Sorry that I haven’t updated the blog for a week. It’s been a busy time at the old house. With renovations going on, I haven’t had much sleep, free time or working space to do these “extras.” So we return with a quickie…

With Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard back in his hometown, we were wondering:

Who are the top major-league HR hitters born and raised in St. Louis?

The great people at STATS, LLC provided the answer.

Here’s the list.

Most career HRs by a St. Louis guy:

1. Yogi Berra 358 (of course).

2. Roy Sievers 318 (old Brownies will never fade away).

3. Nate Colbert 173 (how many would have guessed Nate?).

4. Elston Howard 167 (he should be enshrined in the St. Louis Walk of Fame).

5. Al Smith 164 (born in Kirkwood; this one surprised me).

6. Hank Bauer 164 (Born in East St. Louis; I’ll always be grateful for Bauer, who managed my boyhood team, the Baltimore Orioles, to the World Series championship in 1966).

7. Ryan Howard 144

Obviously, Ryan Howard has a real chance to claim the top spot on the leaderboard before he’s done bashing and mashing in the big leagues. He’s averaging a homer every 11.88 at-bats for the Phillies, and with that rate, he’ll be zooming up the charts.

Talk to you later…

-B