MILWAUKEE -- Missing the first five weeks of the regular season didn’t keep Jackson Chourio from remaining a dues-paying member of the 20-homer club.
The 22-year-old Milwaukee outfielder belted his 20th home run of the season to open the scoring in Saturday’s Rangers-Brewers game at American Family Field, securing Chouiro’s third consecutive 20-homer season to begin his promising career.
He became the 17th player with at least three seasons of 20 or more home runs by his age-22 season -- and this is a list you definitely want to be on. Of the previous 16, eight are in the Hall of Fame: Mel Ott, Ted Williams, Eddie Mathews, Mickey Mantle, Al Kaline, Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda and Ken Griffey Jr. Beyond that, there’s Bob Horner, Alex Rodriguez, Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Carlos Correa and Juan Soto.
Only one player had four 20-homer seasons by age 22 -- former Red Sox phenom Tony Conigliaro (1964-67), who was on his way to a remarkable career before tragedy struck in 1967. He suffered major injuries when he was hit in the face by a pitch.
Chourio is rather quietly having his best season in the big leagues, with career highs in all three slash line categories (batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage) at this stage of the season, despite spending the first month-plus on the injured list with a fractured bone at the base of his left middle finger. He suffered the injury when he was hit by a pitch while playing for Team Venezuela in a tune-up for the World Baseball Classic, but the extent of it did not become clear until he landed on the IL on the morning of Opening Day.
Chourio made his season debut for the Brewers on May 4 and hit the ground running with four hits, including a pair of doubles, in a loss to the Cardinals.
With his 20th homer in the books, Chourio still has a month to get the six more stolen bases he needs for a third straight 20-20 season to begin his career. If he does, he would become the first player since at least 1900 to have three 20-20 seasons by his age-23 season.