Baltimore Orioles: Anthony Santander in Rarefied Air

The history of Major League Baseball just got a little deeper as Baltimore Orioles star Anthony Santander joins great company in the record books. Since the beginning of June, Santander has hit 25 home runs within a 60-game span. He joins two other Major League legends as the only ones to accomplish this feat from both sides of the plate.

As Santander continues to show off with the long ball, he surpasses his career high while climbing to the top of the leaderboard in home runs this season. Due to his production at the plate, Baltimore continues to harbor the second-best record in the MLB, tied with the New York Yankees. Will Santander be able to keep up this historic pace heading into postseason play?

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Santander Joins Great Company

Santander launched his 34th home run of the season on August 7. While playing the Toronto Blue Jays, he hit his second longball of the game in the top of the eighth inning, giving them a 5-3 lead and finally catapulting Baltimore to victory as they went on to take the series. Since the beginning of June, Santander has now hit 25 home runs in his last 60 games. The only other switch hitters to ever accomplish such a feat in a single season are Mickey Mantle and Chipper Jones.

Mantle, the former Yankee legend, did it twice, once in 1955 and again in 1961. The second time he did it was in the infamous 1961 home run race between him and teammate Roger Maris. They internally competed to see who could beat Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record in a single season. By the end of that year, they totaled 115 home runs between the two of them. The Atlanta Braves‘ former phenom, Jones, completed the feat in 1999. During that season, Chipper won the National League MVP award. He hit a total of 45 home runs that year while garnering a batting average of .319.

Santander’s Fantastic 2024 Performance

Santander has had an impressive year with Baltimore so far. He surpassed his career high in home runs as he recorded his 34th earlier this week. He’s now in second place in the whole MLB for home runs, tied with Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They both trail Aaron Judge who leads the league with 41 homers.

He’s been a consistent force for the Orioles as they lead the American League. This season, Santander is slashing .247/.310/.538. He’s tied for 11th in total RBIs with 78. The elite right fielder has a fielding percentage of .990 in 2024. Because of his outstanding success, he was named to his first All-Star team this year.

Anthony’s Career and Future in Baltimore

Anthiony Santander has been with the Orioles organization since 2016 when Baltimore selected him in the Rule 5 Draft. He made his debut in 2017 when he played in 13 games over the course of that year. Over his time with the Orioles, he’s produced very consistent numbers, posting a career batting average of .248 and an OPS of .779.

After this year, he will face free agency. With the impressive season he’s having, he’s sure to be a well-sought-after player by many organizations. Santander is hopeful he can re-sign with Baltimore and continue his career with the only team he has ever known.

As Santander chases the current home run leader, he and the Orioles take on Tampa Bay. Since the Rays are nine games back of Baltimore, the Orioles look to extend their record to 69-48 and move ahead of their divisional rival, the N.Y. Yankees.

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This article was written by Rebekah Cook.