Unbelievable Records: The Hidden Legends Who Changed Home Run History Forever

When Aaron Judge labored through a nail-biting week in 2022 just to notch his 62nd home run—the highest ever recorded in the American League—millions of fans found themselves glued not just to the big screen, but to every single swing. There’s something magnetic about the long ball, isn’t there? Flash back to 1998, when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were locked in a slugfest for National League supremacy, or a few years later when Barry Bonds rocketed past McGwire’s mark like a firing cannonball. Home runs don’t just fill the scoreboard; they fill stadiums, fuel careers, and yes, fatten contracts too—the highest-paid players are invariably those who send baseballs skyward with consistent regularity. But beyond the glamour and controversy of the steroid era, what’s truly fascinating is how the “ding” of a home run has only grown louder over time, soaring like those very balls sailing toward the outfield fences. So, who are the titans of this timeless feat? From Hank Aaron’s legendary career to Ken Griffey Jr.’s graceful power, let’s unpack the numbers and stories behind the premier home run hitters in Major League Baseball history. Ready to step up to the plate? LEARN MORE.
What about at the team level?

Albert Pujols is the fourth and only other member of MLB’s 700-homer club, as he finished his career with 703. There are nine players with at least 600 and 28 with at least 500.

Although Barry Bonds never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs or ever admitted to using them, consider the effect of his stained era on the three-highest home run totals in history:

McGwire was the first to surpass Roger Maris’ previous single-season record of 61 home runs in 1961, hitting his 62nd of the 1998 season on Sept. 8. The St. Louis Cardinal homered off Chicago Cubs right-hander Steve Trachsel with a low, searing line drive down Busch Stadium’s left field line.

To say the Twins’ 307 homers were unexpected is an understatement after they only hit 166 a season earlier. But in 2019, five Twins slugged at least 30 – Nelson Cruz with 41, then Max Kepler (36), Miguel Sano (34), Eddie Rosario (32) and Mitch Garver (31). Meanwhile, the Yankees had an MLB-record 14 players reach double figures in home runs hit, led by Gleyber Torres (36) and Gary Sanchez (34).

Single-Season Home Run Record: 73 – Barry Bonds (2001)

From Hank Aaron to Jim Thome and from Mickey Mantle to Ken Griffey Jr., which hitters have been going yard most often? We dive into the record books to explore the top MLB home run leaders in baseball history.

The place to be in the 2019 season was the seating beyond the outfield fences. The 30 Major League Baseball teams combined to belt the most home runs in history – 6,776, or 10% more than the next-highest season of 6,105 in 2017.

Way back in 1884, the origins of the Cubs – the Colts, then the White Stockings – began a run of eight straight seasons in which they led the league in home runs.

The post The Most Home Runs in a Season and Career appeared first on Opta Analyst.

The Twins had one fewer homer than the Yankees to begin the final day of 2019 regular season, but in a 5-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals, C.J. Cron, Jake Cave and Jason Castro (the team’s 307th overall) combined for three compared to Aaron Judge’s solo home run in the Yankees’ 6-1 loss to the Texas Rangers.

Most Home Runs in a Career in MLB History: 762 – Barry Bonds

Whose hitters have gone yard most often?

Hank Aaron’s 755 and Babe Ruth 714 home runs are well-known numbers, ranking second and third, respectively.

While Maris hit his 61st homer on the final day of a 154-game schedule in 1961, Judge tied the fellow New York Yankee in the 155th game of the 162-game 2022 season and reached 62 in the 161st game. The different length in seasons is not an issue to Roger Maris Jr., who was in attendance when McGwire first passed his father and later Judge, and he says Judge’s 62 – not Bonds’ 73 – should be considered the major league record.

The list of leaders is not as embraced as it should be because the top six spots were secured by Barry Bonds, McGwire and Sosa over a four-year span (1998 to 2001) that was at the height of a steroids-filled era in Major League Baseball. Since then, the validity of those home run totals have often been called into question.

Today, it feels as though every team is banging home runs at a staggering level. Smaller parks, perhaps a smaller strike zone, juiced ball – juiced players, at one point – there could be many reasons the overall totals have elevated like a hanging Jamie Moyer cutter getting squared up. (Sorry Jamie, but you did surrender the most home runs in MLB history: 522)

It is unlikely these numbers will be matched any time soon. The most by an active player entering the 2023 season is Miguel Cabrera with 507, followed by Nelson Cruz (459), Giancarlo Stanton (378) and Mike Trout (350).

Research support provided by Josiah Sukumaran of Stats Perform. Enjoy this? Subscribe to our mailing list to receive exclusive weekly content.

But in 2023, the Atlanta Braves set an NL record and tied the Twins’ mark with 307 home runs. Marcell Ozuna reached 40 homers on the record-tying bomb. And the Braves had three hitters in its lineup with as many long balls: Matt Olson (54) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (41) being the others.

Later, the Yankees did the same for six consecutive seasons (1936-41) in the American League.

As Aaron Judge struggled for nearly a week in 2022 to hit his 62nd home run, the most home runs of all time in the American League, baseball fans stayed glued to one at-bat after another in hopes of seeing the historic moment.

Most Team Home Runs in a Season: 307 – Two Teams Tied

Bonds’ 762? Not so much (seriously, just ask somebody to name Bonds’ career total).

Of course, that streak must have irked their old rivals so much that the Brooklyn Dodgers went on to post seven seasons in a row (1949-55) as the NL leader in round-trippers.

It happened previously when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were swinging for the National League and major-league records in 1998 and three year later when Barry Bonds surpassed Big Mac for the all-time mark.

It turns out, everybody digs the long ball. It’s also no surprise the highest paid players are all big-hitters who consistently hit home runs and RBIs and get fans to their feet.

Four of the top five in the rankings also occurred that year: the Minnesota Twins slugging a single-season home run record of 307 to edge the Yankees (306), with the Houston Astros (288) third and the Los Angeles Dodgers (279) fourth. Each team surpassed the Yanks’ 267 homers in 2018.

McGwire wound up with a record 70 home runs that season, only to be surpassed by Bonds three years later. The San Francisco Giant slugged No. 71 to right-center of then-Pacific Bell Stadium off Los Angeles Dodgers righty Chan Ho Park on Oct. 5, 2001. He added two more in the Giants’ final regular-season series for 73.
The total being hit has soared over time, appropriately like a long ball traveling toward an outfield fence, and keeping the home run as one of the more celebrated statistics in sports history.