Second Greatest Home Run Hitter

[AstrosFan]

Babe Ruth was an overwhelming choice for greatest home run hitter, winning 46 of 56 possible votes, for 82.14%. Let's see who takes the number two spot. I hope you will give reasons for your choices. Let the debates begin.

[AstrosFan]

Remember to not only cast your votes, but also give nominations for the next poll. Also, I am shortening the length of time the poll will be open to four days, because that's around the time that the poll dies out.

[NJMetfan4life]

I nominate Mike Piazza. He probably won't win, or get my vote, but eventually, would get in.

[Frank]

I'm going with *Ralph Kiner,Forbes* was a pretty big park...

[four tool]

They moved the fences in at Forbes for Kiner--look up Kiner's Korner sometime.

Aaron gets my vote because of his consistency for so many years, and breaking Ruth's career record was a really big deal back then.

[AstrosFan]

Agreed. I love Aaron's consistency. Sure, he didn't hit 50 in one season, but he hit 755, without steroids and all the other advantages that makes this such a big home run era. It was a pretty easy choice for me.

[bob]

Another vote for Aaron from me. You could always count on him hitting 30, 40+ a season, without going crazy and trying to hit a homer with every ball and often resulting in a all or nothing result.

[CJMorello]

Like most before me, had to go with Hank because of the consistency for all those years.

[csh19792001]

I'm going with *Ralph Kiner,Forbes* was a pretty big park...

It was a big park, but (generally speaking), that was before and after Kiner was there.

Old Post of mine:

In 1947, the Pirates obtained Hank Greenberg, the '46 AL home run champ, and tailored Forbes Field to the two righthanded power hitters. A double bullpen, 30 feet wide by 200 feet long, significantly cut the distances in left field. "Greenberg Gardens" (later "Kiner's Korner") reduced the left-field line from 365 to 335 feet and the left-center power alley from 406 to 355 feet. The two sluggers became roommates and Kiner credited Greenberg with his continued success. Greenberg managed only 25 homers in his final season, but Kiner blasted 51 to tie Johnny Mize for the NL lead.

Kiner went from hitting 23 and leading the league to 51 after the change in dimensions. Undoubtedly most of that is attributable to the massive change in LF.

I fact, I doubt Kiner would have had a prayer at the HOF had it not been for Greenberg's decision to play his swan song in Pittsburgh. He would have probably ended up a good power hitter and a lousy fielder with a short career.

Kiner hit 8 at home and 15 on the road his rookie year. Afterwards, at Forbes:

Year (Home/Road)
47' (28/23)
48' (31/9)
49' (29/25)
50' (27/20)
51' (26/16)
52' (22/15)

163/108, and probably with at least a hundred more at bats on the road.

Perhaps not coincidentally, when he was traded, they pretty drastically reconfigured the park again, and it became horrible for homeruns once again.

Another old post on Forbes' effect on homers:

B.T.W., how many HR's did that park cost Stargell? If I remember right, Ruth's ball was the only one hit over that roof for a long time, then someone I never heard of (but I'll bet Sultan knows) did it, then Mantle did it in the 1960 Series, then Stargell did it several times. Ya gotta wonder how many HR's that park cost him, while he was in his 20's. He did out-HR everyone in the 70's, right? What could he have done in the 60's?

BHN

How many HR's did Forbes cost Stargell? Probably a TON. If fact, I think I may have stumbled upon something- I seriously doubt any of the alltime homerun hitters (guys with, say, more than 400 career dingers) was more routed by their home park than Willie Stargell.

Consider that through 1970 (last year at Forbes) Stargell had 196 career homeruns- and according to retrosheet, he'd only hit 74 of those at home.

And most guys- irrespective of the fact that everyone bats more on the road in the long run- hit more AT HOME. Had Stargell played in a fair park, he would have hit 250 homeruns during that timeframe. Had he played in a great homerun park, he would have hit more.

1962-1970
HOMERUNS                        HR 
1    Harmon Killebrew            357   
2    Hank Aaron                  339   
3    Willie Mays                 309   
4    Willie McCovey              308   
5    Frank Howard                294   
6    Frank Robinson              273   
7    Billy Williams              264   
8    Ron Santo                   247   
9    Boog Powell                 237   
10   Norm Cash                   234

[philkid3]

[White Knight]

I would normally pick Babe Ruth, but since he came in first and I have to pick someone else, without a doubt Mark McGwire. Not counting Ruth, he's sooooooooo far ahead of everyone else it's frightening.

[philkid3]

Oh dammit, White Knight and I (sort've) agree on something.

[dabigyankeeman]

A healthy Mantle over the course of his career would have blown everyone away. In addition to the health factor, he lost a ton of homers in death valley in Yankee Stadium, heck, in just one game that i was in the stadium, Albie Pearson ran down not one, not two, but three balls each over 440 feet and caught them all. Tony Kubek, who played shortstop with Mickey, honestely estimated that Mantle could have hit 100 homers in a year if he had played in a park like Ebbets Field. I met Mantle at a card show about 25 years ago, and I asked him about losing homers out there, and you see the upset come over his face, and he just said while shaking his head, YEAH IT WAS WAY TOO LONG OUT THERE.

[csh19792001]

I can't believe people are voting for Barry Bonds here. The drugs he was taking after 1998 are known to improve eyesight, hand-eye coordination, and overall physical acuity. The incredible, completely unnatural jump in his average and slugging numbers from 2000-2004 speak for to this.

Look at the natural Barry Bonds. He was one of the best all around players ever, but he wasn't an all time great hitter, and he was certainly not one of the top few home run hitters ever.

Through 1998, in an equal # of games:
Griffey: 481 homers
Bonds: 411 homers

Yeah, Griffey played in a better park for homers, but not THAT much better. Yeah, Bonds took a lot more walks, but so what? We're not talking about plate discipline, we're evaluating HR production.

There are a host of better candidates here who were awesome from the beginning and didn't need to make their bodies into a pharmecuetical lab to become all time great sluggers.

Hank Aaron is the best choice here.

Hank Aaron's 755 career home runs

Off Hall of Famers
Steve Carlton 	 6
Don Drysdale 	17
Bob Gibson 	8
Ferguson Jenkins 2
Sandy Koufax 	7
Juan Marichal 	8
Gaylord Perry 	3
Robin Roberts 	9
Nolan Ryan 	2
Tom Seaver 	4
Don Sutton 	3
Hoyt Wilhelm 	1

[George H Ruth]

I voted for Josh Gibson, I believe the hype that surrounds this guy, and I do believe that he hit all those home runs. I just wish there was more information out there that we can prove it. But Gibson was just a home run machine, he could hit the ball out of the ball park as good as anybody, even Babe Ruth. So in my opinion he's the second greatest Home Run hitter after the Great Bambino.