Misinformation Elimination Squad
I don't want beef with Elias Sports Bureau or MLB. But they are wrong.
When the last handful of players joined the v30 Club, I ventured out to Reddit to make some posts and hopefully spread some interesting details about ledger home runs. In at least half those threads, when mentioning the list of 2024 inductees I was told something akin to you’re missing Bryce Harper. One person linked to an MLB.com article that lists all the players and, yep, there’s Bryce Harper.
READ: https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-players-to-homer-against-all-30-teams
Here’s a screen cap, for posterity.
Other journalists ran with the story too. They all claim Bryce Harper joined the club on July 13, 2024, when he hit a home run against Oakland. Had Bryce Harper hit a home run against all thirty franchises? Yes. Did he do it in a manner that is consistent with other MLB record-keeping? Absolutely not.
This video shows the crux of the problem.
WATCH: Field view of Harper's homer
That is Bryce Harper hitting a home run against the Houston Astros. This was in the postseason and more specifically Game 3 of the 2022 World Series. Now, watch this video of Bryce Harper hitting a home run against the Astros in the regular season.
WATCH: [ERROR, VIDEO NOT FOUND]
Bryce Harper has not hit a home run against the Astros in the regular season. The v30 Club only considers home runs hit in the regular season. Baseball Reference only considers home runs in the regular season. Most every statistic that gets tracked only considers the regular season.
So why does Bryce Harper get his ticket punched by the powers that be? Why does a postseason home run suddenly count towards a record? I’m not even going to theorize. In fact, I wouldn’t even be mad about it because, yes, technically Bryce Harper has hit a home run against all 30 franchises. Great story! Hell, my hobby is telling these stories.
HOWEVER.
Taking this stance is fine, but only if you apply it consistently. There is a name you do not see on the MLB.com list. What you do see is Carlos Gómez erasure, and I do not stand for it.
This is the BBREF Home Run Log for Carlos Gómez. It looks exactly like Bryce Harper’s with 29 Opps. And here’s something I dug from the postseason BBREF game log for Carlos Gómez.
By golly, there’s a home run hit against the Royals - the team that’s missing from his list of Opponents in the Home Run Log. So, again, I pose the question. Why is Bryce Harper bestowed this honor but Carlos Gómez is not? They are in exactly the same situation, but the output is different. Why?!
I would also be remiss if we didn’t recognize a few other players who would be affected by an inconsistent application of regular and post-season home runs. If post-season runs are included we would add Roger Maris to the v20 Club, Tony Pérez to the v26 Club, and Lee May to both the v24 and v26 Clubs.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
Let’s look at that screencap from the MLB.com site again, shall we?
I see three bona fide MLB superstars listed as the last three players to pull of the feat. But there is one very serious problem. THERE ARE FOUR PLAYERS MISSING FROM THE LIST. Between the ill-gotten Bryce Harper and Juan Soto home runs, you should see Jeimer Candelario, Matt Chapman, and Corey Seager. Freddie Freeman should also appear just under Harper. Take my word for it, his name wasn’t there. So now I pose my question of “Why?!” more seriously. It strikes me as odd that these three players just so happen to percolate up to the top, while other (extremely good) players are left off altogether. I’m not claiming conspiracy, I’m just asking questions.
ANYWAY…
Much of this debacle can be put to rest if Bryce Harper hits a home run as the Phillies host the Astros for a three game series starting tonight. Doing so may not move the needle on some, in my opinion, shoddy reporting and bookkeeping, but at least I might sleep a little better at night.
Also, to be clear, I will never claim I’m infallible. My ledgers could be cooked seven ways to Sunday. You probably already know my grammar and spelling are definitely questionable. But on this topic, I’m fairly confident that I’m right, especially when I have confirmed stats from others that are in agreement.