Rowdy Tellez (35) and Willy Adames (31) were 1-2 in home runs last season for the Brewers. They became the 25th and 26th players in Brewers history to slug 30 or more home runs in a season. There have now been 48 times in Brewers history that a player hit 30+ homers in a season.
First 30-HR seasons for Tellez and Adames
For both players, it was the first season they hit 30 or more home runs. The question, however, is can they repeat that feat in 2023?
Of the previous 24 Brewers players who hit 30 or more home runs in a season, only seven were able to hit 30+ in back-to-back seasons. The last Brewers’ player to hit 30 or more home runs in back-to-back seasons is Christian Yelich. He did it in 2018 (36) and 2019 (44).
Brewer players who had back-to-back 30-HR seasons
Here are the Brewers players who hit 30+ home runs in back-to-back seasons.
Gorman Thomas: Three straight seasons…1978, 1979, 1980
Cecil Cooper: 1982, 1983
Jeromy Burnitz: Four straight seasons… 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
Prince Fielder: Five straight seasons… 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Ryan Braun: Three straight seasons and back-to-back… 2007, 2008, 2009; 2011, 2012
Travis Shaw: 2017, 2018
Christian Yelich: 2018, 2019
Braun tops the Brewers list with six 30-HR seasons. He is followed by Fielder with five and Thomas and Burnitz with four.
Recent Brewers who hit 30 HRs but failed to reach 30 the following year
Prior to Tellez and Adames in 2022, there were 13 Brewers players who hit 30+ in a single season, but the following year all 13 did not reach the 30-HR mark. In the last 10 seasons, five different Milwaukee players hit 30+ HRs in a season but did not repeat that stat. They were:
Chris Carter, 41 HRs for the Brewers in 2016: Signed as a free agent with the Yankees the following season.
Eric Thames, 31 HRs for the Brewers in 2017: Had 16 HRs for the Brewers the following season.
Domingo Santana, 30 HRs for the Brewers in 2017: Had five HRs for the Brewers the following season.
Jesus Aguilar, 35 HRs for the Brewers in 2018: Had eight HRs for the Brewers the following season and then was traded to Tampa Bay in July of that season.
Mike Moustakas, 35 HRs for the Brewers in 2019: Signed as a free agent with Cincinnati the following season.
Will Tellez and Adames go the route of recent sluggers Yelich or Shaw and have back-to-back 30-HR seasons for the Brewers, or will they come up short like Thames, Santana or Agular and fail to duplicate their 30-HR season from 2022?
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