home run: Definition from Answers.com

In baseball, a home run is a hit in which the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring a run himself (along with a run scored by each runner who was already on base), with no errors by the defensive team on the play which result in the batter advancing for extra bases. Today, the feat is typically achieved by hitting the ball over the outfield fence between the foul poles (or making contact with either foul pole) without first touching the ground, resulting in an automatic home run.

Home runs are among the most popular aspects of baseball and, as a result, prolific home run hitters are usually the most popular among fans and consequently the highest paid by teams, hence the old saying, variously attributed to slugger Ralph Kiner, or to a teammate talking about Kiner, "Home run hitters drive Cadillacs, and singles hitters drive Fords."[1]

Types of home runs

In addition to the general term, "home run", certain plays in baseball have been given names to denote that they are a special type of home run. These home runs are generally considered to be special because of their rarity, but also because of the kind of excitement, specific to the game situation, that they can create.

Inside-the-park home run

In almost all cases, a home run involves hitting the ball over the outfield fence in fair territory, i.e. out of the playing field, without it being caught or deflected back by an outfielder into the playing field. This is sometimes called a home run "out of the ballpark", although that term is more frequently used to indicate a blow that completely clears any outfield seating. The narrower usage of "out of the ballpark", referencing only the playing field itself, contrasts with the term "inside-the-park" home run.

An inside-the-park home run occurs when a batter hits the ball in play and is able to circle the bases before the fielders can throw him out. Such a hit typically requires that the batter be a fast runner, and that either the ball is made difficult to reach due to unexpected caroms, structural variances and peculiarities of different ballparks; an outfielder diving to catch a ball but missing it totally; or possibly a collision between fielders.

If the ball is misplayed but touched by the fielder, and is labeled an error by the official scorer, that will preclude a home run on that play, although of course the runs scored on the play still count.

With outfields much less spacious and more uniformly designed than in the game's early days, inside-the-park home runs, which were once the dominant type of home run, are now a rarity.

A recent example of a diving miss was committed by Torii Hunter of the Minnesota Twins in Game 2 of a 2006 ALDS vs. the Oakland Athletics at the Metrodome. He came in on a fly ball hit by Mark Kotsay, dove and completely missed the ball. It rolled behind him toward the spacious center field area, while Kotsay dashed around the bases.

On July 10, 2007, the first inside the park home run in All Star Game history was hit by Ichiro Suzuki of the American League team. His fly ball off the right-center field wall took a carom in the opposite direction from where Ken Griffey, Jr. of the Reds was expecting it to go, and by the time the ball was relayed, Ichiro had already crossed the plate standing up.

The most famous post-season inside the park home run was probably the one hit by Mule Haas of the Philadelphia Athletics in Game 4 of the 1929 World Series at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. In the eighth inning, the Cubs led 8-0 and were six outs away from bringing the Series to a 2-2 tie, until disaster struck. The late afternoon, autumn sun angle at Shibe tended to be almost directly in the eyes of the center fielder. This fact, along with a center field corner that was about 470 feet from home plate, caught up to Chicago Cubs center fielder Hack Wilson, who lost Haas' fly ball in the sun. It sailed past Wilson, allowing Haas to round the bases while the short and chunky Wilson futilely chased after it. This punctuated a 10-run inning that effectively doomed the Cubs in that Series.

Grand slam

Home runs are often characterized by the number of runners on base at the time, if any. A home run hit with the bases empty is seldom called a "one-run homer", but rather a "solo" homer. With one or two runners on base, the home runs are usually called "two-run homers" or "three-run homers". The term "four-run homer" is seldom used. Instead, it is nearly always called a "grand slam".

A grand slam occurs when the bases are "loaded" or "juiced" (that is, there are base runners standing at first, second, and third base) and the batter hits a home run. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge. An inside-the-park grand slam is a grand slam without the ball leaving the field, and it is very rare.

