Home Run Record

The home run record in baseball is one of the most talked about records in all of sports, as the home run is one of the more magnificent things that an athlete can do in any sport. There have only been a few people who have held the single season home run record in the long history of baseball and as of late, this has become one of the most disputed records in all of baseball and one that means less and less the more you think about it. Below is the brief history of the home run record and who has held this record.

In 1921, Babe Ruth set the single season home record by hitting 59 home runs. This was done in fewer games then are played today, but was also done against supposedly weaker pitching then is around in baseball today. In 1927, Babe Ruth broke his own record by hitting 60 home runs in a single season in the same number of games as he had hit 59 in just six years earlier.

This record stood until 1961, when Roger Maris famously hit 61 home runs in a single season. However, he did it in a few more games then Babe Ruth did it four decades earlier. You could also argue the ballparks were larger and the pitching was better by 1961. Maris's record single season home run number stood until 1998, when it was shattered by both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in the infamous home run race.

McGwire ended up hitting 70 home runs on the season and Sammy Sosa ended up hitting 66. Then everyone found out they were doing steroids, corking their bats or both. McGwire's home record was beaten shortly thereafter by Barry Bonds in 2001, when he hit 73 in a single season. However, they also found out Bonds was using steroids, calling this record into question as well.