Home run
A home run, abbreviated HR, is a term in baseball for when the batter hits the ball and touches all the bases without an error being made by the team on defense. The most common way for a batter to hit a home run is to hit the ball over the outfield fence in fair territory. If the ball goes over the outfield fence but it is ruled a "foul ball", it does not count as a home run. Another way for a batter to hit a home run is to hit what is called an "inside-the-park" home run. If the batter touches all four bases after he hits the ball and it stays on the field, he scores a home run. This is an inside-the-park home run as long as no error is committed by the fielding team on the play.
In the early days of Major League Baseball, a home run was not awarded to a ball hit over the fence to win the game if the winning run scored before the batter-runner were to reach home plate to score. Therefore, what would otherwise be walk-off home runs were not commonplace, and players were often robbed of home runs. Due to this, for instance, Babe Ruth is not credited with a particular walk-off home run that would bring his career total to 715.
Home Run Media
Barry Bonds holds the all-time home run record in Major League Baseball
Sadaharu Oh, pictured here in 2006, holds the officially verified all-time world home run record in professional baseball.
If a batted ball hits the foul pole (orange pole on the right), the ball is fair and a home run is awarded to the batter.
Scooter Gennett had four home runs in a 2017 game, nearly completing a home run cycle.
Graph depicting the yearly number of home runs (blue line), and stolen bases (pink line) per MLB game from 1900 to 2008.
The Polo Grounds left field foul line with guide rope, as seen from upper deck, 1917
