50 Home Runs: Home Run Rate (AB/HR) percentages above the league. Babe Ruth #1. Pete Alonso dead last.

Babe Ruth

Positions: Outfielder and Pitcher

Bats: Left  •  Throws: Left

6-2, 215lb (188cm, 97kg)

Born: February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, MD us

What, you were expecting Giancarlo Stanton? His 59 HR in 2017 rank number 40 in HR% among the 46 seasons of at least 50 HR.

In 1920 the American League (AL) hit 369 Home Runs. Babe Ruth hit 54 of them. That's 14.6%. Ruth out homered every other team in both 1920 and 1927. If each batter's HR and AB had been subtracted from the league numbers as had been done in other HR rate posts here, Ruth's prodigious HR% would have been even higher.

Batting Average and Home Run Rate percentages above the league 1903-2019. Thursday, February 3, 2022

Data is for both the American League (AL) and National League (NL) seasons 1903-2019.

Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth dominate, so there will be a subsequent post, probably for seasons 1950-2019. That pushes past World War II, which ended in 1945, and any post war adjustment seasons.

BA% is the percentage that a player's Batting Average (BA) is above the league BA that season.

HR% is the percentage that a player's Home Run rate (AB/HR; lower is better) is above the league Home Run rate that season.

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Batting Average and Home Run Rate percentages above the league 1950-2019. Williams and Schmidt lead. Saturday, February 5, 2022

Maximum. Minimum.

Home Runs sorted by HR%: 

