The Mets continue to sputter, but Pete Alonso hit his 23rd home run of the season yesterday, getting back within one of Shohei Ohtani for the major league lead, while the Polar Bear has a two-dinger edge at the moment on Matt Olson and Jorge Soler. So, today’s home run chain is the man who is now halfway to the total of 46 homers that he needs this season to tie Howard Johnson for fourth on the Mets’ all-time list with 192.
Pete Alonso hit his first home run off Drew Steckenrider, 4/1/19
Drew Steckenrider gave up his first home run to Wilmer Flores, 8/19/17
Wilmer Flores hit his first home run off Heath Bell, 8/11/13
Heath Bell gave up his first home run to Damion Easley, 8/30/04
Damion Easley hit his first home run off Rick Aguilera, 9/20/92
Rick Aguilera gave up his first home run to Andre Dawson, 6/16/85
Andre Dawson hit his first home run off Buzz Capra, 5/18/77
Buzz Capra gave up his first home run to Nate Colbert, 4/25/72
Nate Colbert hit his first home run of Jack Billingham, 4/24/69
That was the first home run Jack Billingham allowed in his career, having tossed 71.1 innings as a Dodgers rookie the year before being picked by the Expos in the expansion draft. Just before the Expos started their maiden season, Billingham got shipped to Houston to complete the Rusty Staub trade, as Donn Clendenon had refused to report to the Astros.
After playing that tangential role to the story of the 1969 Mets, Billingham featured in 1973 as the losing pitcher of the decisive Game 5 in the NLCS at Shea Stadium. He’s best known, of course, for continuing with Cincinnati and winning two rings as part of the Big Red Machine, including two scoreless innings in Game 7 of the 1975 World Series.
Colbert’s chain-starting homer was a tiebreaking three-run shot at the Astrodome in the sixth win (and 16th game) in San Diego Padres history. Tony Gonzalez doubled after Billingham had gotten the first two batters he faced out, then the Astros intentionally walked Ollie Brown to bring up Colbert, who had gone 0-for-7 as a Rule 5 pick with the 1966 Astros, 8-for-53 for Houston in 1968, and then went to San Diego in the expansion draft.
Colbert had gotten off to a 5-for-21 start with the Padres when he faced Billingham in what was his 86th major league plate appearance. The next day, the Padres returned home and Colbert homered off Jim Maloney. Then the next day, too, another go-ahead three-run shot in the eighth, this time off Jim Merritt. Colbert didn’t homer in a doubleheader on April 27, but did take Claude Osteen of the Dodgers deep on the 28th, then went back east and blasted one off Phil Niekro in Atlanta.
Colbert wound up with 24 homers in his breakout season, then hit 38, 27, 38, 22, and 14 as a three-time All-Star, establishing the Padres’ franchise record at 163 home runs before he was traded to the Tigers in November 1974 for Ed Brinkman, Dick Sharon, and Bob Strampe.
The Padres’ current franchise leader in home runs? Still Nate Colbert at 163. The single-season mark of 38 stood until Ken Caminiti hit 40 homers in 1996, followed by Greg Vaughn hitting 50 two years later. The Padres have since had 40-homer seasons by Phil Nevin (41 in 2001), Adrián González (40 in 2009), and Fernando Tatis Jr. (42 in 2021).
González got up to 161 before he left San Diego, where Nevin is third on the team’s dinger list at 156, followed by Dave Winfield (154), Tony Gwynn (135), Wil Myers (134), Ryan Klesko (133), Caminiti (121), and Manny Machado (116).
Those are the only nine players to hit 100 home runs for the Padres. Tatis is at 96, so he’ll get there soon, and either he or Machado should eclipse Colbert’s total over the next couple of seasons. Then again, who would’ve thought that Colbert would still be San Diego’s home run king today?
We Can Pod It Out 139: Yer Blues