Rising Apple
FanSided

Mets with 30 home run seasons we completely forget about

By Tim Boyle

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 12: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) The home run apple is seen before game three of the National League Division Series between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on October 12, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Dodgers 13-7. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 12: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) The home run apple is seen before game three of the National League Division Series between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on October 12, 2015 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Dodgers 13-7. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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19 Apr 1999: Bobby Bonilla #25 of the New York Mets looks on during the game against the Montreal Expos at the Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York. The Expos defeated the Mets 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Al Bello /Allsport /

Baseball fans usually take notice when a guy is hitting a lot of home runs. However, there are a few 30+ home run seasons by New York Mets players we seem to forget about too often.

Hitting 30 home runs in a single year isn’t as easy as the juiced baseballs of 2019 would make you think. There are only 34 individual seasons of New York Mets players who accomplished this feat. Most recently, we saw Pete Alonso power his way over 50 and Michael Conforto reach the 30-club in 2019.

For the most part, I think an average Mets fan could come up with the names of players who ripped 30 out of the park. Even younger fans may be familiar enough with Frank Thomas and his 34 dingers in 1962.

In more recent years, a few other Mets we know well have reached the 30-mark. However, because some of the teams they played for were so dreadfully awful or we remember the individual player for another reason, their 30 home run campaigns seem to have fallen through the cracks.

Bobby Bonilla in 1993

Bobby Bonilla has the ultimate pension plan with the Mets. Best known as the guy who will get paid by them for the next billion years, he actually put together a pretty awesome 1993 campaign.

Although the team stunk, the 1993 version of Bonilla was pretty powerful. In fact, the 34 home runs he hit in 1993 were the most of any season in his career—including those awesome early Pittsburgh Pirates days when he regularly competed for the MVP.

Bonilla spread out his home runs pretty evenly in 1993. His two best months for round-trippers were May and August when he hit 9 in each. His August was establishing terrific as it also included a .302 batting average and season-high 21 RBI.

The usually versatile Bonilla spent time at both third base and in right field. In his 349 plate appearances as a right fielder, he cracked 17 long balls.

Percentage-wise, he was even more powerful when at the hot corner. It took him only 210 trips to the plate to hit 15 home runs while playing as a third baseman.

Maybe the only thing missing from Bonilla’s home run resume in 1993 is a grand slam. In his 8 opportunities for a salami, Bonilla picked up just one hit.

Even though Bonilla wasn’t the same star with the Mets as he was with the Bucs, this season at least provided fans with plenty of souvenirs.

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