Single Season Leaders for Home Run Percentage in the National League

Have you ever wondered how often Mark McGwire hit a long ball in 1998? How about his numbers compared to Roger Maris in 1961? Babe Ruth in 1927? Here is a chart that breaks down over the course of a single National League season a hitters percentage of at-bats [(home runs divided by at-bats) times 100] which result in a home run.

Note: Three point one plate (3.1) appearances per scheduled game are needed to make this list, raw averages are presented to further clarify the one-hundred greatest National League single season home run percentage leaders, and a bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season.
"I study pitchers. I visualize pitches. That gives me a better chance every time I step into the box. That doesn't mean I'm going to get a hit every game, but that's one of the reasons I've come a long way as a hitter." - Mark McGwire
Home Run Percentage
Single Season National League Leaders

'Top 100'
Barry Bonds 15.34 (15.3361) 2001 San Francisco Giants NL 1
Mark McGwire 13.75 (13.7525) 1998 St. Louis Cardinals NL 2
Mark McGwire 12.48 (12.4760) 1999 St. Louis Cardinals NL 3
Barry Bonds 12.06 (12.0643) 2004 San Francisco Giants NL 4
Barry Bonds 11.54 (11.5385) 2003 San Francisco Giants NL 5
Barry Bonds 11.41 (11.4144) 2002 San Francisco Giants NL 6
Sammy Sosa 11.09 (11.0919) 2001 Chicago Cubs NL 7
Sammy Sosa 10.26 (10.2644) 1998 Chicago Cubs NL 8
Barry Bonds 10.21 (10.2083) 2000 San Francisco Giants NL 9
Sammy Sosa 10.08 (10.0800) 1999 Chicago Cubs NL 10
Ryan Howard 9.98 (9.9828) 2006 Philadelphia Phillies NL 11
Ralph Kiner 9.84 (9.8361) 1949 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 12
Jeff Bagwell 9.75 (9.7500) 1994 Houston Astros NL 13
Kevin Mitchell 9.68 (9.6774) 1994 Cincinnati Reds NL 14
Matt Williams 9.66 (9.6629) 1994 San Francisco Giants NL 15
Hack Wilson 9.57 (9.5726) 1930 Chicago Cubs NL 16
Hank Aaron 9.49 (9.4949) 1971 Atlanta Braves NL 17
Barry Bonds 9.46 (9.4629) 1994 San Francisco Giants NL 18
Willie Stargell 9.39 (9.3933) 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 19
Luis Gonzalez 9.36 (9.3596) 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks NL 20
Willie Mays 9.32 (9.3190) 1965 San Francisco Giants NL 21
Willie McCovey 9.16 (9.1650) 1969 San Francisco Giants NL 22
Albert Pujols 9.16 (9.1589) 2006 St. Louis Cardinals NL 23
Ralph Kiner 9.03 (9.0265) 1947 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 24
Dave Kingman 9.02 (9.0226) 1979 Chicago Cubs NL 25
Ryan Howard 8.88 (8.8847) 2007 Philadelphia Phillies NL 26
Sammy Sosa 8.81 (8.8129) 2002 Chicago Cubs NL 27
Willie Mays 8.79 (8.7931) 1955 New York Giants NL 28
Mike Schmidt 8.76 (8.7591) 1980 Philadelphia Phillies NL 29
Mike Schmidt 8.76 (8.7571) 1981 Philadelphia Phillies NL 30
Prince Fielder 8.73 (8.7260) 2007 Milwaukee Brewers NL 31
Greg Vaughn 8.73 (8.7260) 1998 San Diego Padres NL  
Jim Edmonds 8.72 (8.7248) 2003 St. Louis Cardinals NL 33
Andruw Jones 8.70 (8.7031) 2005 Atlanta Braves NL 34
Johnny Mize 8.70 (8.7031) 1947 New York Giants NL  
Kevin Mitchell 8.66 (8.6556) 1989 San Francisco Giants NL 36
Larry Walker 8.63 (8.6268) 1997 Colorado Rockies NL 37
Ralph Kiner 8.59 (8.5923) 1950 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 38
Gary Sheffield 8.58 (8.5828) 2000 Los Angeles Dodgers NL 39
Ted Kluszewski 8.55 (8.5515) 1954 Cincinnati Redlegs NL 40
Barry Bonds 8.53 (8.5343) 1993 San Francisco Giants NL 41
George Foster 8.46 (8.4553) 1977 Cincinnati Reds NL 42
Larry Walker 8.45 (8.4475) 1999 Colorado Rockies NL 43
Jim Edmonds 8.43 (8.4337) 2004 St. Louis Cardinals NL 44
Willie Stargell 8.43 (8.4291) 1973 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 45
Eddie Mathews 8.40 (8.4034) 1954 Milwaukee Braves NL 46
Lance Berkman 8.40 (8.3955) 2006 Houston Astros NL 47
Gary Sheffield 8.39 (8.3851) 1994 Florida Marlins NL 48
