When will Ben Revere hit his first career home run?

As a spin-off from my trivia and twitter statistic from yesterday, this article is dedicated to Ben Revere's pursuit for his first home run. 

Have you ever wondered the longest streaks in baseball without a home run? How about the longest streaks to begin a career without a home run? Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Ben Revere has yet to hit his first career home run. His lack of power is, well, explainable, and he is getting ready to break some records because of it. For those of you that don't know Revere's game all that well, he's a speedster, isn't all that tall (5 foot, 9 inches to be exact), and, to put it plainly, has zero power. 

Believe it or not, Revere actually hit five minor-league home runs. However, in his first 355 games where Revere had one at bat or sacrifice hit, he has not homered. Now where does that stand all time in homer droughts? I took a look at that yesterday, and was astounded by the results.

Over the past 25 years (since 1989), Revere has the seventh-longest homer-less streak of non-pitchers, with only Rafael Belliard (559 games), Al Newman (452 games), Jose Lind (418 games), Jamey Carroll (415 games), Felix Fermin (408 games), and Alex Cole (400 games) ahead of him. In those same 25 years, Revere's streak of 355 games without a home run is the second-longest to begin a career. It only took Alex Cole longer (371 games) to hit his first career home run. Only three players since 1989 (Jason Tyner is the other) have had to wait over 300 games to hit their first career shot. 

Now when will Ben Revere go yard? The Phillies do not play in Colorado again this season, so Revere won't get the altitude advantage to lift the ball. Revere's highest slugging percentage over his career has come at Rogers Centre in Toronto. The Phillies do play there this season, actually just in a few days (May 7-8). Maybe Revere's past success can translate into a home run. He could hit one out at Miller Park, where he has four doubles, the second-most of all stadiums (behind Target Field). He could hit one out at Citizens Bank this summer, where the ball is known to carry.

Anyway or anywhere he does it, Ben Revere's first home run will be something special for baseball fans everywhere. We definitely won't see it often.

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