In Major League Baseball circles, the statistic called slugging percentage isn't really a percentage, but more of an average. Slugging percentage is calculated by taking the total bases a player has accumulated and dividing them by the number of at-bats he has had. This number will give baseball fans an excellent idea of how much of a power hitter a player is, as the more extra base hits he has banged out, the higher his slugging percentage will be. The record for the highest career slugging percentage belongs to Babe Ruth, while the Bambino and Barry Bonds dominate the single season slugging percentage list.
No player will ever again approach Ruth's slugging percentage of .6898 for a career; the second highest is possessed by Ted Williams at .6338. Ruth had a total of 5,793 total bases on the strength of his 714 home runs, 506 doubles, and 106 triples, plus all his singles. He had 8,398 at bats in the majors, giving him the final number that must seem like two Mount Everests on top of one another to today's sluggers. For example, even Bonds, who has three of the top five single season best slugging percentages in the history of the sport, lifetime owns a .6071 slugging mark. Third all-time behind Ruth and Williams is Lou Gehrig at .6324, while Albert Pujols, at 27 years old and currently in the midst of his own Hall of Fame career, is fourth at .6194, followed by Jimmie Foxx at .6093.
In case you were curious as how the slugging percentage of a classic singles hitter compares to a basher like Bonds, look at Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro has a slugging percentage of .437 for his seven seasons in which he has garnered 1,578 base hits, all but 299 of them being singles. Pete Rose was another singles specialist, as reflected by his .407 slugging percentage; Ruth had 41 more total bases than Rose despite being up almost six thousand fewer times! Even the great Hank Aaron, who surpassed Ruth in 1974 for the most home runs until Bonds broke his record, has a slugging percentage that pales in comparison to Ruth. Aaron is at .5545, 26th career-wise, even though he is ranked number one in total bases with 6,856.
No player will ever again approach Ruth's slugging percentage of .6898 for a career; the second highest is possessed by Ted Williams at .6338. Ruth had a total of 5,793 total bases on the strength of his 714 home runs, 506 doubles, and 106 triples, plus all his singles. He had 8,398 at bats in the majors, giving him the final number that must seem like two Mount Everests on top of one another to today's sluggers. For example, even Bonds, who has three of the top five single season best slugging percentages in the history of the sport, lifetime owns a .6071 slugging mark. Third all-time behind Ruth and Williams is Lou Gehrig at .6324, while Albert Pujols, at 27 years old and currently in the midst of his own Hall of Fame career, is fourth at .6194, followed by Jimmie Foxx at .6093.
In case you were curious as how the slugging percentage of a classic singles hitter compares to a basher like Bonds, look at Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro has a slugging percentage of .437 for his seven seasons in which he has garnered 1,578 base hits, all but 299 of them being singles. Pete Rose was another singles specialist, as reflected by his .407 slugging percentage; Ruth had 41 more total bases than Rose despite being up almost six thousand fewer times! Even the great Hank Aaron, who surpassed Ruth in 1974 for the most home runs until Bonds broke his record, has a slugging percentage that pales in comparison to Ruth. Aaron is at .5545, 26th career-wise, even though he is ranked number one in total bases with 6,856.
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