Walk-off home run

A walk-off home run is a term coined by famous relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley^[1] to signify a home run that immediately ends the game (such as the famous one hit off him by Kirk Gibson in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series), so named because after the run is scored, the players can "walk off" the field. In order for this to happen, a member of the home team must hit a home run in the bottom of the last inning to either come from behind or break a tie. This type of home run is also called "sayonara home run," "sayonara" meaning "good-bye" in Japanese. The name initially meant that the pitcher walked off the field with his head hung in shame, but changed over time to mean that the batter, by necessity of the home team, would walk off the field to the cheers of the crowd.^{[citation needed]}

Two World Series have ended via the "walk-off" home run. The first was the 1960 World Series when Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates hit a 9th inning solo home run in the 7th game of the series off New York Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry to give the Pirates the World Championship. The second time was the 1993 World Series when Joe Carter of the Toronto Blue Jays hit a 9th inning 3-run home run off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams in Game 6 of the series.

On July 25, 1956, Roberto Clemente hit a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam in the ninth inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs, 9-8, at Forbes Field. Forbes had a very spacious left and center fields, deep left-center being posted at 457 feet.

On October 14, 2006, Magglio Ordonez hit a walk-off home run in the last inning of the American League Championship Series, Game 4, breaking a 3-3 tie against the Oakland Athletics and securing the Detroit Tigers' World Series berth with a 6-3 win.

In addition to the two World Series walk-offs, plus Ordonez's 2006 ALCS walk-off, five other postseason series have ended likewise: 1976 ALCS (Yankee Chris Chambliss beats Royals), 1999 NLDS (Met Todd Pratt beats Diamondbacks), 2003 ALCS (Yankee Aaron Boone beats Red Sox), 2004 ALDS (Red Sox David Ortiz beats Angels), and 2005 NLDS (Astro Chris Burke beats Braves in postseason-record 18 innings). From 1960 to 1999, 4 postseason series ended via the walk-off, whereas a series in each of the last 4 postseasons (through 2006) ended likewise. The only type of postseason series still to never conclude with a home run is the NLCS.

Back-to-back

When two consecutive batters each hit a home run, this is described as back-to-back home runs. It is still considered back-to-back even if both batters hit their home runs off of different pitchers. A third batter hitting a home run is commonly referred to as back-to-back-to-back. Four home runs in a row by consecutive batters has only occurred five times in the history of Major League Baseball. Following convention, this would be back-to-back-to-back-to-back. Twice it has happened against one pitcher, most recently by the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees on April 22, 2007 in Fenway Park. Manny Ramirez, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek all hit home runs against Chase Wright consecutively.^[2]

Hitting for the cycle

A batter hits for the cycle when he collects a single, double, triple and home run all in the same game. As home runs usually demonstrate batting power and triples indicate speed, hitting for the cycle is highly regarded in that it indicates a player's varied abilities. Collecting the hits in the order above is called a "natural cycle." A "home run cycle" is one in which a player hits a 1-run, 2-run, 3-run, and grand slam home run all in one game. The first and only home run cycle in a professional baseball game belongs to Tyrone Horne, who stroked four long balls for the minor league, Double-A Arkansas Travelers in a game against the San Antonio Missions on July 27, 1998.^[3] While no other professional player has accomplished the feat, there have been multiple instances in college level play.^[4][5] The closest a major league player has come to hitting for the home run cycle was on April 26, 2005 when Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees hit 3 home runs off Los Angeles Angels pitcher Bartolo Colon.^[6] Rodriguez hit a 3-run home run, 2-run home run, and a grand slam in the first, third, and fourth innings, respectively. He later, in the bottom of the eighth inning, just missed a solo home run, lining out to Jeff DaVanon in deep center field.^[7]

History of the home run

In the early days of the game, when the ball was less lively and the ballparks generally had very large outfields, most home runs were of the inside-the-park variety. The first home run ever hit in the National League was by Ross Barnes of the Chicago White Stockings (now known as the Chicago Cubs), in 1876. The home "run" was literally descriptive. Home runs over the fence were rare, and only in ballparks where a fence was fairly close. Hitters were discouraged from trying to hit home runs, with the conventional wisdom being that if they tried to do so they would simply fly out. This was a serious concern in the 19th century, because in baseball's early days a ball caught after one bounce was still an out.

