Mains: Solo homer-a-rama
From SABR member Rob Mains at Baseball Prospectus on September 18, 2018:
Last month, I noted that two trends in baseball—lots of homers coupled with a decline in batters reaching base—have resulted in an increase in games decided solely by solo home runs. There have been 21 games so far this year (through Sunday) in which all the scoring came via solo homers. A decade ago, there were 20. A decade before that, 17. A decade before that, in 1988, here were 12. There were 15 in 1978. Even adjusting for differences in the number of teams, games with all runs scoring on bases-empty home runs are on the upswing.
This prompted a smart question from commenter Chris Zayner:
Taking this a step further …what percentage of all home runs hit are solo shots? It seems like that number has been increasing in recent years as well.
Good question, Chris!
Through games of Sunday, here’s the breakdown of homers with zero, one, two, and three batters on base during the Expansion Era (1961-present).
Read the full article here: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/42684/flu-like-symptoms-solo-homer-a-rama/
Originally published: September 18, 2018. Last Updated: September 18, 2018.