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Home run

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"Homerun" redirects here. For For the Singaporean film, see Homerun (film), see Homerun (disambiguation).
For other uses, see the baseball concept.
Mark McGwire swinging for the fences.

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 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. There is an old saying, "Home run hitters drive Cadillacs, and singles hitters drive Fords."

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. Very rarely nowadays (though common in the game's early years when outfields were much more spacious), a batter can hit the ball in play and circle all the bases before the fielders can throw him out; this is called an inside-the-park home run, and typically requires that the batter be a quick runner, and that either the ball is made difficult to reach due to caroming in unexpected ways, 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 and labeled an error by the official scorer, that will preclude a home run on that play (in order for a misplay to be an error, it must be touched by the fielder, and allow a runner to advance one or more bases).

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.

A recent example of an inside the park home run caused by the park occurred on June 17, 2007, also at the Metrodome, in a Minnesota Twins vs. Milwaukee Brewers game, in which Prince Fielder hit a high fly ball to center field. Twins center fielder Lew Ford lost sight of the ball in the Metrodome's white roof. The ball landed 100 feet from Ford and the not-too-fleet Fielder circled the bases in 19 seconds. [1]

Another example of an inside-the-park home run caused by the ball park is one hit by Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on August 4, 2004. Rollins hit a short fly ball to right field. The ball landed short of the wall, then took an odd bounce off the wall. It then rolled under a bench in the Padres' bullpen, which made it difficult for right fielder Brian Giles to retrieve the ball. Meanwhile, Rollins rounded the bases and scored easily.

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 centerfielder 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

Main article: Grand slam (baseball)

A grand slam occurs when the bases are "loaded" (that is, there are base runners standing at first, second, and third base) and the batter hits a home run. An inside-the-park grand slam is a grand slam without the ball leaving the field, and it is very rare.

Ultimate Grand Slam

Main article: Ultimate Grand Slam

An ultimate grand slam is a game winning grand slam hit when the home team is trailing by 3 runs with 2 outs, and the grandslam wins the game. The most recent ultimate grand slam was achieved by Adam Dunn of the Cincinnati Reds on June 30, 2006.

Walk-off home run

Main article: Walk-off home run

A walk-off home run is a term coined by famous relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley[2] 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 walf-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, but it is easier to describe it as hitting four home runs consecutively. 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.[3]

Hitting for the cycle

Main article: 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.[4] While no other professional player has accomplished the feat, there have been multiple instances in college level play.[5][6] 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.[7] 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.[8]

History of the home run

Graph depicting the yearly number of home runs per MLB game (blue line)

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. The rule stipulated "when last seen" by the umpires. Photos from that era in ballparks, such as the Polo Grounds, show ropes strung from the foul poles to the back of the bleachers, in a straight line with the foul line, as a visual aid for the umpires. Ballparks still use a visual aid much like the ropes; a net attached to the foul poles 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 plane" of the goal line, in baseball the ball need only "break the plane" of the fence in fair territory.

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 career record for home runs in a professional career is held by Japan's Sadaharu Oh with 868. In Major League Baseball, the record is 755, held by Hank Aaron since 1974. Only four other major league players have hit as many as 600: Barry Bonds (754), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660), and Sammy Sosa (602). 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 (although his true total is not known due to poor recordkeeping in the Negro Leagues).

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 [1]), 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. [2] 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.

File:BabeRuth19321001.JPG
Frame-by-frame of "Babe Ruth's called shot" homer. The archetypal "uppercut" swing, and using body weight when stepping into the pitch to optimize momentum.

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, 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. 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:

Progression of the single-season home run record

Four baseball bats that were used in setting single-season home run records. From left to right: bat used by Babe Ruth to hit his 60th home run during the 1927 season, bat used by Roger Maris to hit his 61st home run during the 1961 season, bat used by Mark McGwire to hit his 70th home run during the 1998 season, and the bat used by Sammy Sosa for his 66th home run during the same season.
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, 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. What made it even more amazing was the fact that he was a pitcher by trade, and began to ask to play outfield at times so he could take more swings.
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. 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. McGwire had reached 58 despite having been traded in during the season. After hitting 34 in 105 games, the A's traded McGwire to the Cardinals on July 31. Losing 6 games in the schedule, and also needing some time to adjust to National League pitching, McGwire nevertheless hit them out at a blistering pace, smacking 24 more in just 51 games with the Cardinals. However, the player that pushed McGwire more in 1998 was Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs, who propelled himself into the race with a record-setting 20 home runs that June, and would finish with 66 that season. He actually led Big Mac for about 45 minutes when he hit his 66th, but after that it was all McGwire, who hit 5 in the final three games of the season. By then the old record had been rubbed out for several weeks, obliterating any "asterisk" issue. When McGwire hit his 62nd home run to break the record in early September, the Cardinals were playing at home (Busch Stadium in St. Louis) against the Cubs. In a tremendous show of sportsmanship, Sosa, who was playing in the outfield, actually ran in to celebrate with McGwire, who in return honored Sosa by saluting him in Sosa's own trademark fashion. McGwire also went to the stands to honor Maris' family, who were in attendance at the game. The following day, newspapers throughout the United States printed commemorative sports pages in honor of the milestone. McGwire and Sosa would both better 61 again in 1999, and Sosa would chase Barry Bonds in 2001.
73, by Barry Bonds**, San Francisco Giants (NL), 2001 (162 game schedule)
Far less press surrounded Bonds' chase for the record than surrounded McGwire's for three main reasons: First, most attention was still focused on the recent 9/11 terrorist attacks. Second, the record at that time had stood for only three years. Third, Bonds' poor relationship with the media and some fans contrasted significantly with that of McGwire and Sosa in 1998. 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 injuries 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 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

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.

References

  1. ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070617&content_id=2032009&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mil
  2. ^ Cohn, Lowell (April 21, 1988). "What the Eck?". San Francisco Chronicle. p. D1.
  3. ^ "Sox tie mark with four straight homers". MLB.com. April 23, 2007.
  4. ^ "Horne's 'home run cycle' has yet to be replicated". MiLB.com. August 11, 2006.
  5. ^ "Big-League Oles" (PDF). St. Olaf Magazine (St. Olaf College). May , 2004. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ ""Louisville Slugger's" All-American Baseball Teams". Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, Inc. May 28, 1999.
  7. ^ Los Angeles Angels/New York Yankees Box Score Tuesday April 26, 2005 Yahoo Sports, April 26, 2005
  8. ^ Los Angeles Angels/New York Yankees Play by Play Tuesday April 26, 2005 Yahoo Sports, April 26, 2005

See also

Career achievement list

Single game or season achievements

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