Slugging Percentage Activity

The World Series between the American League and national League champions started in 1903.  From then until 1919, the Boston Red Sox had played in five World Series and won all of them, including the first one.  That was more than any other team in baseball to that time.  Meanwhile, the New York Yankees had never even played in the World Series, because they had never won the league championship.

The last three times the Red Sox won the World Series (1915, 1916 & 1918), they had a young pitcher on their team named Babe Ruth.  However, following the 1919 season, they sold him to the Yankees.  Since that time, Boston has never won another World Series while New York has won over two dozen of them.

Babe Ruth’s first season with New York was 1920.  Let’s look at his statistics from that year:

AB                    H                      2B                    3B                    HR

458                   172                   36                     9                      54

His 54 homeruns were a new record, breaking his won single-season record of 29 set the year before with the Red Sox.  Now, together, let’s calculate his slugging percentage in 1920.

First we have to figure out how many singles he had.  Does anyone have a suggestions (Discuss…1B = H – [2B +3B + HR], so 172 – 99 = 73)

Hit                    Number             Bases/hit                      Total Bases

1B                    73                     1                      73x1 = 73

2B                    36                     2                      36x2 = 72

3B                    9                      3                      9x3 = 27

HR                    54                     4                      54x4 = 216

Total                 172                                                       388

So his sluggin percentage SP = TB/AB = 388/458 = .847

Now let’s look at Babe Ruth’s next year, 1921:

AB                    H                      2B                    3B                    HR

540                   204                   44                     16                     59

Now you complete this chart on your own and tell me his slugging percentage in 1921.

Hit                    Number             Bases/hit                      Total Bases

1B                                            1                      x1 =

2B                                            2                      x2

3B                                            3                      x3 =

HR                                            4                      x4 =

Total 204

(pause…help where needed, answer questions, provide guidance, etc).

Good.  His slugging percentage in 1921 was .846, almost exactly the same as in 1920. For 80 years, no one reached .800 again, not even The Babe himself.

In 2001,  Barry Bonds had an incredible season.  He hit 73 homeruns, breaking the record for a season once held by Ruth, then Roger Maris, then mark McGwire.  Let’s look at the statistics for Bonds in 2001:

AB                    H                      2B                    3b                     HR

476                   156                   32                     2                      73

Now you do the calculations and tell me his slugging percentage in 2001.

(pause…etc).

Very good. Bonds has an .863 slugging percentage, breaking Babe’s record after 81 years.  In fact, many of Ruth’s records have been broken, but one that still stands is his 457 total bases in 1921, still the most ever.