Year	L	Team	First	Last	bats	BA%	HR%	BAplayer	HRratePlay	HR	AB	H	BB	BA_L	HRrate_L	BA1	Age	throws	Lname
1920	AL	NYA	Babe	Ruth	L	32.77%	92.56%	.3764	8.46	54	457	172	150	.28348	113.783	No	25	L	Ruth
1927	AL	NYA	Babe	Ruth	L	24.54%	90.62%	.3556	9.00	60	540	192	137	.28549	95.939	No	32	L	Ruth
1921	AL	NYA	Babe	Ruth	L	29.18%	89.81%	.3778	9.15	59	540	204	145	.29244	89.788	No	26	L	Ruth
1928	AL	NYA	Babe	Ruth	L	14.90%	88.62%	.3228	9.93	54	536	173	137	.28091	87.199	No	33	L	Ruth
1932	AL	PHA	Jimmie	Foxx	R	31.59%	83.58%	.3641	10.09	58	585	213	116	.27670	61.429	No	25	R	Foxx
1938	AL	DET	Hank	Greenberg	R	12.08%	80.51%	.3147	9.59	58	556	175	119	.28082	49.190	No	27	R	Greenberg
1998	NL	SLN	Mark	McGwire	R	14.11%	78.97%	.2986	7.27	70	509	152	162	.26170	34.581	No	35	R	McGwire
1930	NL	CHN	Hack	Wilson	R	17.16%	78.67%	.3556	10.45	56	585	208	105	.30348	48.983	No	30	R	Wilson
2001	NL	SFN	Barry	Bonds	L	25.39%	78.15%	.3277	6.52	73	476	156	177	.26137	29.844	No	37	L	Bonds
1949	NL	PIT	Ralph	Kiner	R	18.01%	77.74%	.3097	10.17	54	549	170	117	.26239	45.680	No	27	R	Kiner
1938	AL	BOS	Jimmie	Foxx	R	24.16%	77.03%	.3487	11.30	50	565	197	119	.28082	49.190	Yes	31	R	Foxx
1947	NL	PIT	Ralph	Kiner	R	18.01%	76.87%	.3133	11.08	51	565	177	98	.26545	47.894	No	25	R	Kiner
1947	NL	NY1	Johnny	Mize	L	13.79%	76.01%	.3020	11.49	51	586	177	74	.26545	47.894	No	34	R	Mize
1965	NL	SFN	Willie	Mays	R	27.34%	74.46%	.3172	10.73	52	558	177	76	.24909	42.016	No	34	R	Mays
1999	NL	SLN	Mark	McGwire	R	3.74%	73.95%	.2783	8.02	65	521	145	133	.26828	30.768	No	36	R	McGwire
1956	AL	NYA	Mickey	Mantle	B	35.47%	73.77%	.3527	10.25	52	533	188	112	.26036	39.076	Yes	25	R	Mantle
1990	AL	DET	Cecil	Fielder	R	7.09%	73.73%	.2775	11.24	51	573	159	90	.25911	42.762	No	27	R	Fielder
1961	AL	NYA	Mickey	Mantle	B	24.04%	73.41%	.3171	9.52	54	514	163	126	.25566	35.791	No	30	R	Mantle
1961	AL	NYA	Roger	Maris	L	5.41%	72.98%	.2695	9.67	61	590	159	94	.25566	35.791	No	27	R	Maris
1998	NL	CHN	Sammy	Sosa	R	17.67%	71.83%	.3079	9.74	66	643	198	73	.26170	34.581	No	30	R	Sosa
1996	AL	OAK	Mark	McGwire	R	12.58%	71.80%	.3121	8.13	52	423	132	116	.27718	28.844	No	33	R	McGwire
1977	NL	CIN	George	Foster	R	22.34%	71.08%	.3203	11.83	52	615	197	61	.26184	40.895	No	29	R	Foster
2002	AL	CLE	Jim	Thome	L	15.31%	70.76%	.3042	9.23	52	480	146	122	.26378	31.570	No	32	R	Thome
1997			Mark	McGwire	R	1.28%	70.73%	.2741	9.63	58	540	148	101	.27061	32.909	No	34	R	McGwire
2010	AL	TOR	Jose	Bautista	R	0.09%	69.95%	.2601	10.54	54	569	148	100	.25987	35.069	No	30	R	Bautista
2001	NL	CHN	Sammy	Sosa	R	25.32%	69.79%	.3276	9.02	64	577	189	116	.26137	29.844	No	33	R	Sosa
2007	AL	NYA	Alex	Rodriguez	R	16.03%	68.95%	.3139	10.80	54	583	183	95	.27053	34.766	No	32	R	Rodriguez
2006	NL	PHI	Ryan	Howard	L	18.42%	67.98%	.3133	10.02	58	581	182	108	.26452	31.283	No	27	L	Howard
1999	NL	CHN	Sammy	Sosa	R	7.35%	67.76%	.2880	9.92	63	625	180	78	.26828	30.768	No	31	R	Sosa
2013	AL	BAL	Chris	Davis	L	11.81%	66.91%	.2860	11.02	53	584	167	72	.25576	33.299	No	27	R	Davis
1998	NL	SDN	Greg	Vaughn	R	4.03%	66.86%	.2723	11.46	50	573	156	79	.26170	34.581	No	33	R	Vaughn
2006	AL	BOS	David	Ortiz	L	4.34%	66.48%	.2867	10.33	54	558	160	119	.27481	30.832	No	31	L	Ortiz
2005	NL	ATL	Andruw	Jones	R	0.43%	66.36%	.2628	11.49	51	586	154	64	.26167	34.155	No	28	R	Jones
1995	AL	CLE	Albert	Belle	R	17.23%	66.01%	.3168	10.92	50	546	173	73	.27029	32.127	No	29	R	Belle
1997	AL	SEA	Ken	Griffey	L	12.44%	65.63%	.3043	10.86	56	608	185	76	.27061	31.585	No	28	L	Griffey
1955	NL	NY1	Willie	Mays	R	23.28%	65.62%	.3190	11.37	51	580	185	79	.25873	33.074	No	24	R	Mays
2007	NL	MIL	Prince	Fielder	L	8.29%	65.36%	.2880	11.46	50	573	165	90	.26591	33.083	No	23	R	Fielder
2002	AL	TEX	Alex	Rodriguez	R	13.61%	65.32%	.2997	10.95	57	624	187	87	.26378	31.570	No	27	R	Rodriguez
2001	NL	ARI	Luis	Gonzalez	L	24.39%	64.20%	.3251	10.68	57	609	198	100	.26137	29.844	No	34	R	Gonzalez
2017	NL	MIA	Giancarlo	Stanton	R	10.68%	64.02%	.2814	10.12	59	597	168	85	.25426	28.120	No	28	R	Stanton
1998	AL	SEA	Ken	Griffey	L	4.81%	63.98%	.2844	11.30	56	633	180	76	.27132	31.379	No	29	L	Griffey
2001	AL	TEX	Alex	Rodriguez	R	19.17%	61.02%	.3180	12.15	52	632	201	75	.26687	31.179	No	26	R	Rodriguez
2017	AL	NYA	Aaron	Judge	R	11.13%	60.21%	.2841	10.42	52	542	154	127	.25568	26.194	No	25	R	Judge
1996	AL	BAL	Brady	Anderson	L	7.17%	59.85%	.2971	11.58	50	579	172	76	.27718	28.844	No	32	L	Anderson
2000	NL	CHN	Sammy	Sosa	R	20.19%	59.09%	.3195	12.08	50	604	193	91	.26587	29.532	No	32	R	Sosa
2019	NL	NYN	Pete	Alonso	R	3.30%	55.29%	.2596	11.26	53	597	155	72	.25134	25.195	No	25	R	Alonso
Year	L	Team	First	Last	bats	BA%	HR%	BAplayer	HRratePlay	HR	AB	H	BB	BA_L	HRrate_L	BA1	Age	throws	Lname
2019				Maximum		35.47%	92.56%	.3778	12.15	73	643	213	177	.30348	113.783		37
1920				Minimum		0.09%	55.29%	.2596	6.52	50	423	132	61	.24909	25.195		23

