Eguy Rosario, who was playing for the Chihuahuas earlier this year, leads the franchise all-time home run list, but Luis Campusano could catch him.
The Pacific Coast League has a reputation as a hitter's league, and at 3,500 feet of elevation, Southwest University Park can be a hitter's park.
It's also a Triple-A park, so chances are if anyone is consistently slamming the ball into the El Paso Scottish Rite parking lot, they'll probably be on a plane to San Diego before too long.
Still, there have been some sluggers who have stayed long enough to make an impression over the 12 years (11 seasons) the El Paso Chihuahuas have been in existence.
Who are the top home run hitters who have donned the Chihuahuas colors? There's a list for that, and here it is.
Eguy Rosario, 49 home runs and counting
The slugger at the top of this list is still with the team, he's in his fourth year in El Paso, and earlier this season the Dominican set the franchise record with his 49th home run as a Chihuahua. He just went on the disabled list with sports hernia surgery but could be back before the end of the year.
Cody Decker, 48 home runs
The all-time most popular Chihuahua had a storybook minor-league career, which ended when he hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in 2019 for the Reno Aces and decided that was how he wanted to retire right there. That was his 204th home run in the minor leagues and when he retired, he was the MiLB active leader.
He hit 48 of those home runs with the Chihuahuas, with 27 coming in 2014, El Paso's inaugural season, and 21 in 2015. When he retired, he briefly came back to El Paso to serve as the executive director for athletic development for the Border Youth Athletic Association (BYAA).
Matthew Batten, 46 home runs
Batten made a brief debut with the Chihuahuas at the end of 2018, and was back for part of 2019 and part of 2021. He then was with the team through much of 2022-24, with occasional trips up to the majors. Over that span he hit 46 home runs.
He never had more than 12 in those partial seasons with the Chihuahuas, but his lengthy 520-game tenure with El Paso was enough to push him high up this list. He was picked up by the Atlanta Braves this past offseason and is currently with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.
Luis Campusano, 44 home runs and counting
Campusano could well top this list later this month. He's been a Chihuahua since 2021, with a few trips to San Diego mixed in, though his stops here in 2023 and '24 were brief. He's been an every-game player for El Paso this year, though, and is up to 44 home runs in a Chihuahuas uniform.
Hunter Renfroe, 42 home runs
Renfroe played 131 of his 178 games as a Chihuahua in 2016 when he hit 30 home runs. He was with El Paso through 2018, though he only played 24 combined games in 2017 and '18.
He had a productive big league career with 192 home runs over 11 seasons but was waived by the Kansas City Royals earlier this year and is currently a free agent.
Michael Gettys, 31 home runs in 2019
Gettys was only with the Chihuahuas one year, in 2019, and it was spectacular. He set the franchise single-season mark that still stands with 31 home runs that year.
Ty France, 35 home runs
France may rate as the greatest slugger in Chihuahuas history.
France's 2019 season, his only full season in El Paso, was epic as he won the Pacific Coast League MVP award. That was a pretty easy decision, as he was hitting .399 when he was called up with a week to go in the Triple-A regular season.
He had 27 home runs that year and was part of the home-run derby in the Triple-A All-Star Game at Southwest University Park, where he made the semifinals.
Brent Rooker, 19 home runs
Rooker only played 61 games with the Chihuahuas in 2022, when he hit 19 home runs before going to the big leagues. That's worked out well, as he will be in this year's MLB All-Star game with the Athletics.
He already has 18 home runs this season, mostly as the A's designated hitter.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at [email protected]; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Who were the El Paso Chihuahuas greatest power hitters? Here's a list
Category: General Sports
