What is more thrilling than a perfect homerun? It is one of the popular aspects of the game and is guaranteed to make the crowd go crazy on the stand.
There is even an old saying that goes, “Home run hitters drive Cadillacs, and singles hitters drive Fords,” by veteran pitcher Fritz Ostermueller.
MLB is the oldest professional sports league. However, the MLB home runs record is the most revered yet controversial among all the sports. But it does not mean that the record does not hold any credit.
There have been many great hitters in the sport’s history with a long history. However, not all those who have had a long career can achieve the feat.
Today, we are looking at some of the most prolific hitters with the most MLB home runs. So, let us get right into our list of the most MLB home runs without further delay.
10 Most MLB Home Runs
We have compiled this list with the help of the internet sources like Baseball-reference, Athlon sports, etc.
But before hopping onto the details of the topic, let us give a quick peek at the overall ranking of the list.
| Players Name | Home Runs |
| 10. Frank Robinson | 586 |
| 9. Sammy Sosa | 609 |
| 8. Jim Thome | 612 |
| 7. Ken Griffey Jr. | 630 |
| 6. Willie Mays | 660 |
| 5. Albert Pujols | 679 |
| 4. Alex Rodriguez | 696 |
| 3. Babe Ruth | 714 |
| 2. Henry Aaron | 755 |
| 1. Barry Bonds | 762 |
10. Frank Robinson
The tenth player on our list is Frank Robinson, with the most MLB home runs of 586. He was a professional baseball outfielder, coach, and manager in MLB.
He was born on August 31, 1935, and made his MLB debut in 1956. The Cincinnati Reds signed Robinson in 1953.
After playing in the minor league, he made his MLB debut. After his debut, he played for teams like San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Nationals.
Robinson accumulated many wins and awards during his playing career. He retired from his 21 years long playing career and transitioned to manager and coach. As the coach and manager, he took the helm of many teams.
In 1982, Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. At his retirement, he had the fourth-highest career home runs in the league’s history.
At the retirement period, his career record was a .294 batting average, 2,943 hits, 1,812 runs batted in, 1,065-1,176 managerial record with .475 winning %. Unfortunately, he passed away on February 7, 2019.
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9. Sammy Sosa
On our number 9 is a former Dominican-American baseball right fielder, Sammy Sosa. Born on November 12, 1968, he played 19 seasons in the MLB. He is widely regarded as one of the best hitters in MLB.
Sosa made his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers on June 16, 1989. However, in the July of the same year, the Rangers traded him to the Chicago White Sox.
The Sox traded him to the Chicago Cubs in 1992. After the trade, Sosa spent most of his career playing for the Cubs. He also played for the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers.
Some of his career highlight accolades include NL MVP, six times Silver Slugger Award, NL Hank Aaron Award, Roberto Clemente Award, etc. In addition, Sosa was the fifth player in MLB to hit the 600th career home run.
He had the MLB statistics of a .273 batting average, 2,408 hits, and 1,667 runs batted in at his retirement.
However, Sosa’s reputation was later marred by the steroids scandal. As a result, he was not elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013.
8. Jim Thome
Jim Thome is recognized as one of the prolific power hitters in MLB. The former baseball corner infielder and designated hitter have the eighth-most MLB home run with 612.
He made his MLB debut in 1991 with the Cleveland Indians. The Indians drafted Thome in the 13th round of the 1989 MLB draft, and he played 22 seasons in the league.
During his long career, he was part of other franchises like the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers. Similarly, he also played for Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, and Baltimore Orioles.
Thome achieved many wins during his career. Some of them include Silver Slugger Award, Roberto Clemente Award, All-Star five times, NL home run leader, etc.
Famous for his consistently positive attitude and “gregarious” personality, he became the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.
Thome’s career statistics read a .276 batting average, 2,328 hits, and 1,699 runs batted in at the end of his retirement.
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7. Ken Griffey Jr.
With a record of 630 home runs, Ken Griffey Jr. is on our number 7 of the most MLB home runs. He is a former baseball outfielder and made his debut in the MLB in 1989 for the Seattle Mariners.
Griffey Jr. is one of the prolific hitters in MLB. He has been given nicknames “Junior” and “The Kid.” Aside from the most home run, he is also tied for the record for most consecutive games with a home run.
The Mariners drafted Griffey Jr. as the number one overall selection in the MLB amateur draft in 1987. After that, he played 22 seasons in MLB.
Similarly, he also played for other MLB franchises like the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox. He returned to the Mariners in 2009 and then retired after a year.
Griffey Jr. is one of the popular players in MLB. As a result, he had many lucrative endorsement deals. Some of his career highlighting accolades include ten times Gold Glove Award, seven times Silver Slugger Award, etc.
When he retired, Griffey Jr. recorded a .284 batting average, 2,781 hits, and 1,836 runs batted in.
6. Willie Mays
Willie Mays is one of the most renowned baseball players of all time. He played 22 seasons in MLB and made the MLB home run record of 660.
Mays began his professional career playing in the Negro minor league team. The New York Giants signed him in 1950, and he made his MLB debut with the New York Giants.
