplish this feat.
His blast came off Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen in the first inning. His solo shot run started the Blue Jays on their way to a 5-1 victory over Tampa Bay in an all-important series.
Guerrero was able to reach the 100 home run plateau in a very short time span, both in terms of games played and years in the majors. As seen in the table below, Guerrero Jr. reached this milestone in just 486 career games and with 1,851 at bats. Of course, he is just 23 years old this year, much younger than the others on the list. However, it might come as a bit of a surprise that he actually needed more at bats to reach that career level than the Canadian leader in that regard. Matt Stairs (Fredericton, N.B.) needed just 1,655 at bats to belt his 100th home run. Jason Bay (Trail, B.C.) also scaled that mark in 1,715 career at bats while Justin Morneau (New Westminster, B.C.) required 1,778 at bats to secure his 100th.
Canadians with 100 Home Runs
Notes:
-Justin Morneau hit three home runs in the game when he collected number 100.
-Statistics for Votto (Etobicoke, Ont.) and Guerrero Jr. are through September 14, 2022
-Team, Age, Games and At Bats are up to the time that player hit HR number 100
Pete Ward (Montreal, Que.) narrowly missed joining this exclusive club, finishing his career with 98 homers in 973 games and 3,060 at bats, playing primarily with the Chicago White Sox in the 1960s. Unfortunately, Ward had played the majority of his games during a period when batting levels were significantly depressed when the expanded strike zone was introduced (in 1963). Following the 1968 season, known as the “Year of the Pitcher” when the league ERA fell below 3.00 in both leagues, the strike zone was restored to its former definition. You may recall 1968 as the year when Bob Gibson recorded a season-best ERA of 1.12 and Denny McLain won 31 games. To make matters worse for Ward’s quest for the 100 home run level, the White Sox home park was the most pitcher-friendly (and batter-unfriendly) stadium in the major leagues during this time frame.
The first Canadian to scale the 100-home run plateau was George Selkirk (Huntsville, Ont.) in 1940. Selkirk’s home run came off Boston Red Sox right-hander Jim Bagby in the second inning of a 5-4 Yankees’ victory. Selkirk may be best known as the player who replaced Base Ruth in right field for the New York Yankees in 1935. Selkirk actually made his major league debut in August 1934, splitting time in both right field and left field. He was a fixture in right field starting in 1935 when the Bambino played his final season with the Boston Braves that year. And it didn’t take him long to hit his 101st career home run as he connected for two homers the very next day. Those two home runs were hit off of Lefty Grove in a 6-3 Yankees’ victory. Grove was one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, and in the minds of many analysts, actually the best ever. Selkirk would go on to finish his nine-year big league career with 108 home runs.
It didn’t take long for the second Canadian batter to join Selkirk in the 100-home run club. Fort William, Ont., native Jeff Heath, playing for Cleveland reached this level in 1943 in a game against those same Red Sox. He hit his 100th home run in the second inning against Tex Hughson, and then connected for number 101 against that same pitcher in the fourth inning. Cleveland eventually won the game by a 4-1 score. Heath would finish his career with 194 home runs, with his best year coming in 1941 when he slugged 24 home runs to go along with 123 RBIs and a .340 batting average.
Sadly, Heath was denied the opportunity to surpass the 200 career home run level when his career was curtailed by a serious injury while running the base paths. During a game in September 1948, he attempted to score from second base, sliding into home trying to beat the tag by Dodgers’ catcher Roy Campanella. As he slid, his foot got caught in the dirt which caused his ankle to twist badly. Observers said that his mangled leg was completely turned sideways and just hanging loosely at his ankle. His season was over, as was his chance at playing in the World Series since his Boston Braves club had already clinched the NL crown at the time. Amazingly, Heath was able to return to the Braves in 1949 and briefly renew his assault on National League pitchers. He had played a few months in the minors in a rehab stint before being called back to Boston in August. In his return, and final campaign, he slugged nine home runs in just 111 at bats, while hitting at a .306 clip. His ankle continued to bother him and noticeably slowed him down, and he was given his release at the end of September.
The third Canadian to scale the 100-home run plateau was Hall of Famer Larry Walker (Maple Ridge, B.C.). Walker became a free agent after the strike-shortened season of 1994, and then signed with the Colorado Rockies. Walker had finished his six-year stint in Montreal as an Expo with 99 homers. Walker’s 100th shot came off of Hideo Nomo of the Dodgers, leading off in the fifth inning. The game turned into a slugfest in the 12-10 loss for the Rockies (so typical for mile-high Coors Stadium). Walker’s home run came in his eighth game with his new ball club. Of course, he would go on to be Canada’s all-time home run hitter accumulating 383 round-trippers in his 18 seasons in the big leagues.
It is surprising, perhaps, that Walker did not reach the 100 home run level in fewer at bats than any other Canadian slugger, but as indicated earlier, that honour belongs to Stairs. Stairs needed just 1,655 at bats to reach the century home run level. However, he spent much of his playing time in the role of a platoon player and thus he needed 542 games to accumulate his 100 home runs. Both Bay (needing just 484 games) and Morneau (493 games) playing as regulars required fewer games to make that home run standard before Guerrero Jr. arrived (needing 486 games).
Because of the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Guerrero Jr. would have reached the 100 career home run level sooner in terms of his age. However, he was easily the youngest Canadian batter to reach the 100 home run plateau, having achieved this feat at age of 23 (actually 23 years and 182 days). Clearly, he has an excellent chance to go on and surpass Walker’s career home run standard being so young. Guerrero Jr. also became the all-time Canadian leader in home runs hits for a Canadian-based ball club, just passing the former record of 99 accumulated by Larry Walker for the Expos. Montreal native Russell Martin is third on that list (with the 66 homers he hit for the Blue Jays).
Next up for the 100 career home run level should be either Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) who currently is sitting with 69 home runs. Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) with 33 homers to date, is a little further down the road. O’Neill has been plagued by injuries for significant parts of this season, so his quest for 100 has slowed since his excellent showing of 34 home runs last year. Naylor has emerged as a genuine home run threat this season after accumulating more modest totals in his first three years in the big leagues.
As indicated above, Guerrero Jr. was 23 years and 182 days old when he slugged home run number 100. This makes him the 12th youngest in major league history to reach the 100 home run plateau. For a while, it looked like Guerrero Jr. might rank as number 10 on the list, but he hit just one homer in his last 25 games. Hopefully, he is starting one of his typical hot streaks to help the Jays secure the number one A.L. wild card spot as the season winds down. Guerrero Jr. also became the youngest Blue Jay to reach 100 career home runs, replacing Carlos Delgado (26 years and 54 days). Also of interest is the fact that Vladimir Guerrero Sr. needed just 438 games to hit 100 career home runs. However, his dad was 26 years old by that time in his career.
Baseball is famous for creating lists of players with combinations of statistics (such as 500 home runs and 3,000 career hits). Some of these lists can be a little bit outlandish on occasion. You can make what you like of the one given here. Guerrero Jr. becomes the seventh youngest player to accumulate both 100 career home runs and 100 career doubles.
Mel Ott is the youngest on both lists, needing just those same 23 years and 132 days to collect home run number 100.