Why does the Home Run record matter?

Question

Seriously... EVERY ball park has different outfield dimensions. Heck, Fenway has the "Green Mwonstah" towering over left field. Short porches, deep centerfields, walls, etc. All parks are different.

How many more Home runs would Willie Mays have hit if the Polo Grounds centerfield wall was 420 feet away instead of 600?

How many Home Runs have been knocked down by 20 foot high walls?

So, since the game is NOT uniform in it's playing fields... why does the Home Run record matter so much?

It's not like Ty Cobb and Pete Rose... hits are hits. If the balls fall in the field of play in 1911 it is basically the same as bloop
hits in 2007. Right?
In football however, 10,000 yards passing is 10,000 yards passing.

Answer 1

No Bonds comments, okay? The homerun (HR) is the pentultimate definition of "THE POWER HITTER"! If you study baseball stats you will find that prior to Babe Ruth the HR was just a fluke which most players on average hit a couple of each season. After Ruth hit his outstanding and amazing amount of HRs every season it became a duel, so to speak, between players to see who could surpass or better the other players HRs per season. Now I am not pointing fingers but I will say this as its factual, a lot of players prior to 1964 used or abused alcohol on a very regular basis Mickey Mantle being just one of many. Everyone in baseball knows the Babe (Babe Ruth) had a party regimen that might kill an average sized man. Now today they talk of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs as the reason why all the records are being broken. Sad but not true. The only factor to take into consideration when judging the great HR hitter is career at bats. Plain and simple. Do the math and no player today would keep up with the Babe, beer belly and all! There is no magic in drugs or alcohol, the magic comes from the players "BELIEF" that the alcohol or performance enhancing drug is helping them. As a side note, physics has proven that hitting a round ball with a round bat is the most difficult sport requirement and yet day after day we see the ball fly out of the park. Bottom line from Tug, "PLAY BALL" and I'm out. Thank you if you read this.

Answer 2

I think that's a pretty good answer. Ken Griifey Jr. will finish pretty high on the all-time list, but his age and inability to stay healthy will most likely lead to his ultimate failure. Alex Rodriguez has an excellent chance if he proves he can play year after year. A decade or so ago when Griffey hit 56 home runs, people were considering his youth and figuring him as a lock for breaking the all-time record. What it really all comes down to is staying healthy.

Answer 3

Prolific home run hitters will hit home runs no matter where they are playing and especially guys that have high career HR totals. Bonds plays in one of the toughest HR parks, but he still bashes them. There are examples of guys who will have a few years where their totals might be skewed. I know Dante Bichette in 1995 had something like 35 HR at home (Coors Field) and 5 on the road, but then in 1997 Larry Walker had many more HR on the road than he did at Coors Canaveral. I'm sure Roger Maris, being a lefty pull hitter, benefited significantly by the short RF porch in Yankee Stadium in 1961. But over a career, there's no statistical evidence that show where you play matters that much.
Also regarding non-HR hitters, Wade Boggs made a career out of hitting line drives off of the Green Monster, as it's the shortest distance of any left field wall in the big leagues. And plenty of players benefited (Rose included) by playing their home games on speedy AstroTurf as opposed to grass. I'm sure Ty Cobb would've had a bunch more career hits if he played 100+ games a year on AstroTurf like Rose did for most of his career.

Answer 4

Home Run records and anything to do with it stems back to Babe Ruth the man that set every modern day Homerun records. The love for HR goes back to the end of the World Series of 1919 when the Chicago White Sox threw the series. The fans left the game and it took Babe Ruth and his mammoth HR to bring the fans back to the game he loved and bring honor back to our National Pastime. Ruth's record stood until Roger Maris broke his single season record and his all-time record stood until Hank Aaron broke it. Babe whipped the tranish away from the game but opened up a can of worms that didn't pop out till the late 90's to the present with guys using Steriods. I don't considered Mark McGuire or Barry Bonds as having these records both cheated to get and now baseball is getting ready to honor Barry when he brokes Aaron record which would not have happen unless He cheated by juicing up.

Answer 5

I think what you are describing is one of the reasons WHY the home run record matters to so many people. Aside from that, hitting a home run is one of the most difficult feats in all of sports. This was especially true in the pre-Babe Ruth/dead-ball era, when Philadelphia Athletics star Frank Baker earned the nickname "Home Run Baker" just because of two home runs in the World Series.

Oh, and back then the home run records weren't held by crooks.

Answer 6

well in baseball 3000 hits is 3000 hits... home runs are just a different stat on its own...

the homerun is more like the 80 yard touchdown bomb... its a game changer... it instantly scores everyone on base including the guy at the plate... a home run can score from one to four runs in....

why is the homerun so important... i give you three reasons...

1. Kirk Gibson "High fly ball into deep right field.."
2. Bobby Thompsons "Shot heard round the world"
2. Kirby Pucketts series ender against the braves in 91

Answer 7

It's all about power in their swing. Babe Ruth was really strong and can hit the ball out anywhere. If Yankee Stadium's dimensions were as small as they are today, Ruth probably would've hit 100 home runs in 1927. He was that good!!!!

Answer 8

I tis the gold standard in sports. It is the only record that has the passion of the Bonds - Aaron debate.
There is no other sport with the same amount of energy applied to one record and one issue.
it is the way a player and even team is judged.

Answer 9

Hits are not hits. See "Texas" hit. Or batting against one mound that's higher than another. Or batting in front of dangerous 3-4-5 hitters. Same thing as HRs.

Answer 10

You don't know the dimensions of Fenway very well. A homer that barely clears the green monster wouldn't even be a homer at many parks.