In his first full season as a Brewer, first baseman Rowdy Tellez led the team with 35 home runs, was second with 89 RBI, and scored 67 runs (third on the team). Tellez was also second on the team with 153 games played, one game behind Christian Yelich.
Tellez had 23 doubles to go along with his 35 HRs, giving him 58 extra-base hits. That meant that exactly half of his 116 base hits last season were of the extra-base variety. That was the highest percentage of extra-base hits of any Brewer in 2022.
Rowdy Tellez sets new standard for Brewers’ sluggers
Tellez’s 35 home runs with only 116 hits also set a new standard for Brewers’ sluggers. He not only became the fifth Brewers player to hit 30 or more home runs with fewer than 120 hits in a season, but he also set the record for most home runs by a Brewers’ player in a season with fewer than 120 hits.
Tellez took over the top spot from Rob Deer. In 1986, Deer had 33 home runs among his 108 hits that season. Although Tellez took over the top spot in this HR stat from Deer, four of the top 10 spots in this stat for the Brewers are held by Rob Deer.
Brewers with most HRs in a season with fewer than 120 hits
Here are the 10 Brewers’ players with the most home runs in a season with fewer than 120 hits.
35-Rowdy Tellez, 2022 (116 hits)
33-Rob Deer, 1986 (108 hits)
32-Gorman Thomas, 1978 (111 hits)
31-Eric Thames, 2017 (116 hits)
31-Greg Vaughn, 1996 (105 hits)
28-Carlos Lee, 2006 (111 hits)
28-Rob Deer, 1987 (113 hits)
27-Khris Davis, 2015 (97 hits)
27-Rob Deer, 1990, (92 hits)
26-Rob Deer, 1989 (98 hits)
40 home runs with fewer than 120 hits in a season
With his 35 home runs and less than 120 hits, Tellez fell five HRs short of joining a small group of players who hit 40 HRs in a season with fewer than 120 hits. The last player to do this was Joey Gallo in 2018 when he had 40 home runs with 103 hits. In fact, Gallo also reached these numbers in 2017 when he had 41 home runs with only 94 hits in 2017.
The other three players to accomplish this feat: Adam Dunn (41 HRs in 2012 with 110 hits), Matt Williams (43 HRs in 1994 with 119 hits) and Hank Aaron (40 HRs in 1973 with 118 hits).
For the record, Rowdy Tellez’s 35 home runs last season tie for 18th place on the list of most HRs in a season with fewer than 120 hits. He became the 22nd player in MLB history to have 35 or more home runs with fewer than 120 hits in a season.
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