Twins second baseman Brian Dozier on Monday night against the Tigers (MIN-DET GameTracker) hit his 40th home run of 2016. In doing so, he broke Alfonso Soriano's 2002 American League record for home runs by a primary second baseman in a single season.
Here's the hist0ry-making clout:
Two of Dozier's 40 home runs this season have come as a DH, but he now holds the AL record for home runs by a player who's spent the majority of the season in question as a second baseman. The overall record belongs to Davey Johnson, who in 1973 hit 43 out as the Braves' primary second sacker. As for home runs in a season by a hitter actually playing second base, here's where Dozier presently ranks on that all-time ledger ...
| Player, team | Home runs |
| Rogers Hornsby, 1922 Cardinals | 42 |
| Davey Johnson, 1973 Braves | 42 |
| Ryne Sandberg, 1990 Cubs | 40 |
| Alfonso Soriano, 2003 Yankees | 39 |
| Brian Dozier, 2016 Twins | 38 |
| Alfonso Soriano, 2002 Yankees | 37 |
Given that we're still not quite to the middle of September, consider Dozier to have a very good shot at breaking Hornsby's and Johnson's shared record.
Dozier's tremendous 2016 has been driven by an even more tremendous second half. Before the break, Dozier batted .246/.335/.450 with 14 home runs in 83 games. Since the break, though, he's hit .319/.366/.733 with 25 home runs in 55 games. His previous season high was 28 homers in 2015.
Dozier's power surge this season is in part why he might make an interesting trade target this upcoming offseason.
