60 Home Runs seasons ranked by (AB/HR) percent difference from top HR that season.

This post uses a method I used in 2019. It is described below.

Click this link to view detailed data used in the 2019 series.

1. Ted Williams, Home Run King? Yes, using AB/HR. Wednesday, December 18, 2019

... Home Run hitting by individuals should be judged by more than the total...

... for this new series:
- look at batters in their own league
- subtract the individual's numbers from that of the group of other batters before making the comparison...

Finally, this new series is being done on somewhat of an anecdotal basis using a spreadsheet, not a database of all batters ...

Players in bold led that league in Home Runs that season...

* lefty # switch hitter

AB: At Bats
HR: Home Runs
American League (AL) and National League (NL)
Home Run Rate: AB/HR (lower is better)
N: number of AL or NL teams that season
Top home run hitters: N hitters with the most HR, plus any ties at the bottom
Home Run Rate AL or NL: for N hitters: total AB / total HR
Home Run Rate hitters: AB/HR
Dif: Home Run Rate hitter - other Home Run Rate AL or NL N hitters
PctDif: Dif/Home Run Rate AL or NL
PctDif#: rank among N hitters for PctDif

Hitters are ranked by relative position: 1, 2, 3, ... Ties would have the same number and then rank number would resume. For example, if four players are tied at third place: 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 7, 8, ...

______________________________

There have been 8 AL or NL seasons of at least 60 HR:

1927 AL: Ruth 60

1961 AL: Maris 61

1998 NL: McGwire 70, Sosa 66

1999 NL: McGwire 65, Sosa 63

2001 NL: Bonds 73, Sosa 64

Aaron Judge may join them in 2022. So far he has 51 HR through 131 team games. Judge may also break both Yankee season HR records.

Aaron Judge Home Run pace through Yankee game 131: 60 in 154 games, 63 in 162 games. Thursday, September 1, 2022

Below is a matrix using the method described above applied to those five 60 HR seasons. There are also two summaries with the 60 HR sorted by Year/HR, then by PctDif. The data is also at this link. I think the data is self explanatory but I will make some comments below the matrix.

