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Six years ago, I attended a Saturday game at Busch Stadium that pitted the St. Louis Cardinals against the Tampa Bay Rays. The game went into extra innings. Ryan Ludwick broke the deadlock with a walk-off solo home run that sent el Birdos home the victors.
Leaving Busch Stadium that day, I thought to myself, "The Cardinals sure do seem to hit a lot of solo homers." When I got home after the weekend trip to St. Louis, I decided to look into the Cardinals' solo homer rate. The only problem was, no website had solo home run rates. So I had to calculate it myself, which led to a Fanpost here at VEB.
The share of MLB home runs that are solo shots tends to range between 55% and 60%. Here is the MLB-wide Solo HR% for the last nine seasons.
|
Year |
Total HR |
Solo HR |
Solo HR % |
|
2005 |
5,017 |
2,842 |
56.65% |
|
2006 |
5,386 |
3,089 |
57.35% |
|
2007 |
4,957 |
2,812 |
56.73% |
|
2008 |
4,878 |
2,754 |
56.46% |
|
2009 |
5,042 |
2,951 |
58.53% |
|
2010 |
4,613 |
2,648 |
57.40% |
|
2011 |
4,552 |
2,668 |
58.61% |
|
2012 |
4,934 |
2,822 |
57.19% |
|
2013 |
4,661 |
2,811 |
60.31% |
Six years later, no website has Solo HR% as far as I know. I'm still calculating it myself. The following chart contains the Solo HR% rates for MLB clubs in 2013, from highest to lowest.
2013 MLB SOLO HR% BY TEAM
|
2013 |
HR |
Solo HR |
Solo HR % |
|
Reds |
155 |
104 |
67.10% |
|
Pirates |
161 |
108 |
67.08% |
|
Brewers |
157 |
104 |
66.24% |
|
Phillies |
140 |
92 |
65.71% |
|
White Sox |
148 |
97 |
65.54% |
|
Rays |
165 |
108 |
65.45% |
|
Marlins |
95 |
61 |
64.21% |
|
Rangers |
176 |
113 |
64.20% |
|
Angels |
164 |
105 |
64.02% |
|
Mariners |
188 |
119 |
63.30% |
|
Yankees |
144 |
91 |
63.19% |
|
Royals |
112 |
70 |
62.50% |
|
Padres |
146 |
91 |
62.33% |
|
Mets |
130 |
81 |
62.31% |
|
Rockies |
159 |
99 |
62.26% |
|
Nationals |
161 |
100 |
62.11% |
|
Twins |
151 |
93 |
61.59% |
|
MLB |
4661 |
2811 |
60.31% |
|
Dodgers |
138 |
83 |
60.14% |
|
Blue Jays |
185 |
110 |
59.46% |
|
Orioles |
212 |
125 |
58.96% |
|
Giants |
107 |
63 |
58.88% |
|
Cubs |
172 |
99 |
57.56% |
|
Astros |
148 |
84 |
56.76% |
|
A's |
186 |
104 |
55.91% |
|
Braves |
181 |
100 |
55.25% |
|
Indians |
171 |
93 |
54.39% |
|
Red Sox |
178 |
95 |
53.37% |
|
Cardinals |
125 |
65 |
52.00% |
|
Tigers |
176 |
89 |
50.57% |
|
Diamondbacks |
130 |
65 |
50.00% |
The following chart shows the same categories as the previous charts, but also includes the number of RBI by HR and runs scored per homer (R/HR) for 2013.
|
Club |
HR |
Solo HR |
Solo HR % |
RBI by HR |
R/HR |
|
Red Sox |
178 |
95 |
53.37% |
305 |
1.71 |
|
Tigers |
176 |
89 |
50.57% |
301 |
1.71 |
|
Diamondbacks |
130 |
65 |
50.00% |
219 |
1.68 |
|
Cardinals |
125 |
65 |
52.00% |
204 |
1.63 |
|
Indians |
171 |
93 |
54.39% |
279 |
1.63 |
|
Astros |
148 |
84 |
56.76% |
240 |
1.62 |
|
Braves |
181 |
100 |
55.25% |
292 |
1.61 |
|
A's |
186 |
104 |
55.91% |
291 |
1.56 |
|
Orioles |
212 |
125 |
58.96% |
331 |
1.56 |
|
Cubs |
172 |
99 |
57.56% |
267 |
1.55 |
|
MLB |
4661 |
2811 |
60.31% |
3534 |
1.55 |
|
Royals |
112 |
70 |
62.50% |
172 |
1.54 |
|
Blue Jays |
185 |
110 |
59.46% |
283 |
1.53 |
|
Giants |
107 |
63 |
58.88% |
164 |
1.53 |
|
Mariners |
188 |
119 |
63.30% |
287 |
1.53 |
|
Mets |
130 |
81 |
62.31% |
199 |
1.53 |
|
Nationals |
161 |
100 |
62.11% |
246 |
1.53 |
|
Yankees |
144 |
91 |
63.19% |
221 |
1.53 |
|
Dodgers |
138 |
83 |
60.14% |
207 |
1.5 |
|
Padres |
146 |
91 |
62.33% |
219 |
1.5 |
|
Twins |
151 |
93 |
61.59% |
227 |
1.5 |
|
Marlins |
95 |
61 |
64.21% |
142 |
1.49 |
|
Rangers |
176 |
113 |
64.20% |
259 |
1.47 |
|
Rockies |
159 |
99 |
62.26% |
234 |
1.47 |
|
White Sox |
148 |
97 |
65.54% |
217 |
1.47 |
|
Phillies |
140 |
92 |
65.71% |
204 |
1.46 |
|
Brewers |
157 |
104 |
66.24% |
228 |
1.45 |
|
Reds |
155 |
104 |
67.10% |
225 |
1.45 |
|
Pirates |
161 |
108 |
67.08% |
229 |
1.42 |
|
Rays |
165 |
108 |
65.45% |
235 |
1.42 |
|
Angels |
164 |
105 |
64.02% |
232 |
1.41 |
The Cardinals didn't score very many runs last season via the homer. They ranked 27th in MLB in homers in 2013. But because such a large share of their homers were of the multi-run variety, the Redbirds averaged one of the highest runs scored per homer (R/HR) in the majors a year ago.