I was leafing through my copy of the 2005 Bill James Handbook tonight, and I noticed that Marquis Grissom had, to my surprise, hit at least 10 home runs every season since 1992. Even in the homer-happy era in which he's played, that's a rare accomplishment. The only other guys to match that feat:
Barry Bonds (10 homers every year since 1986)
Rafael Palmeiro (1990)
Jeff Bagwell (1991)
Gary Sheffield (1992)
Tino Martinez (1992)
Jeff Kent (1992)
Reggie Sanders (1992)
So Grissom's streak of 13 seasons is tied for the 4th-longest in the major leagues. That's better than Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, Juan Gonzalez, and Larry Walker (among others) -- all guys who also reached double figures in homers in 1992.
Matthew Namee cofounded The Hardball Times in 2004, when he was working as the assistant to baseball author and Red Sox executive Bill James. Matthew still lives in Kansas, where he is currently pursuing a law degree. He can be reached at mfnamee [at] gmail [dot] com.
