The number of shortstops and 2B men hitting 30+ HRs in a season has increased greatly from the 20th century to the 21st

The table below shows all the shortstops who hit 30+ HRs thru 1999. All data from Baseball Reference and Stathead. Click here to see the search results for this table. There are 16 cases. But 7 came during 1995-99. So the SS power surge started a bit early (This is for guys who played 50%+ of their games at the position).

Player	HR	Season
Vern Stephens	39	1949
Vern Stephens	30	1950
Ernie Banks	44	1955
Ernie Banks	43	1957
Ernie Banks	47	1958
Ernie Banks	45	1959
Ernie Banks	41	1960
Rico Petrocelli	40	1969
Cal Ripken Jr.	34	1991
Álex Rodríguez	36	1996
Barry Larkin	33	1996
Nomar Garciaparra	30	1997
Álex Rodríguez	42	1998
Nomar Garciaparra	35	1998
Álex Rodríguez	42	1999
Tony Batista	31	1999

Now for 2000-25. Click here to see the search results for this table. There are 41 cases. That is about 2.5 times as many in the 20th century. Now there were not many HRs before 1920, but the 25 year period is far ahead of the 80 year period.

Player	HR	Season		Player	HR	Season
Álex Rodríguez	41	2000		Gleyber Torres	38	2019
Miguel Tejada	30	2000		Trevor Story	35	2019
Álex Rodríguez	52	2001		Xander Bogaerts	33	2019
Rich Aurilia	37	2001		Marcus Semien	33	2019
Miguel Tejada	31	2001		Francisco Lindor	32	2019
Álex Rodríguez	57	2002		Paul DeJong	30	2019
Miguel Tejada	34	2002		Fernando Tatis Jr.	42	2021
Álex Rodríguez	47	2003		Javier Báez	31	2021
Miguel Tejada	34	2004		Corey Seager	33	2022
José Valentín	30	2004		Willy Adames	31	2022
Bill Hall	35	2006		Corey Seager	33	2023
Jimmy Rollins	30	2007		Francisco Lindor	31	2023
Hanley Ramírez	33	2008		Bobby Witt Jr.	30	2023
Troy Tulowitzki	32	2009		Gunnar Henderson	37	2024
J.J. Hardy	30	2011		Francisco Lindor	33	2024
Troy Tulowitzki	30	2011		Willy Adames	32	2024
Brad Miller	30	2016		Bobby Witt Jr.	32	2024
Francisco Lindor	33	2017		Corey Seager	30	2024
Francisco Lindor	38	2018		Francisco Lindor	31	2025
Manny Machado	37	2018		Willy Adames	30	2025
Trevor Story	37	2018

The table below shows all the 2Bmen who hit 30+ HRs thru 1999.  Click here to see the search results for this table. There are 11 cases.

Player	HR	Season
Rogers Hornsby	42	1922
Rogers Hornsby	39	1925
Rogers Hornsby	39	1929
Joe Gordon	30	1940
Joe Gordon	32	1948
Davey Johnson	43	1973
Bobby Grich	30	1979
Ryne Sandberg	30	1989
Ryne Sandberg	40	1990
Jeff Kent	31	1998
Jay Bell	38	1999

Now for 2000-25. Click here to see the search results for this table. There are 40 cases. Almost 4 times as many.

Player	HR	Season		Player	HR	Season
Marcus Semien	45	2021		Jorge Polanco	33	2021
Brian Dozier	42	2016		Dan Uggla	33	2010
Robinson Canó	39	2016		Chase Utley	33	2008
Brandon Lowe	39	2021		Ian Kinsler	32	2011
Alfonso Soriano	39	2002		Ketel Marte	32	2019
Alfonso Soriano	38	2003		Jonathan Schoop	32	2017
Bret Boone	37	2001		Dan Uggla	32	2008
Jeff Kent	37	2002		Chase Utley	32	2006
Aaron Hill	36	2009		Jose Altuve	31	2021
Ketel Marte	36	2024		Jose Altuve	31	2019
Alfonso Soriano	36	2005		Jazz Chisholm Jr.	31	2025
Dan Uggla	36	2011		Ian Kinsler	31	2009
Bret Boone	35	2003		Brandon Lowe	31	2025
Max Muncy	35	2019		Dan Uggla	31	2007
Javier Báez	34	2018		Dan Uggla	31	2009
Brian Dozier	34	2017		Chase Utley	31	2009
Ozzie Albies	33	2023		Ozzie Albies	30	2021
Robinson Canó	33	2012		Rougned Odor	30	2019
Jeff Kent	33	2000		Rougned Odor	30	2017
Rougned Odor	33	2016		Brandon Phillips	30	2007

 

For all batters, regardless of position, here are the totals for each time period:

 

Thru 1999)  806
2000-2025)  757  

 

There is no total increase. So something much different has happened for these 2 positions than the general trend. 

 

If we take out the SS/2Bmen it would be

 

Thru 1999)  779
2000-2025)  676  

 

That ratio is about .87, far lower than the 2.5 for SS or the 4 for 2Bmen.