Baseball's Best Decade (10 page)

Who almost made the list?
Willie McCovey at 207, Greg Luzinski at 204, George Foster at 201.

The Top
Home Run Hitters for Each Decade: 1980s-2000s

1980s –
Mike Schmidt’s barrage on National League pitching that began in the mid-1970s continued into the 1980s. Schmidt led the National League in home runs 5 more times during the decade, nearly winning the Triple Crown in the strike-shortened 1981 when he led the league in homers and RBIs and finished fourth in hitting with a .316 average. Dale Murphy led the National League in home runs twice.

Who almost made the list?
Darryl Strawberry at 215, Gary Carter at 207, Cal Ripken at 204.

1990s –
The 1990s produced more 300-home run hitters than any previous decade. Eight players hit at least 300 homers during the decade, led by Mark McGwire, the first player to hit 400 home runs in a decade since Jimmie Foxx in the 1930s. McGwire led the American League once and the National League twice in home runs. Ken Griffey was the American League home run champion 4 times. Barry Bonds claimed a single home run championship in the 1990s (and has led the league in home runs only twice during his career).

Who almost made the list?
Sammy Sosa at 332, Rafael Palmeiro at 328, Frank Thomas at 301.

2000s –
Twelve players hit 300 or more home runs during the first decade of the Twenty-First Century, and for the first time major league baseball topped 50,000 home runs in a season. Sammy Sosa and Ryan Howard each led the National league in home runs twice. The leading home run producer of the decade was Alex Rodriguez, who was 67 home runs ahead of Jim Thome, his nearest competitor in the 2000s.  It was the largest margin between first and second place since the 1930s, when Jimmie Fox led Lou Gehrig by 68 home runs. Rodriguez was the American League home run champion 5 different times during the decade.

Who almost made the list?
Barry Bonds at 332, Adam Dunn at 316, Vladimir Guerrero at 315.

The Top
Team Home Runs for Each Decade (1920s-1940s)

  
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By the end of the 1950s, there were only 3 players, (left to right) Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Mel Ott, who had 500 or more home runs. The 1960s added 8 more. Currently there are 24 players who have reached the 500-home run plateau.

Led by Babe Ruth’s record-shattering 59 home runs, the 1920 New York Yankees were the first team to crack the century mark in home runs, with 115 that season. The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals joined them in 1922. The New York Giants were the first team to break the 200-home run barrier, hitting 221 in 1947.

Led by the powerful bat of first baseman Lou Gehrig (347 home runs during the decade), the New York Yankees hit more home runs than any other American League team 7 times during the 1930s.