G: Group of HR leaders; it is the number of teams in the league that season

P: Player

1927		1927					G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	1927
	HR#	Name	Tm	HR	AB	AB/HR	HR	AB	AB/HR	Dif	PctDif	PctDif#	Name
1927	1	Babe Ruth*	NYY	60	540	9.000	136	3,501	25.743	16.743	65.04%	1	Babe Ruth*
1927	2	Lou Gehrig*	NYY	47	584	12.426	149	3,457	23.201	10.776	46.44%	2	Lou Gehrig*
1927	3	Tony Lazzeri	NYY	18	570	31.667	178	3,471	19.500	-12.167	-62.39%	5	Tony Lazzeri
1927	4	Ken Williams*	SLB	17	423	24.882	179	3,618	20.212	-4.670	-23.11%	3	Ken Williams*
1927	5	Al Simmons	PHA	15	406	27.067	181	3,635	20.083	-6.984	-34.77%	4	Al Simmons
1927	6	Harry Heilmann	DET	14	505	36.071	182	3,536	19.429	-16.643	-85.66%	7	Harry Heilmann
1927	7	Goose Goslin*	WSH	13	581	44.692	183	3,460	18.907	-25.785	-136.38%	8	Goose Goslin*
1927	8	Mickey Cochrane*	PHA	12	432	36.000	184	3,609	19.614	-16.386	-83.54%	6	Mickey Cochrane*
		Group		196	4,041	20.617
1961		1961					G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	1961
	HR#	Name	Tm	HR	AB	AB/HR	HR	AB	AB/HR	Dif	PctDif	PctDif#	Name
1961	1	Roger Maris*	NYY	61	590	9.672	345	4,761	13.800	4.128	29.91%	2	Roger Maris*
1961	2	Mickey Mantle#	NYY	54	514	9.519	352	4,837	13.741	4.223	30.73%	1	Mickey Mantle#
1961	3	Jim Gentile*	BAL	46	486	10.565	360	4,865	13.514	2.949	21.82%	3	Jim Gentile*
1961	4	Harmon Killebrew	MIN	46	541	11.761	360	4,810	13.361	1.600	11.98%	4	Harmon Killebrew
1961	5	Rocky Colavito	DET	45	583	12.956	361	4,768	13.208	.252	1.91%	5	Rocky Colavito
1961	6	Norm Cash*	DET	41	535	13.049	365	4,816	13.195	.146	1.10%	6	Norm Cash*
1961	7	Bob Allison	MIN	29	556	19.172	377	4,795	12.719	-6.454	-50.74%	9	Bob Allison
1961	8	Bill Skowron	NYY	28	561	20.036	378	4,790	12.672	-7.364	-58.11%	10	Bill Skowron
1961	8	Al Smith	CHW	28	532	19.000	378	4,819	12.749	-6.251	-49.04%	8	Al Smith
1961	8	Leon Wagner*	LAA	28	453	16.179	378	4,898	12.958	-3.221	-24.86%	7	Leon Wagner*
1961		Group of 10		406	5,351	13.180
1998		1998					G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	1998
	HR#	Name	Tm	HR	AB	AB/HR	HR	AB	AB/HR	Dif	PctDif	PctDif#	Name
1998	1	Mark McGwire	STL	70	509	7.271	584	8,616	14.753	7.482	50.71%	1	Mark McGwire
1998	2	Sammy Sosa	CHC	66	643	9.742	588	8,482	14.425	4.683	32.46%	2	Sammy Sosa
1998	3	Greg Vaughn	SDP	50	573	11.460	604	8,552	14.159	2.699	19.06%	3	Greg Vaughn
1998	4	Vinny Castilla	COL	46	645	14.022	608	8,480	13.947	-.074	-0.53%	5	Vinny Castilla
1998	5	Andres Galarraga	ATL	44	555	12.614	610	8,570	14.049	1.436	10.22%	4	Andres Galarraga
1998	6	Moises Alou	HOU	38	584	15.368	616	8,541	13.865	-1.503	-10.84%	8	Moises Alou
1998	6	Jeromy Burnitz*	MIL	38	609	16.026	616	8,516	13.825	-2.202	-15.93%	10	Jeromy Burnitz*
1998	6	Vladimir Guerrero	MON	38	623	16.395	616	8,502	13.802	-2.593	-18.79%	11	Vladimir Guerrero
1998	9	Barry Bonds*	SFG	37	552	14.919	617	8,573	13.895	-1.024	-7.37%	7	Barry Bonds*
1998	10	Jeff Bagwell	HOU	34	540	15.882	620	8,585	13.847	-2.036	-14.70%	9	Jeff Bagwell
1998	10	Chipper Jones#	ATL	34	601	17.676	620	8,524	13.748	-3.928	-28.57%	15	Chipper Jones#
