Reason 1: The pace
Paces are weird in April, we know. But rather than looking at what his actual pace is (roughly 77 after two home runs on Monday), let’s do a little comparison.
The last four men to hold the single season record are Babe Ruth (60 home runs, 1927), Roger Maris (61 home runs, 1961), Mark McGwire (70 home runs, 1998), and Barry Bonds (73 home runs, 2001).
How does Thames stack up to them?
Home Runs through 81 Plate Appearances
2017 Eric Thames: 10
2001 Barry Bonds: 9
1998 Mark McGwire 9
1961 Roger Maris: 3
1927 Babe Ruth: 6— Sportsnaut (@Sportsnaut) April 25, 2017
This isn’t a matter of a few at-bats skewing an early season pace. This is someone comparing favorably to the greatest power seasons in baseball history.
That’s not something we can sneeze at.