List Of Major League Baseball Annual Home Run Leaders
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
, a
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
is scored when the ball is hit so far that the batter is able to circle all the bases ending at home plate,
scoring Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...
himself plus any runners already on base, with no errors by the defensive team on the play. An automatic home run is achieved by hitting the ball on the fly over the
outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...
fence in fair territory. More rarely, an
inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score a ...
occurs when the hitter reaches home plate while the baseball remains in play on the field. In
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB), a player in each league wins the
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
title each season by hitting the most home runs that year. Only home runs hit in a particular league count towards that league's seasonal lead.
Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardi ...
, for example, hit 58 home runs in 1997, more than any other player that year. However, McGwire was traded from the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
's (AL)
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
to the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
's (NL)
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
midway through the season and his individual AL and NL home run totals (34 and 24, respectively) did not qualify to lead either league. The first home run champion in the National League was George Hall. In the league's inaugural 1876 season, Hall hit five home runs for the short-lived National League
Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...
. In 1901, the American League was established and
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
second baseman
Nap Lajoie Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...
led it with 14 home runs for the American League Philadelphia Athletics. Over the course of his 22-season career,
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
led the American League in home runs twelve times.
Mike Schmidt Michael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 18-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies. Schmidt was a 12-time All-Star and a ...
and
Ralph Kiner Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Follow ...
have the second and third most home run titles respectively, Schmidt with eight and Kiner with seven, all won in the National League. Kiner's seven consecutive titles from 1946 to 1952 are also the most consecutive home run titles by any player. Ruth set the
Major League Baseball single-season home run record The Major League Baseball single-season record for the number of home runs hit by a batter has changed many times over the years. Single-season records Progression Summarized from '' The Baseball Encyclopedia'' for older information, and fr ...
four times, first at 29 (1919), then 54 (1920), 59 (1921), and finally 60 (1927). Ruth's 1920 and 1921 seasons are tied for the widest margin of victory for a home run champion as he topped the next highest total by 35 home runs in each season. The single season mark of 60 stood for 34 years until
Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 ...
hit 61 home runs in 1961 for which
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
assigned an asterisk until reversing themselves in 1991 citing Maris had accomplished his record in a longer season. Maris' mark was broken 37 years later by both Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa during the 1998 home run record chase, with McGwire ultimately setting a new record of 70. Barry Bonds, who also has the most career home runs, then broke that mark, setting the current single season record of 73 in 2001. Of the four players to break Maris' record, one (McGwire) has since admitted to the use of performance-enhancing substances during his playing career and two others (Sosa and Bonds) are both widely suspected to have used such substances as well. The 1998 and 2001 seasons each had four players hit 50 or more home runs –
Greg Vaughn Gregory Lamont Vaughn (born July 3, 1965) is an American former baseball left fielder who played for the Milwaukee Brewers (1989–1996), San Diego Padres (1996–1998), Cincinnati Reds (1999), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000–2002) and Colorado ...
, Ken Griffey Jr., Sosa, and McGwire in 1998 and
Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...
, Luis Gonzalez, Sosa, and Bonds in 2001. A player has hit 50 or more home runs 42 times, 25 times since 1990. The lowest home run total to lead a major league was four, recorded in the NL by
Lip Pike Lipman Emanuel "Lip" Pike (May 25, 1845 – October 10, 1893) the "Iron Batter", was an American who was one of the stars of 19th-century baseball in the United States. His brother, Israel Pike, played briefly for the Hartford Dark Blues during ...
in 1877 and
Paul Hines Paul Aloysius Hines (March 1, 1855 – July 10, 1935) was an American center fielder in professional baseball who played in the National Association and Major League Baseball from 1872 to 1891. Born in Virginia, he is credited with winning baseb ...
in 1878. On October 4, 2022
Aaron Judge Aaron James Judge (born April 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Judge was unanimously selected as the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 2017, and finishe ...
hit his 62nd homerun of the year off Jesús Tinoco of the Texas Rangers passing
Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 ...
for the AL home run record 61 years after Maris set it and making him only the sixth person to hit at least 60.


Key


American League


National League


Other major leagues


See also

* Babe Ruth Home Run Award ''(discontinued)'' – awarded to the MLB home-run leader * Josh Gibson Legacy Award – awarded to the AL and NL home-run leaders *
Mel Ott Award Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from through . He batted left-handed a ...
– awarded to the NL home-run leader * 61* - film depicting Maris' record setting 61 home runs in 1961


Footnotes

*Recognized "major leagues" include the current
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
and
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
s and several defunct leagues – the
American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...
, the
Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...
, the
Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...
, and the
Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...
.


References

;General * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Major League Baseball Home Run Champions Home run champions Major League Baseball records
Home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...