Historic Chases · 2026-04-25 RECONSTRUCTED

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Nightly briefing

Baseball last night

Games of 2026-04-25

Will Wilson homered in his FIRST MLB AT-BAT — a home run in his FIRST MLB at-bat — done only ~130 times in history ▶︎ watch.

Taylor Ward has 13 doubles — projecting to 78, +2 vs Earl Webb's 67 pace. That pace would be the most doubles in any season since 1901. Needs 37 more to reach 50.

Yordan Alvarez sits at .353 — the last .400 season was Ted Williams in 1941.

History movers: Sal Stewart, after homering — RBI: 29 now, pace 174, record 191 (Hack Wilson); Franchise RBI: 29 now, pace 174, record 149 (George Foster) · Yordan Alvarez — Triple Crown (MLB); Total Bases: 77 now, pace 446, record 457 (Babe Ruth).

Lines of the night: Caleb Durbin hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 25 ▶︎ watch; David Fry hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 15 ▶︎ watch; TJ Friedl hit his first home run of the season — in his game No. 25 ▶︎ watch.

The .400 chase: Yordan Alvarez went 1-for-4 last night and saw his average slip 4 points to .353. The gap to .400 is now .047.

The so-what: through 28 team games, Yordan Alvarez sits 2 HR behind Bonds' 73-homer pace (13 at this point). That's the number that decides whether this season becomes a chase or a footnote.

That morning's stakes

What we were watching

MUST TRACK: Oneil Cruz is on a 40/40 pace — 8 HR / 10 SB, projecting to 48/60. Only five players have ever done it: Canseco, Bonds, A-Rod, Soriano, and Ohtani. Every game matters from here.

The .400 burndown: Yordan Alvarez carries a .353 average into today; a .400 finish takes a .410 clip the rest of the way (200-for-488). A 3-for-4 tonight lowers the requirement to .407; an 0-for-4 raises it to .413.

On this date in 2017, Trea Turner hit for the cycle.

30/30 watch: Oneil Cruz sits at 8 HR / 10 SB — 22 homers short and 20 steals short of a 30/30 season, projecting to 48/60.

Historical intelligence

How the night stacked up

Pace through history

Yordan Alvarez versus the great home-run seasons

Yordan Alvarez has 11 home runs through 28 team games, 3 behind Barry Bonds's 2001 pace at the same checkpoint (14). Comparable chases finished with a median of 34; 5.5% reached 50 and 1% reached 60 (n=477).

Retrosheet · verified play-by-play

If the pace holds

A projected top-1 season

If Ernie Clement finishes at the current projection of 75, it would be the most doubles in any season since 1901 — no season on record has finished higher.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021

Franchise pressure

A franchise record is under pressure

The single-season record is 215 hits, set by Vernon Wells in 2003. Ernie Clement projects to 218 and projects to clear it by 3.

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021

Only X seasons ever

Yordan Alvarez is building a rare combination

At his current pace, Yordan Alvarez would reach at least 60 HR, and 150 RBI. Only 3 completed seasons in the configured historical cohort reached every mark. The recent company includes Sammy Sosa (2001), Sammy Sosa (1998), Babe Ruth (1927).

SABR Lahman Baseball Database · through 2021

Closest to .400