Jimmy Foxx was the top story of 1945, tieing then passing Babe Ruth on the way to become the all-time home run king. Foxx finishes the season with 521 home runs, after hitting 22 in 1945. Bill Dickey became the fifth member of the 400 club, and third Yankee to do so after hitting 30 home runs in 1945. The season leader in home runs, Ted Williams with 40 also debuted on the career home run list in fifteenth place with 251 home runs. The 26 year old Williams will be one to watch, recovering nicely from a broken elbow and appendectomy that sidelined Williams most of the 1944 season and left him with 11 homers. Dropping off the list was Ed Morgan and his 213 career home runs.
Looking ahead to 1946, two players will be looking to pass the 300 home run mark, Johnny Mize and Bill Nicholson.
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Milestone Watch:
Johnny Mize needs 14 home runs to pass 300 for his career.
Bill Nicholson needs 24 home runs to pass 300 for his career.
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The 400 Club:
Players who reached the 400 club in OOTP and in real life(3):
Babe Ruth - 500 (715), Lou Gehrig - 482 (493), Jimmy Foxx - 521 (534)
Players who reached the 400 club in real life, but not OOTP(1):
Mel Ott - 150 (511)
Active players of the 400 club and where they stand:
Ted Williams - 251 (521)
Stan Musial - 63 (475)
Players who have not debuted yet:
38
Members of my 400 club who didn't hit 400 in real life (2):
Chuck Klein - 438 (300), Bill Dickey - 426 (202)
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1945 Home Run Leaders
1) Ted Williams - BOS - 40
2) Bill Nicholson - PHA - 38
3) Bill Dickey - NYY - 30
4) Hank Sauer - CIN - 30
5) Jim Tabor - BOS - 30
6) Charlie Keller - NYY - 29
7) Joe Gordon - NYY - 27
8) Hank Greenberg - DET - 26
9) Danny Gardella - PHI - 24
10) Jimmy Foxx - PHA - 22
1945 Rookie Home Run Leader:
Bill Salkeld - PIT - 19
1945 Team Home Run Leader:
New York Yankees - 153
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Single Season Home Run Leaders
1) Babe Ruth - NYY - 82 (1921)
2) Bill Nicholson - PHA - 62 (1940)
3) Chuck Klein - PHI - 56 (1929)
4) Babe Ruth - NYY - 55 (1922)
5) Babe Ruth - NYY - 53 (1925)
6) Lou Gehrig - NYY - 53 (1930)
7) Ted Williams - BOS - 53 (1941)
8) Babe Ruth - NYY - 51 (1923)
9) Lou Gehrig - NYY - 51 (1929)
10) Babe Ruth - NYY - 50 (1920)
Rookie Home Run Record - Single Season
1) Chuck Klein - PHI - 47 (1928)
2) Ted Williams - BOS - 38 (1939)
3) Joe Hauser - PHA - 34 (1922)
4) Don Hurst - PHI - 32 (1928)
5) Wally Berger - BSN - 27 (1930)
6) Dale Alexander - DET - 25 (1929)
7) Bob Johnson - PHA - 25 (1933)
8) Ken Keltner - CLE - 25 (1937)
9) Jim Bottomley - STL - 24 (1922)
10) Mandy Brooks - CHN - 24 (1925)
11) Hal Trosky - CLE - 24 (1933)
12) Sam Chapman - PHA - 24 (1938)
Single Season Team Home Run Leaders
1) New York Yankees - 174 (1938)
2) New York Yankees - 171 (1930)
3) Philadelphia Athletics - 169 (1940)
4) New York Yankees - 168 (1928)
5) New York Yankees - 166 (1936)
6) New York Yankees - 162 (1929)
7) Philadelphia Athletics - 160 (1942)
8) New York Yankees - 159 (1921)
9) Philadelphia Phillies - 156 (1930)
10) St. Louis Cardinals - 155 (1939)
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Career Home Run Leaders
1) Jimmy Foxx - 521 (1926-1945)
2) Babe Ruth - 500 (1914-1931)
3) Lou Gehrig - 482 (1924-1942)
4) Chuck Klein - 438 (1928-1944)
5) Bill Dickey - 426 (1928-1945)
6) Jim Bottomley - 339 (1922-1939)
7) Joe Hauser - 330 (1922-1936)
8) Hal Trosky - 327 (1933-1945)
9) Rogers Hornsby - 305 (1915-1936)
10) Al Simmons - 301 (1924-1939)
11) Johnny Mize - 286 (1936-1945)
12) Bill Nicholson - 276 (1936-1945)
13) Hack Wilson - 267 (1923-1939)
14) Babe Herman - 265 (1926-1938)
15) Ted Williams - 251 (1939-1945)
16) Tony Lazzeri - 246 (1926-1942)
17) Gabby Hartnett - 244 (1922-1938)
18) Ernie Lombardi - 239 (1931-1945)
19) Bob Meusel - 233 (1920-1934)
20) Don Hurst - 232 (1928-1940)