The home run's place in baseball changed dramatically when the live-ball era began after World War I. Batters such as Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby took full advantage of rules changes that were instituted during the 1920s, particularly prohibition of the spitball, and the requirement that balls be replaced when worn or dirty, especially as the game's popularity boomed and more outfield seating was built, shrinking the size of the outfield. The teams with the sluggers, especially the New York Yankees, became the championship teams, and other teams had to change their focus from the "inside game" to the "power game" in order to keep up.

Prior to 1931, a ball that bounced over an outfield fence during a major league game was considered a home run. The rule was changed to require the ball to clear the fence on the fly, and balls that reached the seats on a bounce became ground rule doubles in most parks.

Also, until approximately that time, the ball had to not only go over the fence in fair territory, but to land in the bleachers in fair territory or to still be visibly fair when disappearing behind a wall. The rule stipulated "fair when last seen" by the umpires. Photos from that era in ballparks, such as the Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium, show ropes strung from the foul poles to the back of the bleachers, or a second "foul pole" at the back of the bleachers, in a straight line with the foul line, as a visual aid for the umpire. Ballparks still use a visual aid much like the ropes; a net or screen attached to the foul poles on the fair side has replaced ropes. As with American football, where a touchdown once required a literal "touch down" of the ball in the end zone but now only requires the "breaking of the [vertical] plane" of the goal line, in baseball the ball need only "break the plane" of the fence in fair territory (unless the balls is caught by a player who is in play, in which case the batter is called out).

Babe Ruth's 60th home run in 1927 was somewhat controversial, because it landed barely in fair territory in the stands down the right field line. Ruth lost a number of home runs in his career due to the when-last-seen rule. Bill Jenkinson, in The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs, estimates that Ruth lost at least 50 and as many as 78 in his career due to this rule.

Further, the rules once stipulated that an over-the-fence home run in a sudden-victory situation would only count for as many bases as was necessary to "force" the winning run home. For example, if a team trailed by two runs with the bases loaded, and the batter hit a fair ball over the fence, it only counted as a triple, because the runner immediately ahead of him had technically already scored the game-winning run. That rule was changed in the 1920s as home runs became increasingly frequent and popular. Babe Ruth's career total of 714 would have been one higher had that rule not been in effect in the early part of his career.

The all-time, verified professional baseball record for home runs is held by Sadaharu Oh, a former player and manager of the Yomiuri Giants and current manager of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks in Japan's league which is called Nippon Professional Baseball. Oh holds the all-time home run world record, having hit 868 home runs in his career.

In Major League Baseball, the record is 762, held by the still-active Barry Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron's record on August 7, 2007, when he hit his 756th home run at AT&T Park. Only four other major league players have hit as many as 600: Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), and Sammy Sosa (604). The single season record is 73, set by Barry Bonds in 2001.

Negro League slugger Josh Gibson's Baseball Hall of Fame plaque says he hit "almost 800" home runs in his career. The Guinness Book of World Records lists Gibson's lifetime home run total at 800. Gibson's true total is not known due to poor recordkeeping in the Negro Leagues. The 1993 edition of the MacMillan Baseball Encyclopedia attempted to compile a set of Negro League records. Although sparse, their records demonsrate that Gibson and Ruth were of comparable power. The book has Gibson hitting 146 home runs in the 501 games they were able to account for in his 17-year career, about 1 homer every 3.4 games. Babe Ruth, in 22 seasons (several of them in the dead-ball era), hit 714 in 2503 games, or 1 homer every 3.5 games.

Other legendary home run hitters include Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle (who on September 10, 1960, mythically hit "the longest home run ever" at an estimated distance of 643 feet, although this was measured after the ball stopped rolling [2]), Reggie Jackson, Harmon Killebrew, Ernie Banks, Mike Schmidt, Dave Kingman, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, Ken Griffey Jr. and Eddie Mathews. The longest verifiable home run distance is about 575 feet, by Babe Ruth, to straightaway center field at Tiger Stadium (then called Navin Field and prior to the double-deck), which landed nearly across the intersection of Trumbull and Cherry.

