Description:

A player’s Homerun Rate (HR/FB) is literally the percentage of how many homeruns a player hits out of their total amount of fly balls. Good homerun hitters typically have HR/FB ratios anywhere from 15-20%, while weaker players have ratios that range as low as 1%. There is nothing wrong with looking at a player’s total homerun numbers, but a player’s HR/FB ratio can be useful in providing context to a player’s power numbers.

For example, say you have a player that typically hits around 30 home runs a season, but last year they only hit 20. As a fan, you want to know why that drop in production happened so you can know if it’s something to be worried about. Was the player still hitting the same about of fly balls but with a lower HR/FB rate? This would imply that the player had lost a touch off their strength, which could be a result of an injury or the telltale sign of an aging slugger. Or did the player still have the same HR/FB rate, but was hitting fewer fly balls? If a player goes from hitting fly balls to ground balls, that’s not good at all, but if the player started to hit more line drives, they probably sacrificed some homeruns for more doubles and overall hits.

Context:

2010 HR/FB Values

Things to Remember:

- Use this statistic in conjunction with other batted ball statistics.  It’s useful, but mostly when put in the context of a player’s overall hitting profile.

- Different parks can result in different HR/FB numbers for hitters.  For example, a right handed hitter will have a higher HR/FB rate in Fenway Park than in PETCO Park.

- This statistic is more important for evaluating pitchers than for hitters.

Links for Further Reading:

HR/FB Park Factors – Hardball Times