Trivia - One Season Wonders

[Chad ochoseis]

Four players have hit 40 home runs in a single season and ended their careers with 200 or fewer home runs in total. Name them.

Operative word is "ended"...not counting active players on their way to 200.

Hint - I came up with this kwiz while I was looking at Adam LaRoche's stats and wondering how the Mets managed to let him get away for the cost of a utility player. One of the four is among A LaR's top ten comps on BBref.

[G-Fafif]

Ex-Met Richard Hidalgo.

[Chad ochoseis]

And one of New York's best bloggers is on the scoreboard. 44 home runs for the Astros in 2000. 21 for the Mets in 2004, of which I remember exactly none. 171 on his career.

[Guest Number 6]

Ex-Met Davey Johnson.

[G-Fafif]

Oh Henry! Rodriguez...did not hit 40 HRs, so never mind.

[Chad ochoseis]

Ex-Met manager Davey Johnson. 43 home runs in 1973, 93 home runs otherwise.

[G-Fafif]

Diamond Jim Gentile.

[G-Fafif]

Al Rosen.

[Chad ochoseis]

You know, I thought this was going to be a difficult kwiz.

Jim Gentile, one of Adam LaRoche's top ten comps, managed the most single-season home runs among retired players with fewer than 200 career HRs. 46 in something like 1963. I'm stuck here at the office and probably shouldn't be looking it up again if I want to get home tonight.

And, yup, just as I posted this, Fafif comes up with #4, Al Rosen, who also hit 40+ home runs once in his short career.

Thank you, Fafif, for playing (And, yeah, #6, too. But nobody can stop the Fafif juggernaut).

[Frayed Knot]

Didn't see this kwiz until it was all set in concrete, but my first notion upon reading the question was Brady Anderson.

Turns out he was close but not quite: he hit 50 once, never again hit over 40, and finished with 210 lifetime.

Almost certainly would have come with with Davey, but those other couple were much tougher.

[G-Fafif]

Good quiz, particularly in light of all it taking to gain 200 homers in a career was a couple of well-timed shots to the buttocks in the late '90s.

First guess was Todd Hundley, but he crossed the finish line with 202.

[Theoldmole]

Al Rosen, if memory served, retired in his prime because he could make more money in business. He was a hell of a hitter.

[MFS62]

When I saw the question, I immediately thought of Brady Anderson, who hit 50 one year, and never more than 24 in any other year. But I checked. Brady had 210 for his career.
Nice question.

Yeah, Al Rosen was a helluva hiter.

Later