The location of where Hank Aaron's record 755th home run landed has been monumented in Milwaukee. [3] The hallowed spot sits outside Miller Park, where the Milwaukee Brewers currently play. Similarly, the point where Aaron's 715th homer landed, upon breaking Ruth's career record in 1974, is marked in the Turner Field parking lot.

Home run slang

Slang terms for home runs include: big-fly, blast, bomb, circuit clout, dinger, ding-dong, dong, four-bagger, four-base knock, goner, gopher ball, homer, jack, longball, moonshot, quadruple, round-tripper, shot, slam, swat, tape-measure shot, tater, and wallop. The act of hitting a home run can be called going deep or going yard or going home; additionally, with men on base, it can be called clearing the table. A comparatively long home run can be described as Ruthian, named after Babe Ruth's legendary drives. The act of attempting to hit a home run, whether successful or not, can also be termed swinging for the fences. A game with many home runs in it can be referred to as a slugfest or home run derby. A player who hits a home run is said to have "dialed 8", from the practice of having to dial 8 from a hotel room telephone to dial long distance. A grand slam is often referred to as a grand salami or simply, a salami.

Player nicknames that describe home run-hitting prowess include:

• The Sultan of Swat, the Colossus of Clout, the Wali of Wallop (Babe Ruth)
• The Crown Prince of Swat (Lou Gehrig, a play on Ruth's nickname)
• The Rajah of Swat (Rogers Hornsby, a play on Ruth's nickname, as well as his own name)
• The Rajah (Roger Maris), a play on Ruth's nickname, as well as his own name
• Hammerin' Hank Greenberg
• Hammerin' Hank, The Hammer, The New Sultan of Swat (Hank Aaron)
• Hammerin' Hank, Homerin' Hank, Hank the Tank, and The Hammer (Hank Blalock)
• Mr. Home Run (Ralph Kiner)
• Downtown (Ollie Brown)
• Kong (Dave Kingman)
• The Great Giambino Jason Giambi, a play on another Ruth nickname, The Bambino
• Bam-Tino (Tino Martinez), likewise
• Stormin' Gorman (Gorman Thomas), a play on "Stormin' Norman"
• Frank "Home Run" Baker
• The Bash Brothers (Mark McGwire and José Canseco)
• Slammin' Sammy (Sammy Sosa), a play on golfer "Slammin' Sammy" Snead, also known for long drives
• Big Mac (Mark McGwire; they even named a section of Busch Stadium "Big Mac Land" in left field)
• The Killer (Harmon Killebrew)
• Bye-Bye (Steve Balboni)
• Juan Gone (Juan Gonzalez), as in "long gone"
• Murderers' Row (the 1927 New York Yankees lineup)
• Mr. October (Reggie Jackson, who hit three home runs off three consecutive pitches in one World Series game, and four home runs off four consecutive pitches over the course of two games.)
• The Blake Street Bombers (Colorado Rockies hitters of the 90s)
• Godzilla (Hideki Matsui)
• Big Papi, (David Ortiz)
• Bill "Swish" Nicholson, imitative of his home run swing
• Mr. November (Derek Jeter) In Game 4 of the 2001 World Series Derek Jeter hit a game winning home run against Arizona pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim in the early morning of November 1st. A play on Mr. October.
• Vlad the Impaler, Big Bad Vlad, Big Daddy Vladdy, Super Vlad (Vladimir Guerrero)
• "Big Barry", Barry Bonds
• The Big Hurt (Frank Thomas)
• Big Daddy (Cecil Fielder)
• The Thominator (Jim Thome), a play on "the Terminator"

Progression of the Major League Baseball single-season home run record

5, by George Hall, Philadelphia Athletics (NL), 1876 (70 game schedule)

9, by Charley Jones, Boston Red Stockings (NL), 1879 (84 game schedule)

14, by Harry Stovey, Philadelphia Athletics (AA), 1883 (98 game schedule)

27, by Ned Williamson, Chicago White Stockings (NL), 1884 (112 game schedule)

Williamson benefitted from a very short outfield fence in his home ballpark, Lakeshore Park. During the park's previous years, balls hit over the fence in that park were ground-rule doubles, but in 1884 (its final year) they were credited as home runs. Williamson led the pace, but several of his Chicago teammates also topped the 20 HR mark that season. Of Williamson's total, 25 were hit at home, and only 2 on the road. Noticing the fluke involved, fans of the early 20th Century were more impressed with Buck Freeman's total of 25 home runs in 1899 or Gavvy Cravath's 1915 total of 24.