1998	10	Javy Lopez	ATL	34	489	14.382	620	8,636	13.929	-.453	-3.25%	6	Javy Lopez
1998	13	Mike Piazza	TOT	32	561	17.531	622	8,564	13.768	-3.763	-27.33%	14	Mike Piazza
1998	14	Andruw Jones	ATL	31	582	18.774	623	8,543	13.713	-5.062	-36.91%	16	Andruw Jones
1998	14	Jeff Kent	SFG	31	526	16.968	623	8,599	13.803	-3.165	-22.93%	12	Jeff Kent
1998	14	Ray Lankford*	STL	31	533	17.194	623	8,592	13.791	-3.402	-24.67%	13	Ray Lankford*
1998		Group of 16		654	9,125	13.953
1998	14	Henry Rodriguez*	CHC	31	415	13.387
1998	14	Scott Rolen	PHI	31	601	19.387
1999		1999					G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	1999
	HR#	Name	Tm	HR	AB	AB/HR	HR	AB	AB/HR	Dif	PctDif	PctDif#	Name
1999	1	Mark McGwire	STL	65	521	8.015	597	8,317	13.931	5.916	42.47%	1	Mark McGwire
1999	2	Sammy Sosa	CHC	63	625	9.921	599	8,213	13.711	3.791	27.65%	2	Sammy Sosa
1999	3	Chipper Jones#	ATL	45	567	12.600	617	8,271	13.405	.805	6.01%	6	Chipper Jones#
1999	3	Greg Vaughn	CIN	45	550	12.222	617	8,288	13.433	1.211	9.01%	5	Greg Vaughn
1999	5	Jeff Bagwell	HOU	42	562	13.381	620	8,276	13.348	-.033	-0.24%	9	Jeff Bagwell
1999	5	Vladimir Guerrero	MON	42	610	14.524	620	8,228	13.271	-1.253	-9.44%	10	Vladimir Guerrero
1999	7	Mike Piazza	NYM	40	534	13.350	622	8,304	13.350	.000	0.00%	7	Mike Piazza
1999	8	Brian Giles*	PIT	39	521	13.359	623	8,317	13.350	-.009	-0.07%	8	Brian Giles*
1999	9	Jay Bell	ARI	38	589	15.500	624	8,249	13.220	-2.280	-17.25%	11	Jay Bell
1999	10	Larry Walker*	COL	37	438	11.838	625	8,400	13.440	1.602	11.92%	4	Larry Walker*
1999	11	Todd Helton*	COL	35	578	16.514	627	8,260	13.174	-3.340	-25.36%	12	Todd Helton*
1999	11	Matt Williams	ARI	35	627	17.914	627	8,211	13.096	-4.819	-36.80%	16	Matt Williams
1999	13	Dante Bichette	COL	34	593	17.441	628	8,245	13.129	-4.312	-32.84%	15	Dante Bichette
1999	13	Barry Bonds*	SFG	34	355	10.441	628	8,483	13.508	3.067	22.70%	3	Barry Bonds*
1999	13	Steve Finley*	ARI	34	590	17.353	628	8,248	13.134	-4.219	-32.12%	14	Steve Finley*
1999	13	Eric Karros	LAD	34	578	17.000	628	8,260	13.153	-3.847	-29.25%	13	Eric Karros
		Group of 16		662	8,838	13.350
1999	13	Gary Sheffield	LAD	34	549	16.147
1999	13	Fernando Tatís	STL	34	537	15.794
2001		2001					G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	2001
	HR#	Name	Tm	HR	AB	AB/HR	HR	AB	AB/HR	Dif	PctDif	PctDif#	Name
2001	1	Barry Bonds*	SFG	73	476	6.521	603	8,025	13.308	6.788	51.00%	1	Barry Bonds*
2001	2	Sammy Sosa	CHC	64	577	9.016	612	7,924	12.948	3.932	30.37%	2	Sammy Sosa
2001	3	Luis Gonzalez*	ARI	57	609	10.684	619	7,892	12.750	2.065	16.20%	3	Luis Gonzalez*
2001	4	Shawn Green*	LAD	49	619	12.633	627	7,882	12.571	-.062	-0.49%	5	Shawn Green*
2001	4	Todd Helton*	COL	49	587	11.980	627	7,914	12.622	.642	5.09%	4	Todd Helton*
2001	6	Richie Sexson	MIL	45	598	13.289	631	7,903	12.525	-.764	-6.10%	7	Richie Sexson
2001	7	Phil Nevin	SDP	41	546	13.317	635	7,955	12.528	-.790	-6.30%	8	Phil Nevin
2001	8	Jeff Bagwell	HOU	39	600	15.385	637	7,901	12.403	-2.981	-24.03%	12	Jeff Bagwell
2001	9	Chipper Jones#	ATL	38	572	15.053	638	7,929	12.428	-2.625	-21.12%	11	Chipper Jones#
