With 39 home runs this season, Tony Oliva led the league for the first time. It's the second year in a row that Oliva has hit 39 homers and he now has 160 home runs at the age of 25. Oliva hit 220 home runs in real life, with a season high of 32. His power ratings have increased from 11 to 20 though, as he must have borrowed some power from Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, or someone else.
Duke Snider retired with 259 home runs and became the seventh straight member of the 400 club to fail to hit 400 home runs in the replay.
Let's take a closer look at who remains -
Mickey Mantle - 32 years old and needs 70 home runs. Fragile is his middle name though, and he is coming off a season in which he hit .217 with 19 home runs. Mantle's high is 31 home runs, and will need 3-4 more solid seasons. Is this season a blip or the beginning of the end? I'd say he's got a 50-50 shot.
Eddie Mathews, Willie Mays, and Ernie Banks are all 32 years old, and all need more than 150 home runs. There is virtually no chance that any of the three will get their based on their ratings.
Harmon Killebrew - 27 years old and over half way to 400. Before last year he has avoided major injuries. Hit 20 this year and his high of 35 was 5 years ago. Even with 20 homers per year he should get there.
Frank Robinson - one year old and halfway there as well. He's already missed a lot of time with injuries and lost some power. I'd be surprised if he gets there.
Hank Aaron - at 29 years old he isn't even halfway to 400. His power never really developed despite a couple of promising years. He's durable, but he's no Hank Aaron, and he's going to go down as a bust.
Willie McCovey - still just 25 years old and has 172 home runs. He's capable of 25-30 per year and should get there.
Billy Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Willie Stargell - all three are 25 or younger, but have a long way to go. They've all shown signs they are capable of it, but it's still too early to tell, as I found out with Ted Williams.
The 400 Club
Active Members of the 400 Club
Mickey Mantle (536) 330
Eddie Mathews (512) 248
Willie Mays (660) 220
Harmon Killebrew (573) 203
Frank Robinson (586) 200
Hank Aaron (755) 183
Willie McCovey (521) 172
Ernie Banks (512) 140
Billy Williams (426) 125
Carl Yastrzemski (452) 119
Willie Stargell (475) 101
Players to Debut
(31) - next debut: 1965 - Reggie Jackson (563)
Players who reached 400 club in replay, but not real life
(9) - Mule Suttles (N/A) 559, Leroy Jones (0) 450, Willard Brown (1) 484, Charlie Gilbert (5) 433, Bob Lennon (1) 689, Carl Sawatski (58) 527, Tookie Gilbert (7) 531, Ted Kluszewski (279) 437, Ken Guettler (0) 454
Players who reached 400 club in real life, but not replay
(7) - Babe Ruth (714) 351, Lou Gehrig (493) 290, Jimmie Foxx (534) 266, Ted Williams (521) 169, Mel Ott (511) 360, Stan Musial (475) 240, Duke Snider (407) 259
1963 Home Run Leaders
1. Tony Oliva-39
2. Jim McKnight-34
3. Bob Lennon-33
4. Tookie Gilbert-30
5. Jim Baxes-28
6. Billy Girdley-28
7. Willie McCovey-28
1963 Home Run Rookie Leader
John Briggs-15
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Season Home Run Leaders:
1. Bob Lennon (1956) 59
2. Bob Lennon (1950) 57
3. Bob Lennon (1961) 56
4. Bob Lennon (1962) 54
5. Bob Lennon (1957) 52
6. Bob Lennon (1958) 51
7. Leroy Jones (1929) 48
8. Bob Lennon (1953) 48
9. Charlie Gilbert (1943) 47
10. Mule Suttles (1937) 47
11. Tookie Gilbert (1961) 47
Season Home Run Rookie Leaders:
1. Ted Williams(1936) 29
2. Charlie Keller (1935) 28
3. Lou Gehrig (1921) 25
4. Yasumitsu Toyoda (1955) 25
5. Jim Pagliaroni (1956) 25
6. Bill White (1954) 24
7. Leo Shoals (1935) 21
8. Norm Cash (1954) 21
9. Larry Doby (1942) 20
10. Leon Wagner (1954) 20
Career Home Run Leaders:
1. Bob Lennon #-689
2. Mule Suttles -559
3. Tookie Gilbert #-531
4. Carl Sawatski #-527
5. Willard Brown -484
6. Ken Guettler #-454
7. Leroy Jones -450
8. Ted Kluszewski #-437
9. Charlie Gilbert -433
10. Hank Greenberg -399
11. Mel Ott -360
12. Ed Breckenridge - 355
13. Babe Ruth -351
14. Jim Baxes #-349
15. Don Eggert #-335
16. Mickey Mantle #-330
17. Joe Bauman-329
18. Hank Thompson #-327
19. Syl Simon -314
20. Claude Wilborn -298
21. Lou Gehrig -290
22. Yam Yaryan -281
23. Johnny Mize -275
24. Al Rosen -274
25. Alonso Perry -272