Emanuel Maxon:
It is perhaps fitting that the "homerun king", Donald Murillo, is followed by Emanuel Maxon. While Murillo is the all time HR leader, Maxon is the single season HR king. Additionally, when looking back at Maxon's career, one could make a fairly strong argument that he could have become the all time leader, as well.
When looking at a player's career numbers, there is often some aspect that jumps out to make that player distinctive. In Maxon's case, it is a tale of two careers. The first career began with Maxon being taken #1 overall by San Diego in the 2026 amateur draft. The Padres were a team with only occasional success, and hadn't played in the postseason since 2013. They weren't much better in Maxon's rookie season, but the young centerfielder enjoyed a promising first season, displaying both power and base-stealing prowess. It was enough to be named the NL Rookie of the Year. San Diego struggled again in 2027, but Maxon's bat exploded for 35 homers, and he drove in over 100 runs. In '28, he took yet another leap forward, belting 53 homeruns to go with his first .300 season. He was an All-Star for the first time in his career. But things were not so rosy for San Diego. Even as Maxon enjoyed another fine season in '29, with 43 doubles and 56 longballs while winning a Gold Glove Award, the Padres, who, at best, had been treading water in recent seasons, collapsed to a 106 loss season, setting a franchise record for futility. It made the events of 2030 even more magical.
When the 2030 season began, the Padres had not had a winning season since 2024. They hadn't played in the postseason since 2013. They had never even
played in the World Series. Meanwhile, after 17 years of not having a 60 homerun hitter, there had been two in the last two seasons- Antwan Leanos in 2028 and Greg Dos Santos in 2029. A new name was about to join that group. Emanuel Maxon got off to a quick start in April, belting 12 homeruns. He followed that up with 12 more in May, however, he cooled off a bit in June, with only 6 homeruns. That gave him 30 at the halfway point of the season. But as the season progressed into the heat of summer, so did Maxon's bat. July saw him smack 13 homers, as did August. With one month to go, Maxon stood at 56 homers. He needed only 4 more to reach 60, only 9 more to break Anselmo Maldonado's franchise record of 64(set in 2006), and only 11 more to break Scott Border's single season record of 66(set in 2005). He would not be stopped. Maxon batted .330 down the stretch, banging out 14 homeruns to set the all time single season mark with 70 homeruns. The magnificent feats of Maxon carried San Diego to a 95 win season, setting a franchise record at the time for wins. The Padres captured the West Division by 11 games over Sacramento. They were pitted against 100 win Pittsburgh in the NLCS, but they swept aside the Pirates as if they were nothing. In the American League, Knoxville barely survived Tucson in 7 games, nearly blowing a 3 games to 1 lead. Though Knoxville seemed to be the better team on paper- they had scored more runs than San Diego while allowing fewer- they were just too tired to handle the rested Padres. San Diego jumped on Knoxville in Game 1, getting 5 first inning runs en route to an 8-2 rout. Maxon homered once and scored 3 runs. Game 2 wasn't much better for the 79ers. Maxon delivered a pair of homeruns and San Diego hammered Knoxville, 11-3. Knoxville avoided the sweep with a 5-1 victory in Game 3, but it simply delayed the inevitable. Although Maxon went down with an injury in Game 4, the Padres crushed Knoxville 12-0. San Diego clinched its first ever championship with a 15-5 slaughter in the fifth game. Maxon was awarded the NL Silver Slugger, and won his second straight Gold Glove Award.
In '31, San Diego remained competitive, winning 89 games, but finished 3 games out of first place. Maxon didn't hit 70 homeruns again, but "settled" for 53, which still led the National League. The Padres slumped to 75 wins in 2032, but Maxon slammed 54 homeruns, good for second in the league. San Diego returned to the top of the West in '33, winning 91 games on the strength of Maxon's league-leading 54 round-trippers. This postseason trip wasn't nearly as enjoyable as the last one. They fell to eventual World Series winner, Pittsburgh, in 5 games in the NLCS. The '34 season was a strange one for San Diego. In a year when three National League teams lost over 100 games, and four won over 90 games, the Padres were the lone mediocre team, winning a boring 78 games. Maxon did what he always did: mash the ball. He collected 50 homeruns for the 7th consecutive season, and batted .300 for the third time in his career. He was also named to his 7th consecutive All Star game. Little did anyone know that it would be his last 50 homerun season, or that he would go to only one more All Star game.
