Hulbert, William H. Holbert We're talking about William H. Holbert, who played catcher in the National League from 1876 until 1888. His claim to fame is that he is the only big leaguer to have batted 2000 times without hitting a home run. That's not very many games, is it? Baseball-Reference.com lists Holbert with 16 non-home-run hits out of 2,069 career plate appearances. That's less than 1 percent! He had more walks (1,523) than strikeouts (1,480).
Holbert was a pretty good hitter, batting.275 with 12 homers and 153 RBIs over eight seasons. But his lack of power is what makes him so unique. The most home runs ever hit by a catcher are 10, three of them hit by Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins. The last time someone else had fewer than 10 was in 1889 when John Ward kicked off his career with nine dingers caught by Tom Brown.
Before Ward, no one had more than seven career home runs at the catcher's position. Holbert is the last player to do this. And now you know: Holbert is the last player to have zero home runs caught by a catcher.
We've always had the occasional home run hitter. Four active players are excellent examples. The first is Duane Kuiper of the San Francisco Giants, who has only hit one home run in 3259 at-bats during the last 10 years. The second is Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals, who has only hit one home run in 1495 at-bats over the same period.
The third is Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, who has only hit one home run in 1510 at-bats over the last 10 years. The final player is Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs, who has only hit one home run in 1615 at-bats since 1997.
These four players account for 70% of all home runs hit (47 out of 67). The other 30% come from a large variety of players that include Joe Mauer, Carlos Beltrán, and Mike Trout.
It is important to note that although these players have been very productive over the last decade, they are still going to be rare events. A single home run can change the course of a game or season, and because they occur so rarely it is not likely that any of these players will hit more than one per year.
There are several factors that go into how often a player hits home runs.
He became the only player in big league history to smash 15 or more home runs and strike out 50 or more hitters in a single season... Babe Ruth (1918 & 1919) is the only player since 1900 to have 10+ home runs and 4+ victories in a single season. Ruth is also the only other athlete in history to smash 15 or more home runs and pitch 50 or more innings in a same season... Baseball's home run king has long been recognized as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history.
Babe Ruth began his major league career with the Boston Red Sox in 1917, but he only played that year and part of 1918 before being drafted into the military. When he returned in 1919, he came back as a member of the New York Yankees and went on to become the most famous player in baseball history. During his time with the Yankees, Ruth hit 70 home runs and won two World Series titles. He finished his career with 252 home runs and a.917 career batting average.
The most powerful man in sports injured himself while playing football for Columbia University. The injury forced him to quit baseball, but it didn't stop him from hitting home runs. In fact, it improved his batting average and slugging percentage points each year from 1920 to 1924. By 1925, his power had returned to form and he hit 54 homers that year. His final season was 1926, when he played in only 46 games due to health issues related to his previous injuries. Ruth died at the age of 42 in 1948.
Burkett, Jesse While Jesse Burkett, who played in the big leagues from 1890 to 1905, had 55 career inside-the-park home runs, Willie Wilson, who played in the major leagues from 1976 to 1994, has the most since 1950, with 13. It is believed that many of these balls were hit into the stands by players while others were hit into the stands and then carried into the dugout by fans.
One ball that is on display in a baseball museum in Phoenix is said to have been hit by Burkett into the stands at the Washington Park Club house in Chicago. The ball was purchased by a spectator who took it off the field after it was hit out of play. He sold it to a dealer who gave it to a museum founder who has displayed it ever since. There are other stories about balls being hit into the stands but none of them can be proven true because no one else saw the balls leave the park.
Some people believe that Wilson carried some of these balls into the Reds' clubhouse after games but this has never been confirmed.
The record for most inside-the-park home runs in a single season was last held by Barry Bonds in 2007. He hit 73 homers during the season.
Bonds's record has now been surpassed by Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees, who has hit 70 home runs during the 2011 season.
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