The Phillies, with a long list of prodigious home run hitting teams, have never had one with four players having seasons like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and Raul Ibanez.
All four could top 30 home runs, which would tie the major league record for most players on one team to reach 30. It would also be the first time it’s happened in Phillies history.
Howard (37) is already there, with Utley and Werth (29 each) locks to reach 30, barring injury. Ibanez (27, with 33 games left) would seem to be a sure thing as well, except he has just one home run in his last 30 games.
The closest prior to this season? Three Phillies reached 30 homers three times in team history, including each of the last two seasons. Last year, Howard (48), Utley (33), and Burrell (33) did, while in 2007, Howard (47), Rollins (30), and Burrell (30) hit the mark.
Prior to Howard’s arrival in Philly, the only other occasion was 1929, when Hall of Famer Chuck Klein (43) teamed with Lefty O’Doul (32) and Don Hurst (31).
Speaking of Howard, with three home runs he’ll have hit at least 40 home runs for a team-record fourth straight season. Before Howard, the team record was two straight seasons: Jim Thome in 2003 (47) and 2004 (42), and Mike Schmidt in 1979 (45) and 1980 (48).
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