Career Leaders & Records for Home Runs
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The one time he did was in 1994 when the season was shortened by the strike . He enjoyed 12 different seasons of at least 20-plus homers, with 10 of those coming consecutively between 1982 and 1991. He earned every bit of his number-one spot on the franchise’s all-time home run list. Mark McGwire led the league in home runs 4 times including 52, 65, and record-breaking 70 home run seasons.
But it was his ability to be a force both at the plate and behind it on a regular basis that made him special. Since he’s the all-time home run leader in Cubs history, he had plenty of chances to perfect his signature hop out of the batter’s box. As if he needed to add more accomplishments, he also joined the ranks of MLB’s Home Run Derby winners by taking home the title in 2000. Sammy Sosa led the National League in home runs twice, with 49 and 50, but finished second four times with home run counts of 36, 66, 63, and 64. Alex Rodriguez led the American League in home runs five times, three with the Texas Rangers and twice with the New York Yankees.
Let's take a look at baseball's leaderboards for single-season home runs
The center fielder enjoyed 11 different seasons of at least 30 homers. While most of his career could be considered a peak, there looks to be one span that was just more powerful than others. This is a coveted franchise record for a couple of reasons.
It only took Kyle Schwarber one year to reach the top-five of the Phillies’ single-season home run leaderboard. And, similar to how he did it in 2021, a healthy number of these dingers came as a leadoff hitter. Despite getting 55 fewer plate appearances in the second half, he outpaced his homer production . He also watched his .665 OPS and 91 wRC+ jump up to .855 and 147, respectively, after the midsummer respite. He was still a positive addition for Slam Diego, but his best work was done with Cincy. These 20 homers were more than the number he slugged in the three seasons prior combined .
Most Consecutive Seasons Leading the League in Home Runs Hit
He’s the Guardians’ single-season and career home run leader. See who ranks behind him all-time in Cleveland history here. True to his reputation of being incredibly consistent, Ripken never finished a full year with fewer than 13 homers.
His 58 home runs in 1997 led neither league due to a mid-season trade which split this total across 2 leagues. Soto hit at least four homers in each of the first five months of his season. September/October was the only time he didn’t reach that number. The overall performance for Bryan Reynolds took a step back in 2022. But if we’re just talking about his power, the outfielder set a new single-season career-high mark in home runs with 27.
New York Yankees: Bernie Williams, 22 Home Runs
The top five also includes Mel Ott , Willie McCovey , and Matt Williams . The pine tar incident against the New York Yankees in 1983 might be Brett's most famous round-tripper. The Killer Bs – Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Lance Berkman – dominated for the Houston Astros in the 1990s and early 2000s. All three players occupy the top three spots on the all-time home run list in Astros history, with Bagwell followed by Berkman and Biggio . Ever wonder who holds the franchise home run record for your favorite baseball team? Home run records set by the teams over a season including most, most on the road, most at home, and several other variations.
The home run power came fast and furious for Al Kaline after parts of two seasons with the Detroit Tigers. In the first 565 plate appearances of his MLB career, Kaline collected five homers. From that point on, he never finished a season with fewer than 10. The right-handed slugger spent 22 years in the Motor City, and a 13-year stretch from his age-20 to age-32 campaigns appeared to be the most impactful. There’s only one hitter in Mets history with multiple seasons of 40-plus homers and 120-plus RBI. His 131 RBI in 2022 both led Major League Baseball and set a new single-season franchise record.
A 2022 All-Star, Riley set new career-high marks in homers , wRC+ , and fWAR (5.5) while playing third base. Riley slugged exactly six homers in a month four times in 2022, including each of the first three months. He was reasonably consistent throughout the season, never hitting fewer than four homers or more than nine in one month. Walker had a much easier time hitting on the road (138 wRC+) than at home (106 wRC+).
Paul Goldschmidt has always been quietly consistent throughout his MLB career. He’s constantly one of the game’s most underrated players because of his elite production many seem to forget about. That didn’t happen in 2022 because he made lots of noise in an MVP-caliber campaign.
Andre Dawson had 225 homers, while Gary Carter hit 220 for the Expos. Ken Griffey had two stints with the Seattle Mariners at the start and end of his 22-season career. In total, he spent 13 years with the Mariners and led the franchise with 417 home runs.
However, his single-season career-high didn’t come until his age-30 season in 2016. Through 685 plate appearances that year, Longoria slugged 36 homers and drove in 98 runs. Stan 'The Man' Musial is another Hall of Famer legend who spent his entire career with the same ballclub. Musial played for the St. Louis Cardinals for 22 seasons while missing one year near the start of his career due to WWII military service. Musial's franchise record has stood for nearly 60 years – and it should remain in place a while longer. Albert Pujols has hit 460 home runs and counting in a Cardinals uniform but is slated to retire at the end of the 2022 season.
The 2022 postseason was Manny Machado‘s fifth opportunity to play October baseball. In his four other postseason appearances, Machado produced a wRC+ better than 70 just once. Daniel Murphy reached the postseason with the Mets once during his time with the club, which came in 2015. It was a memorable run as New York reached the World Series. They wouldn’t have gotten it there if Murphy didn’t temporarily turn into Babe Ruth for the NLDS and NLCS.
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