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Types of home runs
Inside-the-park home runIn almost all cases nowadays, a home run involves hitting the ball over the outfield fence in fair territory. Very rarely, a batter can hit the ball in play and circle all the bases before the fielders can throw him out; this is called an inside-the-park home run, and typically requires that the batter be a quick runner, and that either the fielder misplay the ball in some way or that the ball is made difficult to play by caroming in unexpected ways, or by becoming difficult for a fielder to reach due to structural variances and peculiarities of different ballparks, or a collision, leaving the players closest to the ball injured. If the misplay is labeled an error by the official scorer, however, the batter is not credited with a home run. Grand slamA grand slam occurs when the bases are "loaded" (that is, there are base runners standing at first, second, and third base) and the batter hits a home run. An inside-the-park grand slam is a grand slam without the ball leaving the field, and it is very rare. The last major league inside-the-park grand slam was hit by Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox on October 23, 2005. Walk-off home runA walk-off home run is a term coined by famous relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley[citation needed] to signify a home run that immediately ends the game, so named because after the run is scored, the players can "walk off" the field. In order for this to happen, a member of the home team must hit a home run in the bottom of the last inning to either come from behind or break a tie. This type of home run is also called "sayonara home run," "sayonara" meaning "good-bye" in Japanese. The name initially meant that the pitcher walked off the field with his head hung in shame, but changed over time to mean that the batter, by necessity of the home team, would walk off the field to the cheers of the crowd.[citation needed]
On July 25, 1956, Roberto Clemente hit a walk-off inside-the-park grand slam in the ninth inning to defeat the Chicago Cubs, 9-8, at Forbes Field. On October 14, 2006, Magglio Ordonez hit a walk-off home run in the last inning of the American League Championship Series, Game 4, breaking a 3-3 tie against the Oakland Athletics and securing the Detroit Tigers' World Series berth with a 6-3 win. Hitting for the cycleA batter hits for the cycle when he collects a single, double, triple and home run all in the same game. As home runs usually demonstrate batting power and triples indicate speed, hitting for the cycle is highly regarded in that it indicates a player's varied abilities. Collecting the hits in the order above is called a "natural cycle." A "home run cycle" is one in which a player hits a 1-run, 2-run, 3-run, and a grand slam all in one game. The first and only home run cycle in a professional baseball game belongs to Tyrone Horne, who stroked four long balls for the minor league, Double-A Arkansas Travelers in a game against the San Antonio Missions on July 27, 1998.[1] While no other professional player has accomplished the feat, there have been multiple instances in college level play.[2][3] History of the home runIn the early days of the game, when the ball was less lively and the ballparks generally had very large outfields, most home runs were of the inside-the-park variety. The first home run ever hit in the National League was by Ross Barnes of the Chicago White Stockings(now known as the Chicago Cubs), in 1876. The home "run" was literally descriptive. Home runs over the fence were rare, and only in ballparks where a fence was fairly close. The home run's place in baseball changed dramatically when the Live Ball Era began after World War I. Batters such as Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby took full advantage of rules changes that were instituted during the 1920s, particularly prohibition of the spitball, and the requirement that balls be replaced when worn or dirty, especially as the game's popularity boomed and more outfield seating was built, shrinking the size of the outfield. The teams with the sluggers, especially the New York Yankees, became the championship teams, and other teams had to change their focus from the "inside game" to the "power game" in order to keep up. Prior to 1931, a ball that bounced over an outfield fence during a major league game was considered a home run.[citation needed] The rule was changed to require the ball to clear the fence on the fly, and balls that reached the seats on a bounce became ground-rule doubles in most parks.[citation needed] Also, until approximately that time, the ball had to not only go over the fence in fair territory, but to land in the bleachers in fair territory. The rule stipulated "when last seen" by the umpires. Photos from that era in ballparks, such as the Polo Grounds, show ropes strung from the foul poles to the back of the bleachers, in a straight line with the foul line, as a visual aid for the umpires. Actually, ballparks still use a visual aid much like the ropes; a net attached to the foul poles has replaced ropes. Babe Ruth's 60th home run in 1927 was somewhat controversial, because it landed barely in fair territory in the stands down the right field line. Further, the rules once stipulated that an over-the-fence home run in a sudden-victory situation would only count for as many bases as was necessary to "force" the winning run home. For example, if a team trailed by two runs with the bases loaded, and the batter hit a fair ball over the fence, it only counted as a triple, because the runner immediately ahead of him had technically already scored the game-winning run. That rule was changed in the 1920s as home runs became increasingly frequent and popular. Babe Ruth's career total of 714 would have been one higher had that rule not been in effect in the early part of his career. The all-time career record for home runs in a professional career is held by Japan's Sadaharu Oh with 868. In Major League Baseball, the record is 755, held by Hank Aaron since 1974. Only three other major league players have hit as many as 600: Barry Bonds (734), Babe Ruth (714), and Willie Mays (660). The single season record is 73, set by Barry Bonds in 2001. Negro League slugger Josh Gibson's baseball hall of fame plaque says he hit "almost 800" home runs in his career. The Guinness Book of World Records lists Gibson's lifetime home run total at 800 (although his true total is not known). Other legendary home run hitters include Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle (who on September 10, 1960, mythically hit "the longest home run ever" at an estimated distance of 643 feet, although this was measured after the ball stopped rolling [1]), Reggie Jackson, Ernie Banks,Craig Grebeck,Dave Kingman, and Eddie Mathews. Home run slangSlang terms for home runs include: big-fly, blast, bomb, circuit clout, dinger, four-bagger, gopher ball, homer, jack, round-tripper, shot, moonshot, tape-measure shot, swat, tater, wallop, longball, goner , dong and going "yahtzee". The act of hitting a home run can be called going yard. A game with many home runs in it can be referred to as a slugfest. A player who hits a home run is said to have "dialed 8", from the practice of having to dial 8 from a hotel room telephone to dial long distance. A grand slam is often referred to as a grand salami or simply, a salami. Player nicknames that describe home run-hitting prowess include:
Progression of the single-season home run recordImage:Fourbats.jpg Four baseball bats that were used in setting single-season home run records. From left to right: bat used by Babe Ruth to hit his 60th home run during the 1927 season, bat used by Roger Maris to hit his 61st home run during the 1961 season, bat used by Mark McGwire to hit his 70th home run during the 1998 season, and the bat used by Sammy Sosa for his 66th home run during the same season.
Selected list of pitchers giving up record home runs:
This includes only the home runs that broke a record set in a previous year, not home runs that extended a record within the same year. References
See also
Career achievement list
Single game or season achievements
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