Who is the rightful single season MLB Home Run Champ?

[Jason]

This was a interesting topic of conversation at my work the other day.With all the asterisk talk from the steroids to Maris' extra games I wanted to see what the consensus was here on Net54.The choices are as follows:Babe Ruth,Roger Maris,Mark McGwire,or Barry Bonds.This should be interesting.My vote goes to Barry Bonds.

[vintagerookies51]

What about other? Josh Gibson would've broken it if he was allowed in the major leagues. There were also other African-Americans that would have a shot in the 50+ years they weren't allowed in the big leagues. For the options shown, however, I chose Ruth.

[Jason]

Originally Posted by vintagerookies51

What about other? Josh Gibson would've broken it if he was allowed in the major leagues. There were also other African-Americans that would have a shot in the 50+ years they weren't allowed in the big leagues. For the options shown, however, I chose Ruth.

I honestly thought about adding him as the 5th choice due to that big season but decided to keep it as a record done against strictly MLB talent.He can be a write in for those so inclined!

[irishdenny]

Maris!

Gibson's Story breaks my heart... His passing at such a young age only makes me want to give him my vote... Sorry Roger

(edited due to me being half asleep (& not on steriods), thought we were discussing the full Season King.

***I consider the Negro League as the Majors(MLB)! Heck, the Negro League All Stars whooped them when they played, why not consider their Numbers...

Josh Gibson fir sure!!!

[novakjr]

Sorry, some of you might not like this, but it's Bonds, plain and simple. He has the record. Every person on this list who has held the single season's record has some sort of flaw to it. Maris' feat was the least flawed though. Ruth, clearly wasn't playing against the best possible talent. Maris, took more games than Ruth, but was playing against a little more rounded of a field of competition. McGwire and Bonds obviously have their ties to steroids, but so does their competition, on top of being against pretty much the best of the best from around the world.. Now, if you wanna count out Mcgwire and Bonds, then Sosa needs to be included in this list...Because, while he never held the single season record, he would have had it not been for McGwire and his steroids. Now while I know that Sosa's been tied to steroids, I don't think there's been any definitive proof against him either(at least during that season)...So his name at least belongs in the mix.

[Big Ben]

Marris without a doubt. I also enshrine Marris into the HOF based on his merits and a slap in the face to all the steroid boys of the recent eras.

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by novakjr

Ruth, clearly wasn't playing against the best possible talent.

This is NOT clear to me and many others, what are you referring to here? 16 total MLB teams with 5 man rotations= 80 total MLB starting pitching spots available at the major league level at a time when ALL kids played baseball in the US. Compare that to todays watered down league post expansion and many great athletes never really playing baseball as they specialize in a number of other sports from an early age.

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by vintagerookies51

What about other? Josh Gibson would've broken it if he was allowed in the major leagues. There were also other African-Americans that would have a shot in the 50+ years they weren't allowed in the big leagues. For the options shown, however, I chose Ruth.

He could have? So could a lot of people. With all due respect to Josh Gibson, he didn't play in the major leagues so he certainly doesn't hold the MLB homerun record. If baseball was around in 1,200 BCE I'm sure we would have someone who hit more than seventy-three homeruns. Maybe there was some ancient man who had all the skills of a great homerun hitter, but since baseball didn't exist he couldn't play in the major leagues. Is he the rightful single season MLB homerun champ? Of course not. We can always make these little excuses about why someone should/shouldn't hold the record. In my mind, look at who has the most homeruns in a single season- Barry Bonds with 73. I don't care how he did it as long as he hit 73 homers. All other information is immaterial.

[vintagerookies51]

Bonds may hold the record, but the topic is the RIGHTFUL home run king. I don't know why you went all middle ages on me, but professional baseball was around when Josh Gibson played. I didn't say he could have broken the record. I said he did. I just stated my opinion, which is what the topic states. By the way, are you the "Brendan" from FCB as well? The one who got kicked off multiple boards?

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by vintagerookies51

Bonds may hold the record, but the topic is the RIGHTFUL home run king. I don't know why you went all middle ages on me, but professional baseball was around when Josh Gibson played. I didn't say he could have broken the record. I said he did. I just stated my opinion, which is what the topic states. By the way, are you the "Brendan" from FCB as well? The one who got kicked off multiple boards?

Did he break the major league baseball single season homerun record while playing in major league baseball? We can state our opinions all we want. That's the point of a forum. In my mind the rightful MLB single season homerun champ is whoever has the most homeruns in a single MLB season and everything else doesn't really matter. I don't believe I'm the Brendan you're talking about.

[Fred]

Ruth hit 60 in a 154 game schedule, Maris hit 61 in a 162 game schedule.

McGwire and Bonds did it in a 162 game schedule, but with a little help. I selected Maris but Bonds still hit 73 in a 162 game schedule. He actually only appeared in 153 games that season. I'm not sure how/why McGwire gets acknowledged in this poll.

I think the next poll should be:

Which of the following players do you think will be elected to the HOF?

