Oakland A’s first baseman Matt Olson hit his 39th homer of the season on Friday, and he’s got two games left to reach 40. In Oakland history, there have been 10 seasons of 40+ dingers by six different players.
Regardless of whether he reaches that milestone, Olson already set a piece of MLB history in the power department. Of his 39 long balls, 22 of them came against left-handed pitchers, which is the most ever on record by a left-handed hitter. Only two right-handed batters have hit more.
- 25: Dick Allen, PHI, 1966 (righty)
- 25: Cecil Fielder, DET, 1990 (righty)
- 22: Matt Olson, OAK, 2021 (lefty)
- 21: Ken Griffey Jr, SEA, 1996 (lefty)
- 21: Ken Griffey Jr, SEA, 1998 (lefty)
- 21: Barry Bonds, SFD, 2002 (lefty)
Further down the list, lefty Babe Ruth topped out at 19 homers off southpaws in his famous 1927, and so did lefty Reggie Jackson while with the Yankees in 1980.