Best Home Run Hitters in Baseball 2009

Here are the best home run hitters in baseball for the 2009 season per official at bat. Making the top ten list in total home runs does not necessarily make a player one of the best home run hitters in baseball.

Image via Wikipedia

For example Aaron Hill of the Toronto Blue Jays hit 36 home runs in 2009 which was tied for the 9th best home run total of 2009 but Hill had 682 official at bats so his home run average was just .053. Jay Bruce of the Cincinnati Reds hit 22 home runs in 345 at bats for home run average of .064. If Bruce had 682 at bats in 2009 he would have hit 43 home runs. Chris Davis of the Texas Rangers hit 21 home runs in 391 at bats for a home run average of .054. If Davis had 682 at bats in 2009 he would have hit 37 home runs.

There are at least 50 players in 2009 who had a higher home run average than Aaron Hill. Hill deserves credit for staying healthy enough to get 682 at bats and hitting 36 home runs but that does not make him one of the best home run hitters in 2009.

The best home run hitter per at bat in 2008 does not make the list this year but his home run average in 2008 stands well above the best home run average any player could do in 2009. You can see who he is and what his home run average was here.

List is in descending order with the best home run hitter listed last.

15) Jim Thome – .0667 Finished the year with Joe Torre and the LA Dodgers. Makes the list almost every year and one of top home run hitters of all time.

14) Garrett Jones – .0669 Complete fluke. Played 2009 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and is 29 years old.

13) Alex Rodriguez – .0676 One of the best home run hitters all time now on and off the field as he’s dating Kate Hudson and playing for the New York Yankees.

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

12) Jason Bay – .0678 Canadian had great walk year with the Boston Red Sox and is now a free agent.

11) Raul Ibanez – .068 Went from a bad hitters park in Seattle to a great one in Philadelphia and his home run numbers exploded just as I predicted they would for fantasy players.

10) Adam Dunn – .070 In 2009 J P Riccardi got fired and Dunn hit 38 home runs in a terrible park. When Riccardi made disparaging remarks about Dunn as a baseball player Dunn’s quote about Riccardi was “Just a clown sitting in an office pushing paper.” Dunn was right on the money and deserves a big free agent contract this year.

9) Jonny Gomes – .0712 Career home run average is .056 in majors and .059 in minors.

Nelson Cruz - .0714 Here’s what I wrote back in January in a fantasy baseball article about Texas Ranger Cruz “has a .431 slugging percentage in 557 major league at bats but his career minor league slugging percentage is .539. He’s 28 years old but would probably produce some pretty good stats this year in a great hitters park if he plays full time.”

7) Russell Branyan – .0719 No fluke at all. Branyan has been hitting home runs everywhere he has ever played baseball. Major league HR average is .068 and minors is .077.

6) Adrian Gonzalez – .0725 If he ever gets out of San Diego and into a hitters park Watch Out!

5) Ryan Howard – .0731 After his MVP 2006 season I wrote an article about why he probably will not make the Hall of Fame based upon his age. People said I was crazy to talk about him and the Hall of Fame after he had just one big year. LOL, baseball stats do not lie and his stats said he was going to be great for years.

4) Mark Reynolds – .076 Just 25 years old but would not bet on him repeating this though he did hit HR’s at a .080 average one year in the minors but every other year was well below that year and 2009.

3) Prince Fielder – .078 A flat out great home run hitter just like his daddy Cecil was. Plays for the Milwaukee Brewers.

2) Albert Pujols – .0827 Hit the most HR’s in baseball with 47 in 2009 but was not the top home run average hitter in the game. Had elbow surgery after the season but will probably be good for another 40 home runs in 2010 for the St. Louis Cardinals who just hired Mark McGwire to be their hitting coach in 2010.

1) Carlos Pena – .0828 Just edges out Pujols as Pena hit 39 HR’s in 471 at bats. The 39 HR’s tied Pena with New York Yankee Mark Teixeira for the American League lead but Teixeira needed 609 at bats for his 39 HR’s which just leaves him off the list at .0640. Pena’s best home run average was in 2007 when he hit 46 HR’s in 490 at bats good for .094.