It's supposed to be the Year of the Pitcher (well, since the actual Year of the Pitcher in 1968). Home runs are at their lowest in nearly 15 years and pitchers once again rule baseball. Well, with one exception. Blue Jays' Jose Bautista has come out of nowhere to lead the majors in home runs.

Last night Bautista hit a 427 foot bomb into the third deck in Minnesota's new Target Field in the seventh inning and then hit an opposite field shot the very next inning. The home runs were his 53rd and 54th of the year. This coming from a guy whose previous career-high in home runs was 16.

50 home runs is quite a milestone but it's not exactly unique. 25 other players have hit 50 home runs in their career. But what is more unique is how far ahead Bautista is from second place. Albert Pujols is currently second in the majors with 42 home runs. Only seven times since 1935 has the league leader in home runs led by 10 home runs or more. And it's even more impressive if you look at the percentages. Bautista has nearly 30% more home runs than Pujols. That's the fourth highest discrepancy since 1935. Why am I using 1935? That's the year Babe Ruth retired.


This first table shows the highest percentage difference in home runs before 1935. Ruth was in his own world until he came back to Earth and Jimmie Foxx became the star. But after 1935 things began to even out and the home run leaders were neck and neck. Here's the biggest differences post-Ruth: