The home run, the long ball, round-tripper, four-base knock, goner, blast, moonshot, tater, or the tape-measure shot. The year was 1920, and with young slugger Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox breaking the single season record the dead ball era is over.
January 6, 1920, Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees in a transaction described in the Boston Globe as follows:
"I should have preferred to take players in exchange for Ruth, but no club could have given me the equivalent in men without wrecking itself, and so the deal had to be made on a cash basis. No other club could afford to give me the amount the Yankees have paid for him, and I don't mind saying I think they are taking a gamble. With this money the Boston club can now go into the market and buy other players and have a stronger and better team in all respects than we would have had if Ruth had remained with us."
From Babe Ruth to Roger Maris to Hank Aaron to Sammy Sosa to Mark McGwire to Barry Bonds to Alex Rodriguez. 59-60-61-70-73. 714-715-762. "Chicks dig the long ball." From the dead ball era to the steroid era. From the "Sultan of Swat" to "Hammerin' Hank", 25 players have hit 500 or more home runs in a season. Murderer's Row to the Blake Street Bombers. Frank "Home Run" Baker to Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni.
Not all home run hitters are created equal of course, but the home run is one of the most popular stats in baseball. So for something hopefully different, we'll follow the home run through the history of baseball, and pretend there is no such thing as steroids, asterisks, or other home run controversies.
We'll go year by year starting in 1920, with pretty much the default settings. The two main changes are recalc is off and players won't retire according to history, so we'll be living on the edge so to speak. In the end, who will prevail - Ruth, Aaron, Bonds, or someone else entirely. Stay tuned...