During his professional career in MLB, Mays spent most of his career with San Francisco Giants. He then played for the New York Mets from 1972 to 1973.
Additional to his most MLB home runs, he also holds the MLB records for most outputs and the most extra-innings home runs.
Similarly, Mays’ career highlight wins include World Series champion, Gold Glove Award twelve times, Roberto Clemente Award, etc. The renowned player was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979.
Mays retired from the MLB with the record of a .302 batting average, 3,283 hits, 1,903 runs batted in, and 338 stolen bases.
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5. Albert Pujols
With a total home run of 679, we have a Dominican professional player Albert Pujols on our number 5. Nicknamed “The Machine,” he is a 44 year-old free agent.
Pujols was born in the Dominican Republic. He moved to the United States in 1996. The St. Louis Cardinal drafted him in the 13th round of the 1999 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 2001.
He played for the Cardinals until 2011, after which he became a free agent. After that, Pujols refused to sign with the Cardinals and instead signed with the Los Angeles Angels.
He signed a 10 years contract worth around $254 million. In 2021, the Los Angles Dodgers signed Pujols on a one-year contract.
He is known for his consistent swings. The Sports Illustrated writer Daniel G. Habib described his wing as “quick” and “quiet.”
With his outstanding batting ability, Pujols has accoladed many achievements in his career. Some of them are Glove Award two times, Silver Slugger Award six times, the NL Hank Aaron award two times, the fielding bible award five times, etc.
4. Alex Rodriguez
Nicknamed “A-Rod,” the fourth place of the most MLB home runs goes to former baseball shortstop and third baseman Alex Rodriguez. He is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Before the MLB draft, Rodriguez was one of the most highly touted prospects. The Seattle Mariners drafted him as the first overall selection of the 1993 MLB draft.
Then Alex made his debut the following year. In his 22 seasons in MLB, he was also signed by the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees.
Rodriguez was a 14 times All-Star, World Series champion, two times Gold Glove Award, ten times Silver Slugger Award, four times AL Hank Aaron Award, etc.
Likewise, he also signed two of the most lucrative sports contracts in his career. After he retired from the sport, he became a media personality.
Rodriguez ended his MLB career with statistics of .295 batting average, 3,115 hits, 2,086 runs batted in, and over 300 stolen bases.
3. Babe Ruth
We are down to our top 3 baseball players. On our number 3 of the most MLB home runs, we have legendary batting figure, Babe Ruth. Born on February 6, 1895, he is considered one of the greatest baseballs of all time.
Ruth played 22 seasons in MLB and earned nicknames like “The Bambino” and “The Sultan of Swat.” He began his profession as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.
After his debut in 2011, he went ahead to gain a lot of fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. As a result of his fame, Ruth was the target of intense press and public attention.
However, not only did his on-field performance gain attraction, but he was also involved in many off-field controversies.
Nonetheless, Ruth became one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture. Near the end of his playing career, he was also part of the Boston Braves.
He achieved a lot of accolades during his playing career, like having the best batting averages and seven times World Series champion. In 1936, the legendary player was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ruth’s end of career record was 2,783 hits, 2,214 runs batted in, 94-46 win-loss record, and a 2.28 earned run average. This legendary figure passed away at 53 on August 16, 1948.
2. Henry Aaron
Widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players in history, Henry Aaron has the second most MLB home runs with 755. Born on February 5, 1934, he played 21 seasons in MLB.
Aaron broke Babe Ruth‘s second-most MLB home run record, which stood for 33 years. He played in the Negro league and minor league. He stood out with his skill; however, he also experienced racism.
In 1952, the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves signed him, and Aaron made his MLB debut in 1954. He spent most of his career playing for the Braves.
From 1975 to 1976, he was part of the Milwaukee Brewers. He has the MLB record for the 2,297 career runs batted in, 6,856 total career base, 1,477 career extra-base hits, and many numerous wins and awards.
Aaron retired from the sport after the 1976 season and became the Baseball Hall of Famer in 1982. He recorded MLB statistics of a .305 batting average, 3,771 hits, and 2,297 runs batted in at his retirement.
1. Barry Bonds
The player with the most MLB home runs is a former left fielder, Barry Bonds. He has the highest MLB home run record of 762 and is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Bonds as the sixth overall pick of the 1985 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 1986. He played 22 seasons in the MLB.
From 1986 to 1992, he spends the majority of his career with the Pirates. Then in 1993, Bonds signed a lucrative free-agent contract with the San Francisco Giants. He signed the then-record contract worth $43.75 million.
Aside from his most MLB home run record, Bonds has several other MLB records. Likewise, he has numerous career highlight wins and awards.
However, even after being one of the most prolific baseball players, he also had a controversial career. His most notable controversy was getting involved in steroids scandals.
Bonds’ last MLB appearance was in 2007 for the Giants. He ended his career with the MLB record of a .298 batting average, 2,935 hits, 1,996 runs batted in, and 514 stolen bases.
Conclusion
Controversial or not but there is no denying that these players’ astonishing records should be celebrated. They are forever immortalized in the sport’s history with such an impressive feat.
They spent their career making the record and thus, deserve recognition and a special place in MLB history. We hope you enjoyed our little list.
