Greatest Home Run Hitters: Restart

[AstrosFan]

List your top five home run hitters. Voting will be five points for a first place vote, four for second, and so on. A series of these ballots will create our list of the greatest home run hitters ever. Ballots will close on March 22 at 11:59:59 EST.

[Bill Burgess]

1. Babe Ruth
2. Jimmy Foxx
3. Mickey Mantle
4. Ralph Kiner
5. Josh Gibson

[brett]

1. Ruth
2. Mantle
3. Killebrew
4. Gibson
5. A-Rod

[Blackout]

there's 4 threads saying "greatest...restart" in the top 8 threads on this forum. yikes.

anywho

1-ruth
2-gibson
3-rodriguez
4-mantle
5-mcgwire*

[AstrosFan]

Am I the only one who realizes Foxx hit 64 more home runs at home than he did on the road? I don't see him in the top five. Anyway, giving points for rate, career, acknowledge splits and the steroid effect, and an added bonus for reputation and style points, I'm going thusly:

1. Ruth
2. Aaron
3. Mantle
4. Mays
5. Gibson

[elmer]

Am I the only one who realizes Foxx hit 64 more home runs at home than he did on the road? I don't see him in the top five. Anyway, giving points for rate, career, acknowledge splits and the steroid effect, and an added bonus for reputation and style points, I'm going thusly:

1. Ruth
2. Aaron
3. Mantle
4. Mays
5. Gibson

On page 224 of Michael Gershman's "Diamonds" is found this:

Jimmie Foxx Spite Fence, The.
Named for a 20-foot-high screen placed on top of the left field fence
at Detroit's Navin Field in 1933. It was designed to minimize the right-handed power of Jimmie Foxx.

[Baseball Guru]

Not taking into account possible steroid use:

1. Ruth
2. McGwire
3. Bonds
4. Foxx
5. Rodriguez

Taking into account possible steroid use:

1. Ruth
2. Foxx
3. Rodriguez
4. Mantle
5. Gibson

[bob]

1. Ruth - Best HR/AB ratio of clean players, by quite a margin, changed the game forever.
2. Mantle - When he was in form, no-one hit them better or further.
3. Aaron - Always great for so many years.
4. A-Rod - Hitting at an unbelievable rate, already put up huge career numbers at only 33.
5. Foxx - Who knows what he would have done if he had a normal career decline.

McGuire and Bonds would have been in if i discounted steroids, but its too much of factor in HR's. Mcguire would have been my number 3, bonds my number 5.

[brett]

Am I the only one who realizes Foxx hit 64 more home runs at home than he did on the road? I don't see him in the top five.

While I would have probably squeezed Gibson in my top 5, and will probably put him #6, Foxx was #2 on the all time home run list I believe as late as 1962, and the #1 right hander. He hit over 30 12 consecutive years (a record), and there are stories about the ballpark seats he broke with line drive home runs. He hit 299 at home and 235 on the road, but I suspect his 235 on the road were #2 in history when he retired.

[Bill Burgess]

I am revising my ballot slightly. I am replacing my #5, McGwire, with Josh Gibson. I don't think Mark could have been as productive without the juice, so, . . .

[brett]

I am revising my ballot slightly. I am replacing my #5, McGwire, with Josh Gibson. I don't think Mark could have been as productive without the juice, so, . . .

I agree. His rates prior to his physical changes were not tremendous.

But by the way, he leads by far in fewest AB/HR, BIP/HR and Hits/HR.

The best "rate" guys in those 3 categories are Ruth, McGwire, Bonds, Killebrew, Kiner and A-Rod. I think I should have included Gibson as well, so I am making a revision.

[leecemark]

1) Ruth
2) Aaron
3) Mays
4) Killebrew
5) Kiner
--Next up: Mantle
--Dowgraded for PEDs: McGwire, Bonds

[brett]

40 home run seasons:

Ruth: 11
Killebrew: 8
Aaron: 8
Bonds: 8
A-Rod: 8

At Bats, BIP and Hits per home run

Ruth: 11.76/9.90/4.02
Kiner: 14.11/12.08/3.93
Killebrew: 14.22/11.25/3.64
A-Rod: 14.19/11.25/4.34

Bonds: 12.92/10.90/3.85
Bonds thru '98: 16.11/14.92/5.04
McGwire: 10.61/7.87/2.79
McGwire thru '94: 14.04/10.81/3.56
(Kingman): 15.10/11.00/3.56

[SHOELESSJOE3]

40 home run seasons:

Ruth: 11Killebrew: 8
Aaron: 8
Bonds: 8
A-Rod: 8

Let me add the clincher to that one. Babe Ruth never had a 40 home run season until his seventh season, his career was already one quarter over.

From the time he became an outfielder only and every day player 1920-1932 in 13 seasons he hit 40 or more eleven times. Only two seasons he did not, 1922 110 games and 35 home runs and in 1925 in 95 games 25 home runs.

Bonds and Aaron together with a total of 40 seasons had 16 seasons with 40 or more. Ruth in 15 seasons 1920-1934 had only 5 less 40 home run seasons than those two combined. Looks like another landslide coming up.

[George H Ruth]

Ruth
Gibson
Mantle
Foxx
Killebrew