I will admit from the outset that this paper is very subjective. Over the years, several men have held the single season home run record. My contention is that three of those record performances deserve special mention due to circumstances surrounding the records.
Let us first look at the progression of the single season home run record starting in 1876.
Year Player Record
1876 George Hall 5
1879 Charley Jones 9
1883 Harry Stovey 14
1884 Ned Williamson 27
1919 Babe Ruth 29
1920 Babe Ruth 54
1921 Babe Ruth 59
1927 Babe Ruth 60
1961 Roger Maris 61
1998 Mark McGwire 70
2001 Barry Bonds 73
Only eight men have held the record, with Babe Ruth setting the record four times.
The three that I would contend are the most impressive are:
1. Babe Ruth - 1919 - 29
2. Mark McGwire - 1998 - 70
3. Roger Maris - 1961 - 61
I debated with myself for a while as to whether Babe Ruth's most impressive record was the 29 in 1919 or the 54 he hit in 1920. His 29 home runs in 1919 only broke the old record of Ned Williamson (27 in 1884) by 2. But Williamson's total was greatly over-inflated due to the bandbox dimensions of his home field. For evidence of that, consider the fact that 142 of the entire league's 323 home runs that season were hit by Williamson and his Chicago teammates. Additionally, consider that Williamson hit 42.9% of his career home runs that season in only 9.2% of his career at bats. That season he hit 6.5 home runs per 100 at bats. For the rest of his career his rate was 0.9 home runs per 100 at bats. For a good discussion of the causes of Williamson's one year explosion, see John c. Tattersall's article "Clarifying An Early Home Run Record" in the 1972 edition of the Baseball Research Journal.
Even if 1884 had never happened, Ruth's 29 would not have broken the record by much. Buck Freeman's 25 in 1899 would have been the record, followed closely by Gavy Cravath's 24 in 1915. Yet, Ruth must take first place on this list because of the way he redefined baseball. Freeman and Cravath both led the league other times but with no totals like their career highs. Ruth's 29 circuit clouts were the signal of the change of an age in baseball. No longer was the home run a rarity. Instead it became a defining part of a baseball player's value. The excitement caused by Ruthian clouts took baseball from the background of the nation's sports psyche to the forefront as the national pastime. No other single person has ever redefined a sport so dramatically as Babe Ruth. And 1919 was the year he began his ascent as baseball's icon. The COMBINED totals of the previous year's league home run hitters (American League, 11, and National League, 12) would not even have threatened Ruth's total. Taking the next THREE players in the American League rankings in 1919 yields a TOTAL of 30 home runs, beating Ruth by 1. The total of the National League's top two home run hitters that year would have only tied Ruth. This makes Ruth's record all the more amazing since no one was pushing him. Mark McGwire had Sammy Sosa pushing him. Roger Maris had Mickey Mantle pushing him. The only one pushing Ruth was the Bambino himself. Therefore, Babe Ruth takes first place in my "Home Run Record Holder's Hall of Fame." An additional point in Ruth's favor is that he held the season home run record longer than anyone else, taking it in 1919 and holding it for 42 years (though with different totals as he eclipsed himself 3 times).
Mark McGwire's record of 70 home runs takes second place on my list for a number of reasons. First, no longer could hitters feast in the late innings on tired starters. Now a batter will almost always face two, if not three or more, different pitchers, all rather well rested. Secondly, McGwire not only broke Roger Maris' record, he shattered it, moving the mark up by 9, or 14.7%. Thirdly, McGwire was not protected in the lineup by the kind of power found in the Yankees' lineup of 1961. Fourthly, Maris' record, as Ruth's record of 60 home runs before, had become viewed by many as unbreakable. It had withstood the challenges of great home run hitters like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson, and others.
Roger Maris takes third place in my "Home Run Record Holder's Hall of Fame." The reasons are much less to do with the physical aspects of baseball as much as the psychological aspects of his record. First, Maris faced an inordinate amount of pressure during his record-breaking season. Hardly anyone wanted to see Ruth's record fall. And if it were to fall, virtually everyone wanted the record breaker to be Mickey Mantle. Secondly, he also had to face the pressure of the 154 vs. 162 game argument. Thirdly, as mentioned above, Ruth's record of 60 had become viewed as being unbreakable. No one but Ruth himself had been viewed as a realistic threat to that record, though others, like Hank Greenberg and Jimmie Foxx had offered challenges. Lastly, Maris' record lasted longer than anyone else's. His lasted for 37 years, besting Williamson (35 years), and Ruth's 60 (34 years).
Admittedly, a case could be made for Barry Bonds record breaking 73 home runs of 2001. Bonds' previous high was only 49. He also walked a record-breaking number of times. The main argument against him, in my mind, is the huge increase in home runs by so many people. But, of course, this is one of the great beauties of baseball. Its statistics and records are so interesting that they can keep the game at the forefront of fans' interest even during the offseason.
» Fred Worth is a professional mathematician and amateur baseball fan.
Also by Fred Worth
» Major League Leaders Who Weren't: 1961's Unbalanced Schedule
» More submissions
Copyright © 2002 by Fred Worth. Posted February 11, 2002.
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