We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Team

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is an Inside-The-Park Home Run?

Dan Cavallari
By
Updated: May 23, 2024
Views: 9,414
Share

In recent years, much emphasis has been placed on the home run in professional baseball, both as a spectacle for fans and for record-chasing athletes. Indeed, as one -the more exciting facets of the game, the home run has found favor with fans and players alike, but one of the less common types of home runs has become rarer and rarer as the game has evolved: the inside the park home run is a home run in which the batter does not actually hit the ball out of play, but rather manages to run around the bases and score before the fielders can tag him out.

The inside the park home run was far more common during baseball’s dead-ball era, or the time period between 1900 and 1920, right around the time Babe Ruth began power-hitting. The dead-ball era featured lower scoring games and fewer home runs, but the inside the park home run was more common – partly because stadiums were much larger and had more area to their outfields, allowing batters to capitalize when fielders had to run great distances to field the ball. A batter would have to touch every base, just like a single, double, or triple, and reach home plate in order to score an inside the park home run.

While less common today, inside the park home runs do still happen. An odd bounce off an outfield fence might lead to such a home run; more common, however, is a situation in which two outfielders try to field the same fly ball and end up either colliding or allowing the ball to drop and roll past them, allowing the batter time to round the bases. An inside the park home run is also possible if a fielder misplays a ball and it wanders into a part of the field unattended by any player. Because ballparks are typically smaller today than they have been historically, the occurrence of inside the park home runs has dwindled significantly.

Ty Cobb holds the American League record for career inside the park home runs with 46, and he led the league in home runs in 1909 – all nine were inside the park. He was the first and only player in the modern era to lead the league in home runs without actually hitting a ball out of the park. An inside the park grand slam home run is even rarer; Honus Wagner holds the career record for inside the park grand slam home runs with five.

Share
Sports n' Hobbies is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Dan Cavallari
By Dan Cavallari
Dan Cavallari, a talented writer, editor, and project manager, crafts high-quality, engaging, and informative content for various outlets and brands. With a degree in English and certifications in project management, he brings his passion for storytelling and project management expertise to his work, launching and growing successful media projects. His ability to understand and communicate complex topics effectively makes him a valuable asset to any content creation team.
Discussion Comments
By umbra21 — On Feb 01, 2012

@croydon - Baseball is still pretty popular though. That's probably one of the reasons the field is smaller now, because they want the audience to get closer to the action and they want to be able to pack more of them into the stadium.

I don't think the inside the park home run record will ever be broken now, but at least it would give the players something else to aim for.

It seems like they are waiting on a different player to break a different record almost every week.

By croydon — On Jan 31, 2012

An in side the park home run must be much more exciting to fans than an out of the park home run though, so it's a shame that the ball parks are smaller now.

If you are watching a game and someone hits the ball out of the park it might be exciting or make you happy or angry depending on who hit it. But, the player running around the plates would have no urgency.

Now with a ball inside the park, that requires urgency. The hitter doesn't know when the ball is going to be retrieved, and every stride counts.

Maybe that's why baseball was more popular back then?

Dan Cavallari
Dan Cavallari
Dan Cavallari, a talented writer, editor, and project manager, crafts high-quality, engaging, and informative content for various outlets and brands. With a degree in English and certifications in project management, he brings his passion for storytelling and project management expertise to his work, launching and growing successful media projects. His ability to understand and communicate complex topics effectively makes him a valuable asset to any content creation team.
Share
https://www.sportsnhobbies.org/what-is-an-inside-the-park-home-run.htm
Copy this link
Sports n' Hobbies, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

Sports n' Hobbies, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.