Barry Bonds
Mark McGwire
Raphael Palmiero
Sammy Sosa
Roger Clemens
Pete Rose

I'd pick Charlie Hustle over any of the other guys listed. Yes, we could list a few other A-list PED users for the poll. Sad part is Bonds would have hit 500HRs even if he didn't use PEDs.

[Jcfowler6]

Maris beats out bonds+steroids.

[jcmtiger]

Maris for me, Bonds from 185 lbs to 220 lbs or more. Steroids

Joe

[xdrx]

It's Maris for me.

Aaron is the all-time HR king (most HRs ever), and Ruth is simply the greatest home run hitter that ever lived (not a stat, an opinion).

The more time that passes from the height of the steroid era the more ill will I seem to feel toward the likes of Bonds, McGwire and Sosa. I would have guessed the opposite would have occurred, but apparently I am holding a grudge, and it is growing. I hope they never see the inside of the HOF (I wouldn't even let them in with a ticket).

[teetwoohsix]

Originally Posted by Jcfowler6

Maris beats out bonds+steroids.

+1 Pretty much sums it up for me. Also, imagine what Maris could've done if he were on PED's- he probably could've beat Bonds. Just look at what Maris did without them.

Sincerely, Clayton

[Jason]

Well,it looks like the Net54 majority consensus is Roger Maris.I get all the points mentioned in all posts.To tell you the truth Bonds did alot better than I anticipated on this poll.MLB made this mess and its a shame Bonds has become the scapegoat for there greed and mismanagement.Just my opinion and it might have to do with I grew up loving the Pirates and an exciting rookie named Barry Bonds.Thanks to everyone who voted I learned alot from this poll! Jason Wells

[jp1216]

I want to say Maris, but that 2001 season (minus 9-11) was all Bonds. The intentional walks, the homers - simply amazing. The rules are the rules. I don't like Bonds, but will always remember the 2001 season.

[7nohitter]

Maris

[CharleyBrown]

Fred, might as well add Joe Jackson to that list.

[Joe_G.]

ESPN's take on Roger Maris:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7040052

[tbob]

Roger Maris will always be the legitimate holder of the single season home run record and Hank Aaron the career home run record.

[MacDice]

Like it or not it is Barry Bonds. The bottom line is what he was taking at the time was not banned by MLB. MLB knew about it but they were to busy making money to do anything about it.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by tbob

Roger Maris will always be the legitimate holder of the single season home run record and Hank Aaron the career home run record.

+1. I give Bonds and McGwire credit for being the best of their era, in which literally hundreds of players were juicing (see the book written by Kirk Radomski, the Mets' clubhouse attendant, who was supplying them!), and by all accounts, those two were the hardest working (it takes more than just injecting the juice to maximize the results). But the fact remains that what they were doing was a felony offense under the laws in effect at the time (although it was seldom policy to prosecute illicit users, as the criminal justice system focused upon dealers), and the fact that major league baseball had no rules against it is totally irrelevant. That having been said, for any of us who have, like me, stood out there at the plate, 60'6"
away with bat in hand from even a good college pitcher, or former pro throwing 90+ and good breaking stuff, it is readily apparent that the achievements of Bonds and McGwire were truly amazing, regardless of the tools employed. But by no means do they stand on an equal footing with Maris and Aaron.

It is also interesting to note that Roger Maris and Babe Ruth had an almost identical number of plate appearances: Maris had 590 at bats plus 90 walks, for a total of 680, while the Babe had 540 at bats and 138 free passes, for a total of 678. I don't know the number of HBP's or sacrifice flies, but would think that would not make any significant difference. Maris also faced one heckuva lot more pressure than the Babe in accomplishing his feat, since the Babe was only surpassing his own previous record of 59.

Finally, the Babe was clearly the GREATEST homerun hitter of all time, despite the fact that his totals have been surpassed (Aaron, as fabulous as he truly was, had more than 3,000 more at bats than the Babe, by my recollection).

Josh Gibson was certainly great by all accounts, but remember that in the days of the Negro Leagues, these teams also played a number of games each year against semi-pro teams. His greatness simply cannot be ascertained with any degree of certainty at all, and must consequently be based on speculation and conjecture.

Just my $2.00 worth!

Interesting thread, as it will probably always be.

Best wishes,

Larry

[quinnsryche]

Originally Posted by tbob

Roger Maris will always be the legitimate holder of the single season home run record and Hank Aaron the career home run record.

I agree 1000% Bonds is a cheat, always was, always will be. Anyone who votes for Bonds cares nothing for the game only numbers.

[Runscott]

I can't stand cheaters, but unless MLB revokes some of Barry's 'steroid era' capybara-balls (much bigger than gophers), he's the champ. Before that it was Maris - he hit 61 homers, which is one more than 60.

If the question had been, "who do you think was the greatest home run hitter over a single season?", then I would have said "Roger Maris". Maris had more pressure on him than Ruth, and he still performed.