Attendance, Home Runs Highlight Record-Setting Season at Isotopes Park
October 3, 2022 – Pacific Coast League (PCL) – Albuquerque Isotopes News Release
Albuquerque, NM – The Albuquerque Isotopes completed their 19th season on Wednesday night, a campaign that saw several historic accomplishments on and off the field.
Team Stats: – In 73 openings at Isotopes Park this season, 515,498 fans flocked through the gates, for an average of 7,062 fans per contest which led the Pacific Coast League, the first time the club led the PCL in average attendance. Albuquerque finished second in the PCL in total attendance with two fewer openings than league-leading Las Vegas (518,221). The Isotopes also had the highest (15,619 on July 30) and third-highest (15,190 on May 14) attended ballgames in Minor League Baseball this season.
– The Mariachis were once again a rousing success in 2022, as a total of 60,886 attended six games at “The Plaza,” an average of 10,148 per. In 22 all-time home games as the Mariachis, Albuquerque has a 16-6 record with a total attendance of 226,544 (10,297 average).
– The Isotopes hit 240 home runs this season, shattering the previous club record of 212 – which took place in the 2019 campaign. They led Minor League Baseball in homers, well ahead of the next-closest team (El Paso, 222). Only the New York Yankees (246) and Atlanta Braves (241) have hit more home runs than the Isotopes in 2022 as of this writing.
– Albuquerque broke a long-standing Minor League Baseball record by crushing 14 grand slams. The previous most by any MiLB team in one season had been 13 by the 1995 Indianapolis Indians. Albuquerque’s 14 slams also tied the Major League record, alongside the 2000 Oakland Athletics and 2006 Cleveland Indians.
– Twice in a 10-day span, the Isotopes set-then tied-their team record for most home runs in a game. They first established the mark by going deep eight times in a 20-8 win over Salt Lake on June 15, then connected on another eight blasts in a 19-6 pounding of Las Vegas on June 25. This was part of a stretch in which Albuquerque hit 53 home runs in June – a new team record for long balls in one month. The Isotopes racked up 47 total bases in the June 25 game to establish a new team record.
– Isotopes players received five Pacific Coast League awards throughout the season: Lopes (April 12-17) and Bernard (April 26-May 1) each won Player of the Week; Gold (Aug. 9-14) and Matt Dennis (Aug. 23-28) each received Pitcher of the Week, while Bernard was the Player of the Month for July.
– Offensively, the Isotopes finished the year among the top five in all of MiLB in the following categories: homers (1st, 240); OPS (2nd, .836); total bases (2nd, 2,484); triples (2nd, 48); slugging (2nd, .483); hits (3rd, 1,402); and runs (5th, 894).
– The Isotopes homered in 18 consecutive games from Aug. 9-28, a new team record. The previous mark was 16 straight games with a long ball from Aug. 14-30, 2008.
– The Isotopes scored the most runs in a season in team history (894), eclipsing the 871 they scored in 143 games in 2010.
– Albuquerque finished with 1,402 hits – the seventh time they have eclipsed the 1,400-hit plateau.
– The 109 stolen bases racked up by the Isotopes were their most in a campaign since 2015 (118 steals).
– From Aug. 24-Sept. 10, Albuquerque set a new team-worst with 10 consecutive home losses. The previous worst had been eight games in June 2016. The streak ended on Sept. 11, when Bernard delivered a walk-off single in the 10th inning to defeat El Paso.
– Albuquerque led all of Minor League Baseball with 154 double plays turned. As of this writing, only the St. Louis Cardinals have turned more (175) in the professional ranks.
– Albuquerque had 18 multi-homer games by a player this season, eclipsing the previous high of 15 (2019). They also set a team record with back-to-back home runs on 11 different occasions. Before this year, the most sets of back-to-back blasts had been nine (2008).
– The Isotopes finished with 62 wins on the year, tied for the third-fewest in team history. Albuquerque also finished in last place for just the fifth time in franchise history (2004, 2006, 2018 and 2019).
– The Round Rock Express picked up 10 doubles in a win at Albuquerque on Aug. 27, the most ever allowed in a game by the Isotopes.
– Seventy (70) players appeared on the Isotopes roster this season, with 66 playing in a game. Seventeen (17) players made their Triple-A debut, while 11 were on the team as part of a Major League rehab assignment.
– Eight Isotopes made their Major League debut in 2022 (Montero, Brian Serven, Chad Smith, Bird, Bouchard, Bernard, Toglia and Ezequiel Tovar).
