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Three25hitsThis topic is discussed in Worth's article found here -- http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/submit/Worth_Fred2.stm
The Most Impressive Single-Season Home Run Records
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by Fred Worth (Arkadelphia, AR) SABR
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I debated with myself for a while as to whether Babe Ruth's most impressive record was the 29 in 1919 or the 54 he hit in 1920. His 29 home runs in 1919 only broke the old record of Ned Williamson (27 in 1884) by 2. But Williamson's total was greatly over-inflated due to the bandbox dimensions of his home field. For evidence of that, consider the fact that 142 of the entire league's 323 home runs that season were hit by Williamson and his Chicago teammates. Additionally, consider that Williamson hit 42.9% of his career home runs that season in only 9.2% of his career at bats. That season he hit 6.5 home runs per 100 at bats. For the rest of his career his rate was 0.9 home runs per 100 at bats. For a good discussion of the causes of Williamson's one year explosion, see John c. Tattersall's article "Clarifying An Early Home Run Record" in the 1972 edition of the Baseball Research Journal.
Even if 1884 had never happened, Ruth's 29 would not have broken the record by much. Buck Freeman's 25 in 1899 would have been the record, followed closely by Gavy Cravath's 24 in 1915. Yet, Ruth must take first place on this list because of the way he redefined baseball. Freeman and Cravath both led the league other times but with no totals like their career highs. Ruth's 29 circuit clouts were the signal of the change of an age in baseball. No longer was the home run a rarity. Instead it became a defining part of a baseball player's value.
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