The first Club member to earn an *

The World Series gets underway tonight, so there's no better time to kick off our five-part series examining players who hit home runs against every franchise - just not all of them in the regular season. If v30 Club members are equivalent to players in the Cooperstown Plaque Room, these players deserve displays just outside.

Many words have been put to paper about the career and legacy of Roger Maris. He was a record breaker, but with an asterisk. He was a two-time MVP but they are a topic for debate. His career stats and achievements are Hall of Fame worthy to some and not even close to worthy for others. We won’t wade far into any of these discussions here, but rather just stick to the ledgers.

1957 – Cleveland Indians

LEDGER ONE: April 18 at Detroit Tigers

Maris’ first home run came in his second career game and was a rare bird if you cherry pick some characteristics. It came in the top of the eleventh inning with the Indians already having scored a run in the inning. It was also a grand slam. Per Stathead, this was only the fifth recorded instance of a grand slam being hit in extra innings with the player’s team already in the lead1.

Also of note is the degree to which Maris terrorized the Tigers with the long ball. Of his first 21 career home runs, ten of them came against the Tigers and nine of those home runs came at Navin Field.

LEDGER TWO: April 24 at Kansas City Athletics

Maris would be on the move to Kansas City in fourteen months, but by the time he left Cleveland he would record four more home runs against the A’s.

LEDGER THREE: May 6 vs New York Yankees

When you think of Roger Maris, chances are your mental image is of him as a Yankee. By the time he arrived in the Bronx he had collected seven home runs against them.

LEDGER FOUR: June 9 (Game 2) vs Washington Senators

This ledger was one of two home runs Maris hit in the second game of the double-header. It was his first multi-home run game and came in the thirty-fifth game of his career.

LEDGER FIVE: June 11 vs Boston Red Sox

June 10 was an off day for the Indians. They returned to the field in Cleveland the next day hosting the Red Sox where Maris collected his ledger against them.

LEDGER SIX: July 13 vs Baltimore Orioles

If Maris struggled with collecting home runs against any American League club, it would have been the Orioles. He only hit 21 home runs against them, which was fewer than against the second edition of the Washington Senators who wouldn’t be a team until 1961.

On June 15, 1958, the Indians traded Maris and two other players (one of which was v16 Club member Preston Ward) to Kansas City for two players.

1958 – Kansas City Athletics

LEDGER SEVEN: August 10 (Game 2) at Cleveland Indians

In his sixth game against the Indians, Maris collected his ledger. He’d go on to hit a lot more (34 more to be exact) against Cleveland in his career.

LEDGER EIGHT: August 13 (Game 2) at Chicago White Sox

Then a few days later, he added his ledger against the White Sox. This one was a grand slam.

He was now maxed out against the American League so his 1959 season in Kansas City was without any ledgers as would be his first season in New York. I know I said I wouldn’t wade into Maris’ career happenstances, but his traversal through the Kansas City pipeline is sometimes cited as a reason to ding his credentials.

1960 – New York Yankees

PROVISIONAL: October 5 at Pittsburgh Pirates

Before we get to the next ledgers we get to touch on the first of several World Series home runs Maris hit during his illustrious career with the Yankees. Maris hit two solo home runs over the course of the 1960 Series. One came in Game 1, which the Yankees lost, and the other came in Game 5, which the Yankees also lost.

You may also notice this “ledger” is marked as provisional. Maris would later hit a regular season home run against the Pirates which supplants this home run.

1961 – New York Yankees

LEDGER NINE: May 6 at Los Angeles Angels

1961 brought expansion to the American League and it didn’t take long for Maris to notch a ledger against both teams. This particular home run was the 100th of his career.

LEDGER TEN: May 17 vs Washington Senators

And the 101st home run in his career came against the new Washington Senators. He was now maxed out again.

Of course, 1961 was the season in which Maris would break Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record with 61*. You often see cited the reason for the asterisk was that Maris had more games to accomplish the feat, but less often do you see an argument that the first year Senators and Angels may have every so slightly diluted the talent of the pitching pool. The Angels’ staff allowed the most home runs in 1961, but only gave up four to Maris. The Senators allowed fewer home runs than the league average, but Maris had nine against them.

PROVISIONAL: October 7 at Cincinnati Reds

The Yankees along with now back-to-back MVP winner Maris found themselves in the World Series again. Unlike his two against the Pirates, Maris’ home run in the top of the ninth in game three helped the Yankees take a 2-1 lead in the series, which they would eventually win.

This home run is provisional too as Maris would hit a regular season homer against the Reds later in his career.

1962 – New York Yankees

LEDGER ELEVEN: October 15 at San Francisco Giants

This brings us to another World Series home run, but this time it isn’t provisional. Maris’ home run came in the top of the sixth of game six and chipped away at a lead that the Giants would not relinquish. This would be the only home run Maris would ever hit against the Giants despite having 68 regular season plate appearances against them later in his career.

The Yankees would return to the World series again in 1963 against the Dodgers, but Maris only played in two games.

1964 – New York Yankees

LEDGER TWELVE: October 14 at St. Louis Cardinals

A more productive World Series for Maris was on tap in 1964. His 30 at bats against the Cardinals in the series would be his only opportunity to face them, as he would end his career in St. Louis after two more seasons with the Yankees. This home run helped the Yankees force a game seven, which they eventually lost.

1967 – St. Louis Cardinals

LEDGER THIRTEEN: May 9 at Pittsburgh Pirates

Maris arrived in St. Louis via trade in December 1966. His last two seasons with the Yankees saw diminished power numbers, a trend which continued in St. Louis. His first home run as a Cardinal replaced the provisional World Series home run he had hit in Pittsburgh.

LEDGER FOURTEEN: May 21 at New York Mets

His next Cardinal home run came against the Mets. Of all the National League opponents Maris faced, he fared the best against the Mets with three career home runs.

LEDGER FIFTEEN: June 10 vs Los Angeles Dodgers

And his next came against the Dodgers. Somewhat remarkably, this was only the third walk-off home run of his career – a three run blast in the bottom of the eleventh.

LEDGER SIXTEEN: June 23 vs Philadelphia Phillies

Maris helped the Cardinals win with a game untying solo shot in the bottom of the eighth. This would be the only home run he would hit against the Phillies.

LEDGER SEVENTEEN: July 18 at Cincinnati Reds

This home run became the official ledger against the Reds, replacing the provisional one from the 1961 World Series. This was the only regular season home run Maris hit against the Reds.

LEDGER EIGHTEEN: July 29 at Atlanta Braves

Maris’ final ledger of 1967 came against the Braves in Atlanta off Cecil Upshaw.

He would go on to add another World Series home run too, this time against the Red Sox.

1968 – St. Louis Cardinals

LEDGER NINETEEN: April 14 at Chicago Cubs

Despite the rivalry, Maris had not hit a home run against the Cubs yet. He fixed that issue by hitting a pair against Joe Niekro in the fourth game of the season. He would not hit any more home runs against the Cubs.

LEDGER TWENTY: September 15 at Houston Astros

Maris took his ledgering to the limit. The final home run of his career was in the Astrodome against the only team he needed to complete his ledger. Maris would end up playing only six more games and retired at the end of the season, but not after joining the Cardinals on yet another World Series run.

Roger Maris was one of those players whose ledgers popped, and truly he is deserving of a spot adjacent to the members of the v30 Club.