Now that Barry Bonds has apparently faded off into the sunset, taking those warm, fuzzy memories of the steroid era with him, Major League Baseball most likely will have to settle for more pedestrian numbers from its home run kings.
That doesn’t mean the game has suffered a total power outage. Just a year ago, two players topped 50 home runs, and three more hit 40 or more.
While past production doesn’t guarantee future performance, look for many of these same names to crop up among the 2008 leaders.
First, a look back at who touched ‘em all most frequently in 2007:
1. Alex Rodriguez, NY Yankees — 54
2. Prince Fielder, Milwaukee — 50
3. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia — 47
4. Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay — 46
5. Adam Dunn, Cincinnati — 40
6. Matt Holliday, Colorado — 36
7. David Ortiz, Boston — 35
8. Jim Thome, Chicago White Sox — 35
T-9. Lance Berkman, Houston — 34
T-9. Ryan Braun, Milwaukee — 34
T-9. Miguel Cabrera, Florida — 34
Source: MLB.com
