If Brian Dozier Hits 40 Home Runs And Nobody Notices, Did It Really Even Happen?
“Three homers, whatever.” How do you watch that clip and not immediately become a Brian Dozier fan? Quite possibly became my new favorite player after that line.
You gotta feel for this guy though, right? This must be a professional athlete’s worst nightmare. You work your whole entire life just to get a shot at being drafted, only to get taken in the 8th round. You make it through the minor leagues, get called up to the majors, and stay in the majors long enough to have a monster season. That’s what Dozier is doing, but for the worst team in baseball, so nobody notices. The Minnesota Twins are so bad that when Dozier hammered three homers in a game, it’s described as “awkward” for taking a curtain call, because they were getting smoked and they’re 29 games out of first place. After his three home run game on Monday, Dozier’s up to 38 bombs for the year. Did anybody outside of Minnesota even know that? Does anybody inside Minnesota even know that?
I’ve written a couple of times about how MLB is brutal at marketing their stars, and I’m not saying that Dozier is a “star” at this particular moment, but I think there’s something wrong with the fact that a dude with 40 bombs could walk down the street, and nobody would know who he was. Honestly, after watching that interview above, with that face, that haircut, and that voice, he looks like he just stepped off a B-25 bomber in World War II. Dozier would’ve crushed it in the 40’s, no question.
Speaking of crushing it, Dozier only had 8 home runs as late as June 24, 68 games into the season, meaning he hit a home run once every 32.25 at-bats. Since June 25, he’s hit 30 home runs, averaging a home run once every 8.87 at-bats. Over this 65-game span in which Dozier has cranked 30 dingers, nobody else in the majors has more than 20. Mark Trumbo, the MLB leader in homers with 41, has hit 10 fewer than Dozier since June 25. The other thing that sticks out for me is that Trumbo is just a home run guy. Dozier’s also spraying doubles all over the place. In addition to having 30 bombs over that span, Dozier also has 17 doubles to lead the majors with 50 extra-base hits. Trumbo has 29.
At his current pace, Dozier will finish the 2016 season with 45 home runs, 38 doubles, and 107 RBI for the worst team in the majors. Sad.