One week into the '35 season, Maxon collapsed in pain while running the bases. The diagnosis was not good: a torn muscle in his back. Maxon missed the remainder of the season, and prepared to return in 2036. In a year when a weak Los Angeles team won the West with only 80 wins, the loss of Maxon to the 72 win Padres was particularly damaging.
And so began Emanuel Maxon's second career. Initially, it didn't look
that different. Though Maxon's batting average dipped into the .260 range, he still smacked 44 homeruns in '36 and made his 8th All Star game. The Padres, meanwhile, were revived with his return. They tied with Los Angeles for the West Division lead, with 83 wins apiece. San Diego then won a one game playoff to reach the postseason. Maxon was dismal in the postseason, going 1 for 22, and San Diego bowed out in 6 games to Pittsburgh in the NLCS. In '37, San Diego finished one game behind Portland for the West Division title, while Maxon batted a career worst .237 and failed to hit at least 40 homeruns for the first time since 2027. He did, however, reach 500 career homeruns that season. The Padres parlayed an expansion year into a franchise record 104 wins, and Maxon bounced back slightly in 2038. Though Maxon belted 3 homeruns in the NLCS, the Padres lost in 6 games.
In '39, Maxon left the only team he had ever played for, and signed with the second year San Jose Sharks. The Sharks weren't exactly getting the "single season HR record Emanuel Maxon." Maxon slogged through his worst season since his rookie season, managing a paltry 17 homeruns, while batting only .232. 2040 wasn't better; in fact, it was worse. Maxon batted only .222 and put up a .757 OPS, the worst of his career. Less than a week into the '41 season, San Jose traded him to Atlanta. It was in Atlanta that Maxon reached 600 career homeruns(the 4th player to achieve the feat), and even enjoyed a slight bounce back season, though the 38 year old only saw part time action. He played one more season, though he spent much of the year in the minor leagues, before retiring.
On April 7, 2035, Emanuel Maxon was 32 years old and had 446 career homeruns. He had hit at least 50 in each of the past 7 seasons, and had averaged 52.75 in the previous 4 seasons. It seems safe to say that Maxon would have hit a similar total in the '35 season, giving him an additional 50 or so to his 612 career total. That would have given him over 660 career homers, good for third place. If one also assumes a more natural decline, rather than the injury-heightened one that he actually had, it doesn't seem impossible to think he would have finished with around 690 homeruns like Donald Murillo. Say, an extra 10 in 2037 and an extra 10 in 2039, and maybe a few more in both 2041 and 2042. All of a sudden, he's right up there in the 680-90 range...
When he retired, Maxon ranked 4th all time in homeruns. When the 2082 season began, Maxon ranked 11th all time, but has since been passed by Harrisburg 2B, Del Shigemori, who currently has 615 homeruns. Maxon's 70 homeruns in 2030 remains the all time single season mark. Only two players have seriously challenged it, and they will both be discussed very shortly. Only one player has had more 50 homerun seasons than Maxon's seven- Scott Border, who had 8.
Maxon's stats:
Code:
Career Batting Stats
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Teams
2026 147 522 135 22 6 19 55 89 56 160 38 9 .259 .330 .433 .763 SD
2027 157 570 150 30 4 35 112 110 85 141 35 8 .263 .359 .514 .873 SD
2028 155 556 170 34 2 53 130 123 91 144 37 10 .306 .403 .660 1.063 SD,NL
2029 156 555 169 43 4 56 135 124 87 151 21 13 .305 .399 .699 1.098 SD,NL
2030 159 579 168 35 4 70 155 133 85 156 28 10 .290 .381 .727 1.108 SD,NL
2031 157 581 168 39 4 53 140 142 98 147 22 8 .289 .392 .644 1.035 SD,NL
2032 156 572 163 28 5 54 127 123 101 117 11 11 .285 .392 .635 1.027 SD,NL
2033 157 563 168 36 5 54 147 142 93 77 17 7 .298 .398 .668 1.066 SD,NL
2034 155 564 171 38 6 50 133 119 101 85 17 9 .303 .409 .658 1.067 SD,NL
2035 7 25 8 3 0 2 6 6 4 2 1 0 .320 .414 .680 1.094 SD
