<P> The vast majority of home runs occur when the batter hits the ball beyond the outfield fence on the fly . This is purely a feat of hitting with power, along with a fortuitous flight angle of the ball . The inside - the - park home run has a different character: it combines fast baserunning with a strong hit, usually aided by a lucky bounce of the ball . </P> <P> In the early days of Major League Baseball, with outfields more spacious and less uniform from ballpark to ballpark, inside - the - park home runs were common . However, in the modern era, with smaller outfields, the feat has become increasingly rare, happening only a handful of times each season . Today an inside - the - park home run is typically accomplished by a fast baserunner hitting the ball in a direction that bounces far away from the opposing team's fielders . Sometimes (such as Alcides Escobar's inside - the - park homer in the 2015 World Series), the outfielder misjudges the ball or otherwise misplays it, but not so badly that an error is charged . </P> <P> Of the 154,483 home runs hit between 1951 and 2000, 975 (about 1 in every 158) were inside - the - park . The percentage has dwindled since the increase in emphasis on power hitting which began in the 1920s . </P> <Ul> <Li> Major League--Jesse Burkett--55 </Li> <Li> National League--Tommy Leach--49 </Li> <Li> American League--Ty Cobb--46 </Li> <Li> Major League post-1950--Willie Wilson--13 </Li> </Ul>

Average number of inside the park home runs