HRs3

Since the measurement system favored hitters from the eight-team era anyway, I reverted to my original idea of comparing home run totals to the entire league. Chart 10 shows the top 10 percentages and how the other players who hit 56 or more home runs fared relative to the league.

Chart 10. Significance of HR Relative to the League

Rank	Player	HR	Year	league HR	% of league HR
1	Babe Ruth	54	1920	369	14.6341%
2	Babe Ruth	60	1927	439	13.6674%
3	Babe Ruth	59	1921	477	12.3690%
4	Babe Ruth	46	1924	397	11.5869%
5	Babe Ruth	54	1928	483	11.1801%
6	Babe Ruth	47	1926	424	11.0849%
7	Lou Gehrig	47	1927	439	10.7062%
8	Jimmie Foxx	58	1932	707	8.2037%
9	Jimmie Foxx	48	1933	607	7.9077%
10	Ralph Kiner	54	1949	935	5.7754%


	Barry Bonds	73	2001	2952	2.4729%
	Mark McGwire	70	1998	2565	2.7290%
	Sammy Sosa	66	1998	2565	2.5731%
	Mark McGwire	65	1999	2893	2.2468%
	Sammy Sosa	64	2001	2952	2.1680%
	Sammy Sosa	63	1999	2893	2.1777%
	Roger Maris	61	1961	1534	3.9765%
	Hank Greenberg	58	1938	864	6.7130%
	Luis Gonzalez	57	2001	2952	1.9309%
	Alex Rodriguez	57	2002	2464	2.3133%
	Hack Wilson	56	1930	892	6.2780%
	Ken Griffey Jr.	56	1997	2477	2.2608%
	Ken Griffey Jr.	56	1998	2499	2.2409%

The order of the top 10 varied slightly from Chart 9, but otherwise the lists are the same. Ruth hit more than one of every nine home runs hit in the American League six times in an eight-year span. As Chart 11 shows, Ruth hit more than one of every ten home runs hit in the major leagues in 1920.

Chart 11. Significance of HR Relative to MLB

Player	HR	Year	MLB HR	% of MLB HR
Babe Ruth	54	1920	530	10.1887%
Babe Ruth	60	1927	922	6.5076%
Babe Ruth	59	1921	937	6.2967%

Barry Bonds	73	2001	5458	1.3375%
Mark McGwire	70	1998	5064	1.3823%
Roger Maris	61	1961	3157	1.9322%

Home runs have become as prevalent as e-mail solicitations to buy Viagra. While ingesting substances that could have only impaired his performance, Babe Ruth carried a big stick. The stuck-up sluggers of the ‘90s and ‘00s get their pop from popping pills. Their muscles may be pumped up, but their feats are watered down.

go to Part 3.