Mickey Mantle had the highest BA%. Mantle and Jimmie Foxx are the only two who led in BA in a 50 HR season, Mantle in his 1956 triple crown 52 HR season, Foxx in 1938 when he hit 50 HR for the Red Sox (35 at home). Foxx had the triple crown in 1933 with the Philadelphia Athletics when he hit 48 HR. The triple crown is leading your league in BA, HR, RBI in a season. Ironically, a career triple crown, leading in those stats in any season but not all in one season, is about as rare. The tough part is leading in BA and HR. HR and RBI obviously have a high correlation. Ruth had the highest BA in a 50 HR season.

Ruth created modern home run hitting. And to preempt it:

Babe Ruth never batted against Satchel Paige. Neither did Jackie Robinson. Friday, May 29, 2009

What Barry Bonds did in 2001 hitting 73 HR in only 476 AB with the most BB among 50 HR seasons (177) is incredible, I don't care what the guy was taking. Look at the graphs in previous posts showing league HRrates. MANY, if not most, batters must have been using for the league rates to suddenly improve so much in the early 1990s ... and then revert at least somewhat 2010-2019 when MLB finally cracked down. In other words, only Bonds hit 73 HR. Bonds is number 9 on this list in HR%.

Mark McGwire is number 7 with his short lived record 70 HR in 509 AB in 1998. His HR% is just a shade better than Bonds. And McGwire is also numbers 15, 21, 24. Bonds hit at least 50 HR only that one time.

Kudos to Ralph Kiner: #10 and #12.

Numbers 18 and 19: Mantle and Maris 1961, the M&M boys.

Mantle has numbers 16 and 18 but Willie Mays has numbers 14 and 36. Who gets the nod?

Fielder: Cecil #17 and son Prince #37.

Consecutive 56 HR seasons by Ken Griffey, Jr. are only numbers 35 and 41.

Alex Rodriguez: 27, 38, 42. Tough to stand apart from the crowd when "many" are doing it.

Brady Anderson hitting mostly leadoff, belted 50 HR in 1996 playing for Baltimore. Of his 579 AB: 402 leading off, 174 batting second. His HR% is third from the bottom. But his 19 HR at home are the lowest percentage at home of any 50 HR season. 

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=anderbr01&year=1996&t=b

In 2017 New York Yankee Aaron Judge set the rookie record for HR with 52. In 2019 New York Met rookie Pete Alonso broke that record with 53 HR. But even though Judge had HR% of only 60.21% (43 out the 46), Alonso was dead last with by far the lowest HR%: 55.29%. That may not seem like much of a difference but take a look at the matrix above. Plus, Alonso was also last in BA. And his 2019 NL had the lowest HRrate among the 46 seasons: 25.195. This a classic example of why we shouldn't just stare at season HR totals.

Batting Average and Home Run Rate percentages above the league 1950-2019. Williams and Schmidt lead. Saturday, February 5, 2022

1950-1969: Home Run Rate (AB/HR) percentages above the league. Willie McCovey #1. Monday, February 7, 2022

1970-1989: Home Run Rate (AB/HR) percentages above the league. Mike Schmidt #1. Wednesday, February 9, 2022

1990-2009: Home Run Rate (AB/HR) percentages above the league. Mark McGwire and/or Barry Bonds #1, PED not withstanding. Thursday, February 10, 2022

2010-2019: Home Run Rate (AB/HR) percentages above the league. Jose Bautista #1. Monday, February 14, 2022