Home run

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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 62 (Aaron Judge). 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]

Player Date League Team Opponent Score Notes
Bobby Lowe May 30, 1894 National League Boston Beaneaters Cincinnati Reds 20-11 two in 3rd inning
Ed Delahanty July 13, 1896 National League Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Colts 8-9 first time in defeat
Lou Gehrig June 3, 1932 American League New York Yankees Philadelphia Athletics 20-13
Chuck Klein July 10, 1936 National League Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates 9-6 10 innings
Pat Seerey July 18, 1948 American League Chicago White Sox Philadelphia Athletics 12-11 11 innings
Gil Hodges August 31, 1950 National League Brooklyn Dodgers Boston Braves 19-3 also hit a single
Joe Adcock July 31, 1954 National League Milwaukee Braves Brooklyn Dodgers 15-7 also hit a double
Rocky Colavito June 10, 1959 American League Cleveland Indians Baltimore Orioles 11-8
Willie Mays April 30, 1961 National League San Francisco Giants Milwaukee Braves 14-4
Mike Schmidt April 17, 1976 National League Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Cubs 18-16 10 innings; also hit a single
Bob Horner July 6, 1986 National League Atlanta Braves Montreal Expos 8-11 second time in defeat
Mark Whiten September 7, 1993 National League St. Louis Cardinals Cincinnati Reds 15-2 includes a grand slam
Mike Cameron May 2, 2002 American League Seattle Mariners Chicago White Sox 15-4 two in 1st inning
Shawn Green May 23, 2002 National League Los Angeles Dodgers Milwaukee Brewers 16-3 also hit a single and a double
Carlos Delgado September 25, 2003 American League Toronto Blue Jays Tampa Bay Devil Rays 10-8
Josh Hamilton May 8, 2012 American League Texas Rangers Baltimore Orioles 10-3 also hit a double
Scooter Gennett June 6, 2017 National League Cincinnati Reds St. Louis Cardinals 13-1 also hit a single
J.D. Martinez September 4, 2017 National League Arizona Diamondbacks Los Angeles Dodgers 13-0

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]
  • Giselle Stancic, Bill Nowlin and Jacob Pomremke, eds.: Dazzling Debuts: First At-Bat Home Runs, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2024. ISBN 978-1-960819-31-4
  • 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

See Also[edit]