Home run
(Redirected from Home Runs)
A home run is a four-base hit clearing the bases. It is abbreviated as HR. Every runner scores including the batter. A home run usually is hit out of the park, beyond the outfield fence, but it is also possible to hit an inside-the-park home run. A home run hit with the bases loaded is a grand slam.
There are a variety of ways to set records with home runs. The major league record for the most home runs in a single game is four (held by 18 players - see list below). The major league record for most home runs in a single inning is 2, achieved by many players. The major league record for the most consecutive games in which a home run has been hit by a player is eight (held by Ken Griffey Jr., Dale Long, and Don Mattingly). The major league record for the most home runs in a single season is 73 (Barry Bonds). The major league record for the most home runs in a single season in the American League is 61 (Roger Maris). The major league record for most seasons as the season home run champ is 12, held by Babe Ruth. The modern major league record for fewest home runs in a season by the league leader is 7 (held by several players). The major league record for most home runs in a season by a pitcher is 9 (Wes Ferrell). The major league record for most home runs in a season by a pinch hitter is 7 (Craig Wilson and Dave Hansen). The major league record for the most home runs in a single season against a single opponent is 14 (Lou Gehrig, against the 1936 Cleveland Indians).
All-Time Leaders[edit]
All Time Leaders | |||
---|---|---|---|
Span | Player | Total | Notes |
Career | Barry Bonds | 762 | |
Season | Barry Bonds | 73 | 2001 |
Game | 17 - see below | 4 | |
Negro League Career | Mule Suttles | 237 | |
Negro League Season | Willie Wells | 27 | |
Negro League Season | Mule Suttles | 27 | |
NPB Career | Sadaharu Oh | 868 | |
NPB Season | Wladimir Balentien | 60 | 2013 |
NPB Game | Yoshiyuki Iwamoto | 4 | |
NPB Game | Sadaharu Oh | 4 | |
NPB Game | Tony Solaita | 4 | |
NPB Game | Nigel Wilson | 4 | |
NPB Game | Atsuya Furuta | 4 | |
Minor League Career | Hector Espino | 484 | |
Minor League Season | Joe Bauman | 72 | |
Minor League Game | Nig Clarke | 8 | |
Cuban Season | Alfredo Despaigne | 36 | 2011-2012 |
Cuban Game | Leonel Moa | 4 | |
Cuban Game | Alberto Díaz | 4 | |
Cuban Game | Omar Linares | 4 | |
KBO Career | Seung-yeop Lee | 467 | |
KBO Season | Seung-yeop Lee | 56 | |
KBO Game | Kyung-wan Park | 4 | |
KBO Game | Byung-ho Park | 4 | |
KBO Game | Jeong Choi | 4 | |
KBO Game | Wilin Rosario | 4 | |
KBO Game | Jae-il Oh | 4 | |
CPBL Career | Ngayaw Ake | 301+ | |
CPBL Season | Kuo-Hui Kao | 39 | |
CPBL Game | 30 | 3 | |
Hoofdklasse Career | Marcel Joost | ||
Hoofdklasse Season | Jacky Jakoba | 24 | |
Serie A1 Season | Donald Mazzilli | 33 | |
AAGPBL Career | Eleanor Callow | 55 | |
AAGPBL Season | Joanne Weaver | 29 | |
AAGPBL Game | Many | 2 |
Four home runs in one game[edit]
Two home runs in one inning[edit]
The first player to hit two home runs in one inning was Charley Jones of the Boston Red Caps on June 10, 1880. The feat has since been reproduced many times, but never topped. Willie McCovey was the first player to accomplish the feat twice, doing so on April 12, 1973 and again on June 27, 1977, both times with the San Francisco Giants. He has since been joined by Andre Dawson and Jeff King in the National League, and Alex Rodriguez and Edwin Encarnacion in the American League. No one has done it three times, or done it in two different leagues. Fernando Tatis is the only player to have hit two grand slams in the same inning, doing so on April 23, 1999, with the St. Louis Cardinals.
There have 64 instances of this feat in major league history, including once each in the American Association and in the Players League. A complete list of occurrences can be found at the Baseball Almanac [1].
Other terms[edit]
There are many slang terms for home run, including homer, dinger, tater, round tripper, four bagger, circuit clout, and moon shot. A home run hit with the bases loaded is known as a grand slam.
For a full list, see List of nicknames for a home run.
Further Reading[edit]
- Jared Diamond: Swing Kings: The Inside Story of Baseball's Home Run Revolution, William Morrow Publisher, HarperCollins, New York, NY, 2020. ISBN 9780062872104
- Ed Eagle: "Players with 4 home runs in a game", mlb.com, September 5, 2018. [2]
- Christopher D. Green: "Baseball's First Power Surge: Home Runs in the Late 19th-Century Major Leagues", The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 40, Number 2 (Fall 2011), pp. 99-103.
- Thomas Harrigan: "This is each position's top home run hitter", mlb.com, December 11, 2020. [3]
- Bill Jenkinson: Baseball's Ultimate Power: Ranking the All-Time Greatest Distance Home Run Hitters, Lyons Press, Guilford, CT, 2010. ISBN 1599215446
- Bob McConnell and David Vincent: SABR Presents the Home Run Encyclopedia: The Who, What, and Where of Every Home Run Hit Since 1876, SABR, Macmillan, New York, NY, 1996. ISBN 002860816X
- Sweeny Murti: "Is this the most unbreakable HR record?", mlb.com, January 28, 2024. [4]
- Mike Petriello: "Everything you didn't know about home runs", mlb.com, April 30, 2023. [5]
- Joshua Shifrin and Tommy Shea: Dingers: The 101 Most Memorable Home Runs in Baseball History, Sports Publishing LLC, New York, NY, 2016. ISBN 978-1-6132-1831-0
- Christian Trudeau: "Out of Here: Home Runs in Canada", The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 40, Number 2 (Fall 2011), pp. 73-78. [6]
- David Vincent: Home Run: the Definitive History of Baseball's Ultimate Weapon, Potomac Books, Inc., Dulles, VA, 2007.
- David Vincent: Home Run's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Monumental Dingers, Prodigious Swingers, and Everything Long-Ball, Potomac Books, Inc., Dulles, VA, 2009.
- David Vincent: "Pitchers Dig the Long ball (At Least When They Are Hitting)", The Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 41, Number 1 (Spring 2012), pp. 7-11. [7]
- Steven K. Wagner: The Four Home Runs Club: Sluggers Who Achieved Baseball's Rarest Feat, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 2018. ISBN 978-1-5381-1542-8
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