Joey Gallo back to back 40 HR seasons

Joey Gallo's ninth inning two-run home run against Tulsa on Sunday August 18, 2014 was his 40th of the season. Besides padding the 6-1 victory for his Frisco Roughriders he accomplished a feat that hadn't been accomplished in over 30 years. Gallo hit 40 home runs in back to back minor league seasons which was last done by Ron Kittle in the 1981 and 1982 seasons. 

Gallo is a third baseman who has spread his home runs between four teams as he has risen through four levels in the Texas Rangers organization the past two seasons. He started 2013 at Rookie Arizona where he hit .368/.429/.895 with 2 HR, 10 RBI, 4 R, 1 SB in 5 games. After moving up to Class A Hickory he continued his 2013 hitting .245/.334/.610 with 38 HR, 78 RBI, 82 R, 14 SB in 106 games. He started 2014 at Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach where he hit .323/.463/.735 with 21 HR, 50 RBI, 53 R, 5 SB in 58 games. Moving up to Double A Frisco has only slightly slowed his pace as he has hit .244/.337/.559 with 19 HR, 48 RBI, 39 R, 2 SB in 57 games. With a November 19 birthday he was 19 the entire 2013 season and will be 20 the whole 2014 season. He is listed at 6-foot-5 and 205. Gallo was originally drafted by the Rangers with the 39th pick of the first round out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, NV.

Kittle was an OF\C\1B in the Chicago White Sox organization who was further along in his minor league career when he accomplished the feat. His 1981 season was at Double A Glen Falls where he hit .326/.425/.694 with 40 HR, 103 RBI, 97 R, 0 SB in 109 games. Moving up to Triple A Edmonton in 1982 he hit .345/.442/.752 with 50 HR, 144 RBI, 121 R, 5 SB in 127 games. Kittle had a January 5th birthday as he was 23 in the 1981 season and 24 in the 1982 season. He was listed at 6-foot-4 and 200. He did go on to have a 10 season MLB career and was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1983 as he hit .254/.314/.504 with 35 HR, 100 RBI, 75 R, 8 SB in 145 games with the White Sox. Over his MLB career with the White Sox, Yankees, Indians and Orioles he hit .239/.306/.473 with 176 HR, 460 RBI, 356 R, 16 SB in 843 games. Kittle originally signed with the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1977.