A home run is a hit wherein the batter gets a score for the team by simply running and passing all the bases and being able to reach the home plate in just a single play without stopping at any other base in baseball statistics. In Major League Baseball (MLB), a player in each league wins the “Home Run Derby” annually.
In this article, we will discuss the percentage of hits that are home runs in Major League Baseball.
The Percentage of Hits are Home Runs in the MLB
There are a total of 100,690 home runs in Major League Baseball. Out of the 831,932 base hits from 2001-2020, it’s fair to say that 12% are “home run” type plays!
We have seen a huge increase in the number of homes during the 2020 season. In 2001, 12.44% were home runs while 15.96% so far this year!
We can see that the percentage of home runs has been steadily increasing over time.
- It’s 65.86% of hits that are considered singles. From 2001 through 2020 in the MLB, 831 932 base hits were recorded and 547 935 of these were singles. The great majority of base hits in Major League Baseball ended with a single at 65.86%.
- In general, doubles are rare. Out of 831,932 base hits in MLB history since 2001 and 166,221 were two-base knocks! The rate at which hitters are hitting doubles in Major League Baseball is astounding. When calculated together, 19.98% of all base hits resulted in a double play!
- In general, 2.05% of hits are triples but from the 2001 season through 2020 in MLB there were 831,932 base-hit instances and only 17,086 or so that resulted in a triple with those numbers being at all close to one another!
What is a Home Run?
A home run is a single in which the batter reaches home plate without stopping at any other base, accomplishing the feat of circling all bases and then being able to reach the home plate in just a single play. A home run is scored if a batted ball strikes either the foul pole or goes through the batter’s eye on the fair territory, as defined in this definition.
A home run occurs in baseball when a batter hits the ball and manages to round all the bases and reach home safely. Some runs for extra bases may also be scored during the play which can add more runs to your team’s score, but only a single player needs to touch all four bases and make it back to home for it to be described as a home run.
How do you hit a home run?
To hit a home run, a batter must send the ball over the outfield wall of his hitter’s eye in fair territory. This is typically done by hitting the ball with an upward motion as it reaches the batter’s eye level. With this motion, it is more likely to be sent far from the fielders.
If the ball goes over the wall in fair territory, it is a home run. The batter and any runners will score without being put out, even if they have to circle all of the bases. If there are already two outs when someone hits a ball into fair territory that ends up as a home run, then only the batter and any runners on base when the play starts to score.
Any number of runs can score on a home run, but every runner doesn’t need to touch each base. The only two runners that need to touch all four bases are the ones scoring themselves and the ones hitting the home run.
Who has won most MLB Home Runs titles?
Here are some of the players who have won most home runs titles in MLB:
Barry Bonds is the only player in Major League history to have at least 500 home runs and steals.
When Mark McGwire hit his 500th career home run in 1999, he did so with only 5487 at-bats.
Sammy Sosa is one of the most successful foreign-born players in Major League Baseball history. He recorded 160 RBIs during his 2001.
Ken Griffey Jr. is the only player to win three times in a row and he did it twice! He became a champion at this tournament back-to-back years (1998, 1999).
Jim Thome! The following are three facts about Jim Thome’s career in the Hall of Fame. The first thing he did was hit 612 home runs, which is the eighth-most in MLB history. Thome is an honest, hard-working baseball player. He’s always been large and jolly. But Thome’s most notable achievement is that he holds the record for walk-off homers.
On May 4, 1966, in San Francisco Giants history Willie Mays belts his 512th career home run to break an old record and become one of only 13 players to have hit 500 or more.
Ryan Howard is one of the most successful players in Major League Baseball history, he spent his entire career with the Phillies and has 382 home runs. He was an MLB home run champion, twice. He also became the fastest player to reach both milestones in 100 and 200 homers history!
Nelson Cruz is a professional baseball player with 449 home runs. Cruz is a seven-time MLB All-Star. He’s famous for his power-hitting, having won four Silver Slugger Awards and two Edgar Martinez Awards to boot!
Adrian Beltre has now become a member of the Texas Rangers’ Baseball Hall-of-Fame, which likely means he’ll be inducted into National Baseball shrine when eligible. He has the second-most home runs among active players, with 469. He trails Albert Pujols by one.
David Ortiz has been one of the most successful power-hitting sluggers in modern baseball history, and he’s not done yet! He hasn’t even reached 500 home runs.
The great Willie Mays hit his 512th career home run to break the National League record for most RBIs.
With 586 career home runs, Frank Robinson ranked fourth in homers hit when he retired in 1976.
Manny Ramirez reached 500 home runs on May 31, 2008, when he hit one against the Baltimore Orioles.
In 1967, Killebrew smacked the longest home run ever hit at the Twins’ Metropolitan Stadium, which sailed into the second deck of the bleachers, and four years later on August 10, 1971, he belted his 500th career homer.
During these nine years, Rafael Palmeiro smacked 373 homers while also driving in over 100 runs each year and amassed a total of 569 RBI.
Mike Schmidt is the all-time home run king for one team. He hit 548 of them in his career, which is more than anyone else who has spent their entire careers with just one team!
On April 17th, 1953, the Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle did a hit as one of the longest recorded home runs in history two years after his MLB debut.
Why is Baseball Home Runs Record Breaking?
Home runs are record-breaking because they can be measured in isolation more accurately than nearly any other batting statistic. Usually, the only time that a player can truly stand alone, with no runners on base or two outs, is when he hits a home run.
The more of them that he hits, the more of an impact each one has on his statistics as well as on his team’s record. Each homerun is a big deal, and since the home run was introduced to Major League Baseball in 1876, many players have tried to hit more than any other person in history.
Home runs are a big deal for another reason, as well. The players who hit the most home runs in a season or career are considered to be among the best players of that period.
FAQs on Home Runs
Question: Which MLB home runs record is the most impressive?
Answer: The single-season home run mark is one of the most exciting and popular records in baseball because there are so many ways to achieve it. Hitting, on average, seven homers every ten at-bats throughout an entire season is a tremendous accomplishment. Some players have managed it multiple times!
Question: How can I hit more home runs?
Answer: By training your muscles and practicing techniques, you could improve your batting average and potentially add a few home runs to your total. This is only possible if you have the talent and determination to do so, however! Simply working out will not allow you to tack on home runs without some skill behind it.
Question: Do home runs affect the batting average?
Answer: Hitting a home run is always more satisfying than any other type of hit, but it doesn’t matter. Both singles and doubles are treated equally when it comes to your batting average, and all of them combined will not affect that range.
Question: How many baseball statistics are there?
Answer: In baseball, there are 121 statistics. 72 of those are considered “standard” and 49 advanced!
Question: How many baseball games in history are recorded as “perfect”?
Answer: Over the 150-year history of Major League Baseball, and over 218,400 games played there have been 23 official perfect games.
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