29, by Babe Ruth, Boston Red Sox (AL), 1919 (140 game schedule)

Even with that relatively small quantity, and still pitching part-time, Ruth outslugged 10 of the other 15 major league clubs. The second-highest individual total was 12, by Gavvy Cravath of the Philadelphia Phillies. Ruth homered in every park in the league, the first time anyone had achieved that goal. Ruth was a pitcher by trade, and the ultimate exception to the axiom that "pitcher's can't hit". Ruth had led the league with 11 in 1918, despite playing only 95 games, and still in the "dead-ball" era. By 1919, after the War, the materials for baseballs began to improve and became naturally "livelier".

54, Babe Ruth, New York Yankees (AL), 1920 (154 game schedule)

Ruth hit just a few more home runs on the road (26) than he had the previous year (20), but he hit far more (29) in the Polo Grounds in New York (where the Yankees played at the time) than he had in Fenway Park (9) in Boston the year before, as he took full advantage of the nearby right field wall, although he also hit many long drives at the Polo Grounds. Of the other 15 major league clubs, only the Philadelphia Phillies exceeded Ruth's single-handed total, hitting 64 in their bandbox ballpark Baker Bowl. The second-highest individual total was the St. Louis Browns' George Sisler's 19. Ruth's major-league record slugging percentage (total bases / at bats) of .847 stood for the next 80 years.

59, by Ruth, New York (AL), 1921 (154 game schedule)

Ruth's slugging percentage was just .001 less than his record-setting average the previous year.

60, by Ruth, New York (AL), 1927 (154 game schedule)

Ruth hit more home runs in 1927 than any of the other seven American League teams. His closest rival was his teammate Lou Gehrig, who hit 47 homers that year.

61, by Roger Maris, New York (AL), 1961 (162 game schedule)

Pushing Maris that year was teammate Mickey Mantle; slowed by an injury late in the season, Mantle finished with 54. With the season being 8 games longer than in previous years, and official recordkeepers placing an apocryphal "asterisk" next to the record, many observers derided this situation as a major public relations gaffe by major league baseball.

70, by Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals (NL), 1998 (162 game schedule)

After an epic battle between McGwire and Ken Griffey, Jr., who both got into the 50s in 1997, many expected the two to take on Maris in 1998. However, the player that competed for the record with McGwire in 1998 was Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs, who propelled himself into the race with a record-setting 20 home runs that June. He would finish with 66 that season and actually led McGwire for approximately 45 minutes after hitting his 66th, until McGwire hit his own 66th, and four more in his final three games of the season. By then, the old records had been broken by McGwire (in 144 games - fewer than even the old 154 game season), removing any issue of season length.

73, by Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants (NL), 2001 (162 game schedule)

In part due to 9/11 terrorist attacks, the then-recently set record of only three years by McGwire, and Bonds' poor relationship with the media and some fans, Bonds' record setting was not as publicized as the previous chases. Bonds' phenomenal slugging percentage of .863 broke the major league record set by Ruth in 1920. Bonds was initially chased closely by Sammy Sosa of the Cubs and Luis Gonzalez of the Arizona Diamondbacks, but Gonzalez faded late and finished with 57, while Sosa finished closer with 64 to become the first player to exceed 60 home runs in three separate seasons. McGwire was not a factor, in his final major season, with the injuries that had plagued him for much of his career finally taking their toll, although he still hit at a pace that would have put him near 50 if he had played a full season.