Joe Adcock 8.37 (8.3700) 1956 Milwaukee Braves NL 49
Jack Clark 8.35 (8.3532) 1987 St. Louis Cardinals NL 50
Todd Helton 8.35 (8.3475) 2001 Colorado Rockies NL 51
Mike Schmidt 8.32 (8.3179) 1979 Philadelphia Phillies NL 52
Sammy Sosa 8.28 (8.2781) 2000 Chicago Cubs NL 53
Jim Thome 8.27 (8.2677) 2004 Philadelphia Phillies NL 54
Eddie Mathews 8.22 (8.2164) 1955 Milwaukee Braves NL 55
Greg Vaughn 8.18 (8.1818) 1999 Cincinnati Reds NL 56
Willie Mays 8.13 (8.1315) 1964 San Francisco Giants NL 57
Jim Thome 8.13 (8.1315) 2003 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Barry Bonds 8.12 (8.1238) 1996 San Francisco Giants NL 59
Eddie Mathews 8.12 (8.1174) 1953 Milwaukee Braves NL 60
Adam Dunn 8.10 (8.0986) 2004 Cincinnati Reds NL 61
Gary Sheffield 8.09 (8.0925) 1996 Florida Marlins NL 62
Hank Aaron 8.04 (8.0439) 1969 Atlanta Braves NL 63
Carlos Beltran 8.04 (8.0392) 2006 New York Mets NL 64
Sammy Sosa 8.03 (8.0321) 1996 Chicago Cubs NL 65
Adrian Beltre 8.03 (8.0268) 2004 Los Angeles Dodgers NL 66
Fred McGriff 8.02 (8.0189) 1994 Atlanta Braves NL 67
Jim Edmonds 8.00 (8.0000) 2000 St. Louis Cardinals NL 68
Jeff Bagwell 7.97 (7.9661) 2000 Houston Astros NL 69
Chipper Jones 7.94 (7.9365) 1999 Atlanta Braves NL 70
Duke Snider 7.93 (7.9336) 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers NL 71
Andres Galarraga 7.93 (7.9279) 1998 Atlanta Braves NL 72
Shawn Green 7.92 (7.9160) 2001 Los Angeles Dodgers NL 73
Ralph Kiner 7.91 (7.9096) 1951 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 74
Roy Campanella 7.90 (7.8998) 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers NL 75
Andre Dawson 7.89 (7.8905) 1987 Chicago Cubs NL 76
Willie Mays 7.89 (7.8905) 1962 San Francisco Giants NL  
Richard Hidalgo 7.89 (7.8853) 2000 Houston Astros NL 78
Hank Sauer 7.88 (7.8846) 1954 Chicago Cubs NL 79
Mike Piazza 7.88 (7.8838) 2000 New York Mets NL 80
Willie McCovey 7.88 (7.8788) 1970 San Francisco Giants NL 81
Duke Snider 7.87 (7.8740) 1957 Brooklyn Dodgers NL 82
Orlando Cepeda 7.86 (7.8632) 1961 San Francisco Giants NL 83
Duke Snider 7.81 (7.8067) 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers NL 84
Eric Davis 7.81 (7.8059) 1987 Cincinnati Reds NL 85
Dave Kingman 7.81 (7.8059) 1976 New York Mets NL  
Willie McCovey 7.80 (7.8014) 1963 San Francisco Giants NL 87
Dale Murphy 7.77 (7.7739) 1987 Atlanta Braves NL 88
Albert Pujols 7.77 (7.7703) 2004 St. Louis Cardinals NL 89
Derrek Lee 7.74 (7.7441) 2005 Chicago Cubs NL 90
Eddie Mathews 7.74 (7.7441) 1959 Milwaukee Braves NL  
Rogers Hornsby 7.74 (7.7381) 1925 St. Louis Cardinals NL 92
Sammy Sosa 7.74 (7.7369) 2003 Chicago Cubs NL 93
Mel Ott 7.71 (7.7064) 1929 New York Giants NL 94
Vladimir Guerrero 7.71 (7.7058) 2000 Montreal Expos NL 95
Ken Griffey, Jr. 7.69 (7.6923) 2000 Cincinnati Reds NL 96
Davey Johnson 7.69 (7.6923) 1973 Atlanta Braves NL  
Ted Kluszewski 7.68 (7.6797) 1955 Cincinnati Redlegs NL 98
Cy Williams 7.66 (7.6636) 1923 Philadelphia Phillies NL 99
Adam Dunn 7.66 (7.6628) 2007 Cincinnati Reds NL 100
Current Through End of 2007 Regular Season


Did you know that Mark McGwire, who is ranked number two (#2) and number three (#3) on this page, is also ranked number one (#1), number twenty-three (#23) and number thirty (#30) on the American League single season leaders for home run percentage?

The code to write the single season home run percentage league splits was developed in 2005, launched during 2006 and made possible by your support — please continue helping us create these kinds of pages by supporting our site.

The American League single season record for home run percentage was set in 1996 by Mark McGwire of the Oakland Athletics. The National League single season record for home run percentage is on this page. Is either the Career Leader for Home Run Percentage?
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