– Albuquerque swept their first ever six-game series, doing so vs. Salt Lake (June 14-19). It is one of only five sweeps in the PCL since Minor League Baseball switched to a six-game series format prior to the 2021 season.
– Albuquerque suffered nine walk-off losses, the most in club history.
– For the second time in team history, the Isotopes played a game in which they served as the visiting team in their home ballpark. Albuquerque and El Paso were rained out in West Texas on Aug. 7, forcing a doubleheader at Isotopes Park exactly one month later. In Game 2, the Chihuahuas were the “hosts” and won 7-6 on a Brandon Dixon walk-off home run.
– The Isotopes experienced 17 game delays this year (15 weather, one power outage, one irrigation system issue) totaling 15:53, and 11:56 at home. 14 of the 17 delays took place at Isotopes Park. Six games were postponed, four on the road and two in Albuquerque. There was also one contest that was suspended.
Individual Offensive Stats: – Center fielder Wynton Bernard headlined the Isotopes offensive output. He was voted by his teammates as Albuquerque’s unanimous Most Valuable Player-the first unanimous selection for any award in team history-leading the PCL in batting average (.333), while finishing second in slugging (.590), OPS (.677), hits (143), tied for second in extra-base hits (60), third in total bases (253), RBI (92), fifth in OBP (.387), runs (95), and doubles (31), and tied for seventh in stolen bases (30).
– Bernard racked up just the second 20-30 season in Isotopes history, joining Joc Pederson (2014). He was the seventh Albuquerque player to steal at least 30 bases in a season, and the first since Pederson. Bernard’s six leadoff homers set a new Isotopes record, breaking Tony Abreu’s mark of five (2009). Bernard led the team with 44-multi hit contests this season, while becoming the 14th Isotope to ever reach the 90 RBI plateau. He is also just the second Isotope to win the PCL batting title, joining John Lindsey (2010, .354).
– Carlos Pérez produced one of the best seasons in terms of power numbers for an Isotope, leading the team with 31 home runs and finishing second with 87 RBI. His 31 homers tied a career-high and was good for sixth-place in club history on the single-season homer chart. Pérez was tied for second in the PCL in home runs with Corey Julks, one away from tying for the lead alongside Matt Davidson and Jason Martin.
– For the first time in team history, the Isotopes had five players hit 20 or more home runs (Bernard, Pérez, Sean Bouchard, D.J. Peterson, Coco Montes).
– Alan Trejo became the fifth player in Isotopes history to hit three grand slams in one season (Mike Colangelo, Matt Padgett, Mitch Jones, Mike Tauchman). Trejo is also just the second player to hit four slams while wearing an Albuquerque uniform (2021-22), joining Colangelo (2004-05). Trejo connected on the Isotopes first-ever walk-off grand slam on June 28 vs. Sugar Land. He compiled Albuquerque’s longest hit streak of the season, a 15-game span from June 12-July 6 where he slashed .328/.379/.557 with five doubles, three homers, nine RBI and two stolen bases.
– Trejo doubled three times on Aug. 26 vs. Round Rock, tying a team-record. Bouchard tied another Isotopes record with two triples on April 17 vs. Tacoma.
– Jonathan Morales tallied the highest batting average (.308) of his seven-year professional career. He finished fourth on the club with 28 multi-hit games, and batted .352 over his final 25 games of the season. Morales delivered two walk-off hits this year: May 29 vs. Round Rock and June 18 vs. Salt Lake.
– Michael Toglia recorded the 12th three-homer game in Isotopes history on Aug. 27 vs. Round Rock.
– Elehuris Montero tied Jamie Hoffmann (2010) for the third-longest on base-streak in team history (32 games) from May 18-July 30. During the stretch, he slashed .344/.431/.609 with six doubles, two triples, eight homers and 35 RBI.
– Sam Hilliard hit 13 home runs in 158 plate appearances for Albuquerque this season, averaging a homer every 12.1 PA. His two-homer game on Sept. 25 at Sugar Land moved him into second place on the Isotopes all-time home run list. Hilliard currently has 62 over three seasons with the club (2019, 2021-22), just four away from tying Jordan Patterson for most in team history.
