SURPRISE, Ariz. - In 1985, a burly first baseman named Steve Balboni hit 36 home runs, establishing a single-season record for the Kansas City Royals. In the years since, major league players have combined for 341 seasons of at least 36 homers.
Four guys named Gonzalez have done it (Adrian, Carlos, Juan and Luis). So have three guys named Martinez (Edgar, J.D. and Tino) and three more named Davis (Chris, Eric and Khris). Two Bells (George and Jay) and a Belle (Albert) have done it, as have a Batista (Tony) and a Bautista (Jose).
Nearly every letter of the alphabet - all but I, X, Y and Z - is represented on the list of names, including Q (Carlos Quentin) and U (Dan Uggla). A father and a son (Cecil and Prince Fielder) are on the list, which includes 26 players from 1996 alone. Gary Sheffield did it for four different teams.
Yet in all that time, not a single member of the Royals has reached the Balboni Barrier. It remains a club record, the fountains above the distant Kauffman Stadium walls a shimmering mirage for most Royals hitters. Water, water everywhere - but nothing in the drink.
"I think we all know how the ball carries there," said Eric Hosmer, the Royals' veteran first baseman. "It's a pretty big park."
Six years ago, in his first week in the major leagues, Hosmer belted two home runs at Yankee Stadium. Last year, he and a teammate, catcher Salvador Perez, went deep at the All-Star Game in San Diego. But neither has hit more than 25 homers in a season.
The major leagues have expanded twice. The steroid era has come and (mostly) gone.
The Royals have fallen hard and risen triumphantly. Yet nobody has come within even five homers of Balboni's record since Jermaine Dye in 2000. If you work for the Royals, you recognize the mark as relentlessly unassailable.
"Yeah, I know," general manager Dayton Moore said, smiling. "It's fun to think about. That's about as far as we go with it."
When Moore took over the Royals in 2006, he plotted a course that, by necessity, largely avoided home run hitters. Given the high cost of power and the limits on their payroll, the Royals would rarely be able to afford sluggers, anyway. But if they tailored their roster to their spacious ballpark - with speedy contact hitters - they might have a chance.
The result, after years of patience and discipline, was an American League pennant in 2014 and a championship in 2015. The Royals hit only two home runs in their five-game World Series victory against the New York Mets, and one was inside the park. They singled, doubled and scampered their way to glory.
Now, after a .500 season, the run may be nearing an end. Hosmer, center fielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar and third baseman Mike Moustakas are all eligible for free agency after the season.
So is Wade Davis, the former closer who was traded to the Chicago Cubs in December for Jorge Soler, a powerful right fielder.
Soler, who turns 25 on Saturday, signed with the Cubs from Cuba in 2012. He seemed to be an emerging star in 2015, when he was 9-for-19 with three homers in seven playoff games. But he was a relative afterthought on the Cubs' march to a championship last year, coming to bat just 16 times in their 17 postseason games.
Still, Soler has been productive, with 27 homers and 98 RBI across 682 career at-bats. With consistent playing time as he enters his prime, could Soler, who is 6 feet 4 inches and 215 pounds, break Balboni's record?
"Definitely," said starter Jason Hammel, a former Cubs teammate of Soler's who signed with the Royals last month. "I mean, the guy's a monster, first of all. He's just got to figure it out, but he's still really, really young. He can be a little aggressive at the plate, but I'd rather have a guy want to do something than be timid and almost think too much."
Christian Colon, who drove in the winning run in the 2015 World Series clincher and will compete for the starting second base job, likes what he sees so far.
"Thirty-six homers? He's got the pop to do it, no doubt about it," Colon said. "His pop would play everywhere. But it's about winning games, and that's what we're trying to tell him: 'Don't worry about the homers; if you're helping us win games, that's all that matters.'"
Soler reiterated that point in an interview through an interpreter. He smiled and said while he was not aware of the Royals' home run record, he was not concerned with statistics. He has never played at Kauffman Stadium but knows its reputation.
"The guys are telling me about that, that the field is pretty big," Soler said. As for Colon's suggestion that his power could translate well, Soler said: "I don't really know, but when I hit the ball, hopefully it just goes out. I think it will."
Moore could have traded Davis for prospects, but instead he got an everyday player who should have an immediate effect. Soler has flaws; his defense in right field must improve, and he has 211 strikeouts in 211 career games. There is work to be done for Soler to be a consistent force, but the raw power is enticing.
"We just want him to feel comfortable, settle in - don't put too much pressure on yourself," Moore said. "He's changing leagues and is going to try to do a lot. I remember Player Development 101 in developing young power hitters is to make sure they understand power production comes later. Learn to hit first; learn to center the ball on the bat in different areas of the strike zone. That's the most important part if you want your power to play."
In the best case, Soler will give the Royals a reasonably priced run producer under contract through 2020, with an annual salary under $5 million. They lost a valuable part of their core last month when starter Yordano Ventura was killed in a car crash in the Dominican Republic. But they still retain control over Perez, starter Danny Duffy and left fielder Alex Gordon for four more seasons.
That should give the team a chance to stay competitive even if Hosmer, Cain and the others leave. If the Royals cannot re-sign them first, and fall out of contention early this summer, Moore could be forced to make more trades.
"We all realize there's a business side of it, and at the same time, we all realize we have a GM that's going to bat for us and doing everything he can to keep us all together," Hosmer said. "There's never been a question in any of our minds that Dayton hasn't done everything he can for this group to win and win right now."