Past single-season home run record holders by average home runs per game:
Number of home runs in the season divided by number of games in schedule (not games played)

0.45 Barry Bonds

0.43 Mark McGwire

0.39 Babe Ruth (4)

0.383 Babe Ruth (3)

0.377 Roger Maris

0.35 Babe Ruth (2)

0.24 Ned Williamson

0.20 Babe Ruth (1)

0.14 Harry Stovey

0.10 Charley Jones

0.07 George Hall

Selected list of pitchers giving up record-breaking home runs:

• 1883 - Jack Neagle, Allegheny Club of Pittsburg^[sic] - Harry Stovey's 10th of the season
• 1919 - Waite Hoyt, New York Yankees - Babe Ruth's 28th of the season
• 1920 - Dickie Kerr, Chicago White Sox - Babe Ruth's 30th of the season
• 1921 - Bill Bayne, St. Louis Browns - Babe Ruth's 55th of the season
• 1927 - Tom Zachary, Washington Nats/Senators - Babe Ruth's 60th of the season
• 1961 - Tracy Stallard, Boston Red Sox - Roger Maris' 61st of the season
• 1974 - Al Downing, Los Angeles Dodgers - Hank Aaron's 715th of his career
• 1998 - Steve Trachsel, Chicago Cubs - Mark McGwire's 62nd of the season
• 2001 - Chan Ho Park, Los Angeles Dodgers - Barry Bonds' 71st of the season
• 2007 - Mike Bacsik, Washington Nationals - Barry Bonds' 756 Career

This includes only the home runs that broke a record set in a previous year, not home runs that extended a record within the same year.

Progression of the Major League Baseball career home run record

This section is based on information from MLB.com and Baseball-Reference.com, beginning with the National League in 1876, and is supplemented by information on the players' individual pages. Total shown is at the end of a given year. Year shown is either the year one batter broke another's record, or broke his own record.

5, George Hall, 1876

6, Charley Jones, 1877

9, Charley Jones, 1878

18, Charley Jones, 1879

23, Charley Jones, 1880 (out of baseball 1881-1882)

33, Charley Jones, 1883

40, Charley Jones, 1884

50, Harry Stovey, 1885

57, Harry Stovey, 1886

65, Dan Brouthers, 1887

74, Dan Brouthers, 1888

89, Harry Stovey, 1889

101, Harry Stovey, 1890

117, Harry Stovey, 1891

121, Harry Stovey, 1892

122, Harry Stovey, 1893

126, Roger Connor, 1895

137, Roger Connor, 1896

138, Roger Connor, 1897

162, Babe Ruth, 1921

197, Babe Ruth, 1922

238, Babe Ruth, 1923

284, Babe Ruth, 1924

309, Babe Ruth, 1925

356, Babe Ruth, 1926

416, Babe Ruth, 1927

470, Babe Ruth, 1928

516, Babe Ruth, 1929

565, Babe Ruth, 1930

611, Babe Ruth, 1931

652, Babe Ruth, 1932

686, Babe Ruth, 1933

708, Babe Ruth, 1934

714, Babe Ruth, 1935

733, Hank Aaron, 1974

745, Hank Aaron, 1975

755, Hank Aaron, 1976

762, Barry Bonds *, 2007

* = active player

References

See also

• 61*, a 2001 made-for-TV baseball movie chronicling Maris' 1961 season
• List of home run calls in baseball
• Home Run Derby

External links

• MLB's Home Run Leaders - batting statistics for over 16,000 players

Career achievement list

• List of lifetime home run leaders through history
• Major League Baseball home run milestones
• 500 home run club
• List of top 500 Major League Baseball home run hitters
• All-Time leaders in home runs for a pitcher
• Home run in first major league at bat
• Home run in final at-bat
• List of top home run hitters by birthplace

Single game or season achievements

Batters hitting two home runs in one inning: Accomplished close to 50 times in the course of major league history. Special mention for Nomar Garciaparra, who hit two in the third inning and one in the fourth inning, in the first game on July 23, 2002 -- the only player (through 2006) to hit three homers over two consecutive innings.

Most home runs in a doubleheader: Stan Musial hit 5 on May 2, 1954. Nate Colbert equalled the feat on August 1, 1972.

• MLB hitters with four home runs in one game
• MLB hitters with three home runs in one game
• Batters with two grand slams in the same baseball game
• Players who have hit 30 or more home runs before the All-Star break