2036 155 539 142 37 3 44 128 114 89 140 12 7 .263 .368 .588 .956 SD,NL
2037 154 544 129 47 4 31 121 81 69 146 4 2 .237 .323 .509 .832 SD
2038 144 503 128 44 0 34 107 91 78 134 8 3 .254 .355 .545 .899 SD
2039 152 500 116 38 2 17 62 74 111 159 6 1 .232 .372 .418 .790 SJ
2040 157 535 119 38 2 25 78 78 73 145 1 2 .222 .316 .441 .757 SJ
2041 94 283 69 18 1 15 46 39 42 72 1 0 .244 .342 .473 .815 SJ ATL
2042 11 28 5 2 0 0 2 3 4 8 0 0 .179 .281 .250 .531 ATL
Total 2273 8019 2178 532 52 612 1684 1591 1267 1984 259 100 .272 .371 .580 .951
Career Minor League Batting Stats
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
2042, AAA 35 119 24 8 0 2 12 23 25 24 0 0 .202 .336 .319 .655
Career Postseason Batting Stats
Year G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
2030 8 27 11 2 0 3 10 10 5 6 1 0 .407 .500 .815 1.315
2033 5 19 5 1 1 2 3 3 1 7 0 0 .263 .300 .737 1.037
2036 6 22 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 0 0 .045 .087 .045 .132
2038 7 24 3 0 0 3 3 4 3 12 0 1 .125 .222 .500 .722
Total 26 92 20 3 1 8 16 18 10 32 1 1 .217 .294 .533 .827
Player History
Drafted in 1st round, 1st overall pick, by San Diego in 2026...
Had first career hit on 4/7/2026, off William Roehl (POR)...
Hit first career homerun on 4/16/2026, off Arnold Martin (ROC)...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/1/2026, hitting .429 with 5 HR, 8 RBI...
Won Rookie of the Year Award in 2026, hitting .259 with 19 HR, 55 RBI...
Drove in 6 runs against Hartford on 7/14/2027...
Won Player of the Week award on 7/28/2027, hitting .444 with 3 HR, 11 RBI...
Hit 3 homeruns against Los Angeles, driving in 3 runs on 5/25/2028...
Was selected to the 2028 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/8/2028, hitting .524 with 2 HR, 5 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/15/2028, hitting .500 with 3 HR, 7 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/29/2028, hitting .440 with 5 HR, 14 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 10/1/2028, hitting .421 with 11 HR, 30 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 5/1/2029, hitting .327 with 13 HR, 31 RBI...
Was selected to the 2029 Allstar game...
Won Gold Glove Award at Centerfield in 2029...
Hit 3 homeruns against Harrisburg, driving in 9 runs on 4/17/2030...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/21/2030, hitting .444 with 4 HR, 12 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 5/1/2030, hitting .286 with 12 HR, 31 RBI...
Hit 3 homeruns against Harrisburg, driving in 4 runs on 5/13/2030...
Won Player of the Week award on 5/19/2030, hitting .346 with 6 HR, 11 RBI...
Was selected to the 2030 Allstar game...
Drove in 6 runs against Portland on 7/17/2030...
Won Player of the Week award on 7/21/2030, hitting .407 with 5 HR, 13 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 8/1/2030, hitting .326 with 13 HR, 29 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 8/18/2030, hitting .304 with 6 HR, 10 RBI...
Sets a new season NL-Record for HR with 66 on 9/18/2030...
Won Batter of the Month award on 10/1/2030, hitting .314 with 12 HR, 26 RBI...
Drove in 7 runs against Knoxville on 10/16/2030...
Injured on 10/19/2030 with a Inflamed Hip Muscle, out for 1-2 weeks...
Won World Series with San Diego in 2030...
Won Silver Slugger Award in 2030, hitting .290 with 70 HR, 155 RBI...
Won Gold Glove Award at Centerfield in 2030...
Was selected to the 2031 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/15/2031, hitting .381 with 6 HR, 14 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 5/12/2032, hitting .444 with 4 HR, 8 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/30/2032, hitting .563 with 3 HR, 8 RBI...
Was selected to the 2032 Allstar game...
Was selected to the 2033 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 7/21/2033, hitting .417 with 6 HR, 12 RBI...
Had 5 hits with 4 RBI against Pittsburgh on 9/22/2033...
Drove in 7 runs against Hartford on 9/27/2033...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/29/2033, hitting .435 with 5 HR, 16 RBI...
