Jay Bruce And Bob Horner

When the Dayton Daily News is comparing Jay Bruce to the Reds all-time greats, Dusty Baker breaks out Bob Horner:

Tony Perez ranks third on the Reds career home run list with 287, but a mere 63 came in his first 2,000 at-bats.

Only Adam Dunn (140) and Frank Robinson (115) hit more homers in their first 2,000 at-bats than Bruce’s 108.

And Bruce is still 56 at-bats shy of the mark, so there is an outside shot he could still catch Robinson.

Regardless of whether he does, his early returns compare favorably with the power numbers Hall of Famers Bench, Robinson and Perez put up in their first 2,000 at-bats:

RBIs: Bench 354; Perez 308; Robinson 304; Bruce 295.

Total bases: Robinson 1,305; Bench 1,196; Bruce 1,143; Perez 1,061.

Slugging percentage: Robinson .653; Bench .598; Bruce .588; Perez .531.

On-base percentage: Robinson .371; Bruce .332; Perez .330; Bench .325.

When asked about Bruce’s future given his early production, Reds manager Dusty Baker was cautious.

“You don’t know,” he said. “They thought Bob Horner was going to break Hank Aaron’s record, too, you know what I mean? You just have to live and play. Nobody can predict anything. The fact that he has 2,000 at-bats already just means he got here quick.”

 I'm not sure if that was the best comparison, especially for one of your own players.  But Dusty has a point.  You never know what might happen in the game of baseball.  And comparisons between today and earlier days when it comes to home run stats are specious.  But between Jay Bruce and Frank Robinson, I'd take Robinson.