At bats per home run

In baseball statistics, at bats per home run (AB/HR) is a way to measure how frequently a batter hits a home run. It is determined by dividing the number of at bats by the number of home runs hit. Mark McGwire possesses the MLB record for this statistic with a career ratio of 10.61 at bats per home run. Aaron Judge is second with a ratio of 11.15 and has the best career ratio among active players, as of the end of the 2025 season.[1]

Major League Baseball leaders

Career

Totals are current as of the end of the 2025 season, minimum 3,000 plate appearances.[1]

  1. Mark McGwire - 10.61
  2. Aaron Judge - 11.15
  3. Babe Ruth - 11.76
  4. Barry Bonds - 12.92
  5. Shohei Ohtani - 13.32

Season

Single-season statistics are current as of the end of the 2025 season.[2]

  1. Barry Bonds - 6.52 (2001)
  2. Mark McGwire - 7.27 (1998)
  3. Josh Gibson - 7.80 (1937)
  4. Mark McGwire - 8.02 (1999)
  5. Mark McGwire - 8.13 (1996)

Babe Ruth was the first batter to average fewer than nine at-bats per home run over a season, hitting his 54 home runs of the 1920 season in 457 at-bats; an average of 8.463. Josh Gibson, playing for the Homestead Grays in 1937, hit 20 home runs in 156 at bats in 39 recognized games in the Negro National League.[3] In 1998, Mark McGwire became the first batter in MLB to average fewer than eight AB/HR, hitting his 70 home runs in 509 at-bats (an average of 7.27). In 2001, Barry Bonds became the first batter to average fewer than seven AB/HR, setting the major league record by hitting his 73 home runs of the 2001 season in 476 at-bats for an average of 6.52.[4]

Ruth led the American League every year from 1918 until 1931, except for 1925.[5]

Ruth, McGwire, and Bonds are the only batters in MLB history to average nine or fewer AB/HR over a season, having done so a combined ten times. Gibson's 1937 season ranks as the best in the Negro Leagues:

Nine or fewer at-bats per home run[2]
Batter Season HR AB AB/HR
Babe Ruth 1920 54 457 8.4629
Babe Ruth 1927 60 540 9.00
Josh Gibson 1937 20 156 7.80
Mark McGwire 1996 52 423 8.1346
Mark McGwire 1998 70 509 7.2714
Mark McGwire 1999 65 521 8.0154
Barry Bonds 2001 73 476 6.5205
Barry Bonds 2002 46 403 8.7608
Barry Bonds 2003 45 390 8.6667
Barry Bonds 2004 45 373 8.2889

Aaron Judge's 62 home run season in 2022 came at a rate of 9.19 AB/HR.[2]

Conversely, among MLB players who have hit a home run, Duane Kuiper has the lowest AB/HR rate, hitting one home run in 3,379 at bats.[6][7][8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Career Leaders & Records for AB per HR". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "Single-Season Leaders & Records for AB per HR". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  3. ^ "Josh Gibson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  4. ^ "Yearly League Leaders & Records for AB per HR". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  5. ^ "Yearly League Leaders & Records for AB per HR". Baseball Reference.
  6. ^ Lidz, Franz (June 25, 1984). "A Sultan of Swat he's not". Sports Illustrated.
  7. ^ Wancho, Joseph. "August 29, 1977: Indians' Duane Kuiper smacks his only career home run". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  8. ^ Posnanski, Joe (September 21, 2020). "60 Moments: No. 2, Duane Kuiper's singular home run". The Athletic. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  9. ^ "MLB Ab Per Hr Leaders". StatMuse. Retrieved October 15, 2025.


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