– Peterson enjoyed a triumphant return to the Duke City after playing collegiately at the University of New Mexico. He tallied the third-most homers in a season in his pro career (10 seasons) and had a pair of multi-homer contests: July 9 at Round Rock and Aug. 4 at El Paso. His grand slam on Sept. 9 vs. El Paso set the Isotopes new single-season record for team homers (213) and tied the MiLB team record for slams in a year (13).
– Montes hit a career-high 20 home runs this season. Of his hits at Triple-A, 44.3% went for extra bases (27 doubles, four triples, 20 homers) and his last swing of the season produced a three-run homer on Sept. 26 vs. El Paso.
– Montes and Bernard each had stretches where they homered in four consecutive games, three away from tying Dallas McPherson’s franchise record (seven in 2008), which is also tied for the Minor League Baseball record.
– Jimmy Herron ended the season on a strong note, reaching base safely in the final 15 games he played. During the stretch, Herron slashed .346/.426/.654 with three doubles, two triples, three homers, seven RBI and eight walks. He reached base in 26 of his final 61 plate appearances.
– LJ Hatch produced the best offensive season of his five-year professional career, hitting a career-high eight home runs to go along with a .280 batting average. He reached base safely in 33 of 44 games that he started. Hatch has hit 13 homers as a professional, and 10 of them have come since he joined Albuquerque during the 2021 campaign.
– Brenton Doyle was impressive in nine games after coming up from Double-A at the end of the season. Doyle batted .389 (14-for-36) with a double, two triples, three homers and nine RBI. He homered twice on Sept. 26 vs. El Paso. Additionally, he had four multi-hit efforts, including a four-hit contest on Sept. 23 at Sugar Land.
– The Isotopes had five, five-hit games by four players – a new club record. Ryan Vilade did so twice, while Bouchard, Bernard, and Tim Lopes each had one five-hit contest.
– For the first time in team history, Albuquerque saw 20 different players reach double-digits in the RBI column.
Pitching Stats: – The Isotopes recorded 19 quality starts, led by Riley Smith (six). Brandon Gold was second with four. Logan Allen turned in the final quality start in the last game of the season.
– Zach Lee and Chad Smith finished tied for fourth in the PCL with 12 saves, along with Sugar Land’s Enoli Paredes.
– Lee led Minor League Baseball with 64 appearances, while tallying the most games pitched in Isotopes single-season history. Julian Fernàndez was tied for third-most (58) along with Toledo’s Miguel Diaz. Lee and Fernández were the top two in the PCL in appearances, then J.D. Hammer (53) tied for fourth and Reagan Todd (49) tied for seventh before he was sidelined with an injury.
– Riley Smith tossed a seven-inning complete game shutout in Game 2 of a doubleheader vs. Salt Lake on June 18, the first Isotope to do so since Eddie Butler on Aug. 9, 2016 vs. Las Vegas (Game 1 of DH).
– Jake Bird compiled a 2.77 ERA (8 ER/26 IP) with just nine walks and 34 strikeouts. He was promoted to the Major Leagues for his debut on June 11 and never returned to Albuquerque.
– Karl Kauffmann struck out 11 batters on Sept. 9 vs. El Paso, the season-high for an Isotopes pitcher. He established another team season-high with 102 pitches in that game.
– PCL batters had a tough time adjusting to Justin Lawrence’s triple-digit heat, as he struck out 49 batters in 29.1 innings at Triple-A, meaning 49 of his 88 outs recorded were via the punchout. The league batted just .165 against Lawrence.
– Dennis recorded the longest consecutive scoreless inning streak of any Albuquerque pitcher in 2022, as he went 13.2 frames without allowing a run from Aug. 12-Sept. 4 (a span of six appearances).
– The Isotopes blew 32 saves, second in the PCL behind El Paso (35).
– 19 different pitchers started a game for the Isotopes, tied with the 2021 team for the third-most in team history. The 2015 club had 20 different hurlers make a start, and the 2010 team has the record with 22.
– The Isotopes finished with the worst team ERA (6.89) in Albuquerque professional baseball history, which dates back to 1915. The 1,051 runs allowed by Albuquerque were the most by any MiLB club since the 2007 High Desert Mavericks surrendered 1,085.
– Isotopes pitching also allowed the most home runs in team history (258), the third most in MiLB behind Las Vegas (265) and Amarillo (262). The 265 long balls relented by the Aviators are the most in Minor League history.
– Albuquerque’s pitching staff recorded 1,174 strikeouts, breaking the previous high-mark of 1,135 (2013). However, the Isotopes still finished with the fewest strikeouts in all of Triple-A.
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