Had 5 hits with 7 RBI against Hartford on 4/17/2034...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/21/2034, hitting .429 with 5 HR, 10 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 5/1/2034, hitting .333 with 16 HR, 35 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 5/5/2034, hitting .440 with 4 HR, 12 RBI...
Was selected to the 2034 Allstar game...
Won Player of the Week award on 9/8/2034, hitting .478 with 2 HR, 10 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 10/1/2034, hitting .396 with 8 HR, 28 RBI...
Injured on 4/7/2035 with a Torn Back Muscle, out for full season...
Drove in 6 runs against Rochester on 5/31/2036...
Won Player of the Week award on 6/9/2036, hitting .481 with 5 HR, 17 RBI...
Hit 3 homeruns against Harrisburg, driving in 4 runs on 6/12/2036...
Was selected to the 2036 Allstar game...
Drove in 7 runs against Los Angeles on 6/30/2037...
Had 500th career homerun on 7/6/2037, off Carlos Delvalle (ROC)...
Had 5 hits with 1 RBI against Los Angeles on 8/23/2037...
Won Player of the Week award on 8/25/2037, hitting .481 with 5 HR, 16 RBI...
Won Batter of the Month award on 9/1/2037, hitting .374 with 12 HR, 32 RBI...
Won Player of the Week award on 7/28/2038, hitting .400 with 3 HR, 8 RBI...
Injured on 9/14/2038 with a Pulled Hamstring Muscle, out for 1-2 weeks...
Signed as a free agent by San Jose on 2/1/2039 to a 3-year deal worth $5,179,700 per year...
Had 2000th career hit on 4/17/2040, off James Millen (HBG)...
Won Player of the Week award on 4/21/2040, hitting .400 with 4 HR, 10 RBI...
Had 5 hits with 2 RBI against Sacramento on 8/1/2040...
Traded from San Jose to Atlanta on 4/4/2041 (Going to ATL: CF E. Maxon. Going to SJ: P J. Martin)...
Had 600th career homerun on 4/19/2041, off Henry Sotan (KC)...
Won Player of the Week award on 5/12/2041, hitting .455 with 3 HR, 5 RBI...
Retired and inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2043.
Batting Leader Boards Appearances
OBP
2034 - .409 - 9th
SLG
2028 - .660 - 3rd
2029 - .699 - 1st
2030 - .727 - 1st
2031 - .644 - 1st
2032 - .635 - 4th
2033 - .668 - 1st
2034 - .658 - 2nd
2036 - .588 - 4th
2038 - .545 - 10th
OPS
2028 - 1.063 - 3rd
2029 - 1.098 - 2nd
2030 - 1.108 - 1st
2031 - 1.035 - 1st
2032 - 1.027 - 4th
2033 - 1.066 - 3rd
2034 - 1.067 - 2nd
2036 - .956 - 5th
Doubles
2029 - 43 - 10th
2034 - 38 - 10th
2037 - 47 - 2nd
2038 - 44 - 5th
Triples
2026 - 6 - 6th
2034 - 6 - 9th
Homeruns
2027 - 35 - 6th
2028 - 53 - 2nd
2029 - 56 - 2nd
2030 - 70 - 1st
2031 - 53 - 1st
2032 - 54 - 2nd
2033 - 54 - 1st
2034 - 50 - 2nd
2036 - 44 - 3rd
2037 - 31 - 8th
2038 - 34 - 10th
RBI
2027 - 112 - 10th
2028 - 130 - 5th
2029 - 135 - 4th
2030 - 155 - 1st
2031 - 140 - 1st
2032 - 127 - 6th
2033 - 147 - 2nd
2034 - 133 - 2nd
2036 - 128 - 3rd
2037 - 121 - 4th
Runs
2027 - 110 - 6th
2028 - 123 - 3rd
2029 - 124 - 4th
2030 - 133 - 1st
2031 - 142 - 1st
2032 - 123 - 3rd
2033 - 142 - 1st
2034 - 119 - 6th
2036 - 114 - 3rd
BB
2027 - 85 - 8th
2028 - 91 - 5th
2029 - 87 - 9th
2030 - 85 - 5th
2031 - 98 - 4th
2032 - 101 - 5th
2033 - 93 - 7th
2034 - 101 - 5th
2036 - 89 - 7th
2039 - 111 - 3rd
SB
2026 - 38 - 3rd
2027 - 35 - 2nd
2028 - 37 - 2nd
2029 - 21 - 7th
2030 - 28 - 4th
2031 - 22 - 6th