2001	9	Larry Walker*	COL	38	497	13.079	638	8,004	12.545	-.533	-4.25%	6	Larry Walker*
2001	11	Rich Aurilia	SFG	37	636	17.189	639	7,865	12.308	-4.881	-39.66%	15	Rich Aurilia
2001	11	Brian Giles*	PIT	37	576	15.568	639	7,925	12.402	-3.165	-25.52%	13	Brian Giles*
2001	11	Albert Pujols	STL	37	590	15.946	639	7,911	12.380	-3.566	-28.80%	14	Albert Pujols
2001	14	Mike Piazza	NYM	36	503	13.972	640	7,998	12.497	-1.475	-11.81%	9	Mike Piazza
2001	14	Gary Sheffield	LAD	36	515	14.306	640	7,986	12.478	-1.827	-14.65%	10	Gary Sheffield
		Group of 15		676	8,501
							G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P
sort	HR#	Name	Tm	HR	AB	AB/HR	HR	AB	AB/HR	Dif	PctDif	PctDif#	Name	Rk
1927	1	Babe Ruth*	NYY	60	540	9.000	136	3,501	25.743	16.743	65.04%	1	Babe Ruth*	1
1961	1	Roger Maris*	NYY	61	590	9.672	345	4,761	13.800	4.128	29.91%	2	Maris*	7
1998	1	Mark McGwire	STL	70	509	7.271	584	8,616	14.753	7.482	50.71%	1	Mark McGwire	3
1998	2	Sammy Sosa	CHC	66	643	9.742	588	8,482	14.425	4.683	32.46%	2	Sammy Sosa	5
1999	1	Mark McGwire	STL	65	521	8.015	597	8,317	13.931	5.916	42.47%	1	Mark McGwire	4
1999	2	Sammy Sosa	CHC	63	625	9.921	599	8,213	13.711	3.791	27.65%	2	Sammy Sosa	8
2001	1	Barry Bonds*	SFG	73	476	6.521	603	8,025	13.308	6.788	51.00%	1	Barry Bonds*	2
2001	2	Sammy Sosa	CHC	64	577	9.016	612	7,924	12.948	3.932	30.37%	2	Sammy Sosa	6
							G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P	G-P
	HR#	Name	Tm	HR	AB	AB/HR	HR	AB	AB/HR	Dif	PctDif	PctDif#	Name	Rk
1927	1	Babe Ruth*	NYY	60	540	9.000	136	3,501	25.743	16.743	65.04%	1	Babe Ruth*	1
2001	1	Barry Bonds*	SFG	73	476	6.521	603	8,025	13.308	6.788	51.00%	1	Barry Bonds*	2
1998	1	Mark McGwire	STL	70	509	7.271	584	8,616	14.753	7.482	50.71%	1	Mark McGwire	3
1999	1	Mark McGwire	STL	65	521	8.015	597	8,317	13.931	5.916	42.47%	1	Mark McGwire	4
1998	2	Sammy Sosa	CHC	66	643	9.742	588	8,482	14.425	4.683	32.46%	2	Sammy Sosa	5
2001	2	Sammy Sosa	CHC	64	577	9.016	612	7,924	12.948	3.932	30.37%	2	Sammy Sosa	6
1961	1	Roger Maris*	NYY	61	590	9.672	345	4,761	13.800	4.128	29.91%	2	Maris*	7
1999	2	Sammy Sosa	CHC	63	625	9.921	599	8,213	13.711	3.791	27.65%	2	Sammy Sosa	8
											sort

The only non 60 HR season to lead among these five years was Mickey Mantle in 1961.

In the final sort on PctDif of the 60 HR seasons, Roger Maris is 7 of 8.

None of the three 60 HR seasons by Sammy Sosa led the NL. Sosa led the NL in HR with 50 in 2000 and 49 in 2002.

McGwire also had two seasons of 58 (led MLB) and 52 HR (led AL).

Neither Maris nor Bonds had any other 50 HR seasons. Bonds led NL with 46 HR in 1993.

Ruth had 59, 54, 54. Led AL in HR 12 times.

The case against Roger Maris 61 Home Runs in 1961: expansion (25% more teams) and EIGHT (5.2%) more games. Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Who has the season Home Run record? Maybe the answer is simple.

Babe Ruth

Positions: Outfielder and Pitcher

Bats: Left  •  Throws: Left

6-2, 215lb (188cm, 97kg)

Born: February 6, 1895 in Baltimore, MD us

Died: August 16, 1948 (Aged 53-192d) in New York, NY

Buried: Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY