List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit so far that the batter is able to circle all the bases ending at home plate, scoring 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 fence in fair territory. More rarely, an inside-the-park home run occurs when the hitter reaches home plate while the baseball remains in play on the field. In Major League Baseball, a player in each league wins the home run 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, for example, hit 58 home runs in 1997, more than any other player that year. However, McGwire was traded from the American League's Oakland Athletics to the National League's St. Louis Cardinals midway through the season and his individual AL and NL home run totals 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. In 1901, the American League was established and Hall of Fame second baseman Nap Lajoie led it with 14 home runs for the American League Philadelphia Athletics. Over the course of his 22-season career, Babe Ruth led the American League in home runs 12 times. Mike Schmidt and Ralph Kiner 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 four times, first at 29, then 54, 59, and finally 60. 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 hit 61 home runs in 1961. 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 the mark at 70. Barry Bonds, who also has the most career home runs, set the current single season record of 73 in 2001. The 1998 and 2001 seasons each had 4 players hit 50 or more home runs – Greg Vaughn, Ken Griffey, Jr., Sosa, and McGwire in 1998 and Alex Rodriguez, 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 in 1877 and Paul Hines in 1878.

Key

American League

Year	Winner	HR	Team	Runner-up	2nd HR	Ref
1901	^†	14	Philadelphia Athletics		12
1902		16	Philadelphia Athletics	Bill Bradley Buck Freeman	11
1903		13	Boston Americans		12
		10	Philadelphia Athletics	Buck Freeman
			Philadelphia Athletics
		12	Philadelphia Athletics
			Philadelphia Athletics	Danny Hoffman Ty Cobb^†
	^†		Detroit Tigers
	^†		Detroit Tigers	^†
		10	Boston Red Sox	^† Duffy Lewis
	^†	11	Philadelphia Athletics	^† Ty Cobb^†
	^† Tris Speaker^†	10	Philadelphia Athletics Boston Red Sox	^†
	^†	12	Philadelphia Athletics	^†
	^†		Philadelphia Athletics	^†
			Chicago White Sox Cleveland Indians
		12	New York Yankees	^†	10
			New York Yankees
	^† Tilly Walker	11	Boston Red Sox Philadelphia Athletics	^† George Burns
	^†	29	Boston Red Sox	Frank Baker^† George Sisler^†	10
	^†	54	New York Yankees	^†	19
	^†	59	New York Yankees	Bob Meusel	24
		39	St. Louis Browns		37
	^†	41	New York Yankees		29
	^†	46	New York Yankees		27
		33	New York Yankees	^†	25
	^†	47	New York Yankees	^†	19
	^†	60	New York Yankees	^†	47
	^†	54	New York Yankees	^†	27
	^†	46	New York Yankees	^†	35
	^†	49	New York Yankees	^†	41
	^† Lou Gehrig^†	46	New York Yankees		32
	^†	58	Philadelphia Athletics	^†	41
	^†	48	Philadelphia Athletics	^†	34
	^†	49	New York Yankees	^†	44
	^† Jimmie Foxx^†	36	Detroit Tigers Philadelphia Athletics	^†	30
	^†	49	New York Yankees		42
	^†	46	New York Yankees	^†	40
	^†	58	Detroit Tigers	^†	50
	^†	35	Boston Red Sox	^†	33
	^†	41	Detroit Tigers	^†	36
	^†	37	Boston Red Sox		33
	^†	36	Boston Red Sox		27
		34	Detroit Tigers		31
		22	New York Yankees		20
		24	St. Louis Browns	Nick Etten Rudy York	18
	^†	44	Detroit Tigers	^†	38
	^†	32	Boston Red Sox	^†	29
	^†	39	New York Yankees	^†	32
	^†	43	Boston Red Sox		39
		37	Cleveland Indians		34
		33	Chicago White Sox Philadelphia Athletics	^†	30
	^†	32	Cleveland Indians		31
		43	Cleveland Indians		42
	^†	32	Cleveland Indians	^†	29
	^†	37	New York Yankees		30
	^†	52	New York Yankees		32
		42	Washington Senators	^†	38
	^†	42	New York Yankees		41
	^† Rocky Colavito	42	Washington Senators Cleveland Indians		33
	^†	40	New York Yankees		39
		61	New York Yankees	^†	54
	^†	48	Minnesota Twins		39
	^†	45	Minnesota Twins		42
	^†	49	Minnesota Twins		39
		32	Boston Red Sox		30
	^†	49	Baltimore Orioles	^†	39
	^† Harmon Killebrew^†	44	Boston Red Sox Minnesota Twins		36
		44	Washington Senators		36
	^†	49	Minnesota Twins		48
		44	Washington Senators	^†	41
		33	Chicago White Sox	^† Norm Cash	32
		37	Chicago White Sox		33
	^†	32	Oakland Athletics	Frank Robinson^†	30
		32	Chicago White Sox	^†	29
	^† George Scott	36	Oakland Athletics Milwaukee Brewers		34
		32	New York Yankees	^† Sal Bando	27
	^†	39	Boston Red Sox	Bobby Bonds	37
	^†	46	Boston Red Sox	Don Baylor	34
		45	Milwaukee Brewers	Jim Rice^†	39
	^† Ben Oglivie	41	New York Yankees Milwaukee Brewers		38
	Eddie Murray^† Dwight Evans Tony Armas	22	California Angels Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Oakland Athletics	Greg Luzinski	21
	^† Gorman Thomas	39	California Angels Milwaukee Brewers	^†	37
	^†	39	Boston Red Sox		36
		43	Boston Red Sox		35
		40	Detroit Tigers	^†	37
		40	Toronto Blue Jays		35
		49	Oakland Athletics		47
		42	Oakland Athletics		34
		36	Toronto Blue Jays		35
		51	Detroit Tigers		39
	Cecil Fielder	44	Oakland Athletics Detroit Tigers	^†	34
		43	Texas Rangers		42
		46	Texas Rangers	^†	45
	^†	40	Seattle Mariners	^†	38
		50	Cleveland Indians	Frank Thomas^†	40
		52	Oakland Athletics		50
	^†	56	Seattle Mariners		44
	^†	56	Seattle Mariners	Albert Belle	49
	^†	48	Seattle Mariners	Rafael Palmeiro	47
		47	Anaheim Angels	Frank Thomas^†	43
		52	Texas Rangers	^†	49
		57	Texas Rangers	^†	52
		47	Texas Rangers		42
		43	Boston Red Sox	David Ortiz	41
		48	New York Yankees		47
		54	Boston Red Sox		44
		54	New York Yankees		46
		37	Detroit Tigers		36
	Mark Teixeira	39	Tampa Bay Rays New York Yankees	Aaron Hill	36
		54	Toronto Blue Jays		39
		43	Toronto Blue Jays		41
		44	Detroit Tigers		43
		53	Baltimore Orioles		44
		40	Baltimore Orioles		37
		47	Baltimore Orioles		44
		47	Baltimore Orioles		43
		52	New York Yankees		43
		48	Oakland Athletics		43
		48	Kansas City Royals		45

National League

Year	Winner	HR	Team	Runner-up	2nd HR	Ref
			Philadelphia Athletics
			Cincinnati Reds
			Providence Grays
			Boston Red Caps	^†
	Jim O'Rourke^†		Worcester Ruby Legs Boston Red Caps
	^†		Buffalo Bisons
			Detroit Wolverines	Dan Brouthers^†
	^†	10	New York Giants	Joe Hornung
		27	Chicago White Stockings		25
		11	Chicago White Stockings	^†
	^† Hardy Richardson	11	Detroit Wolverines	^†	10
		19	Washington Nationals	^†	17
		16	Chicago White Stockings	^†	14
	^†	20	Philadelphia Quakers		18
	Mike Tiernan Walt Wilmot	13	Brooklyn Bridegrooms New York Giants Chicago Colts
	Harry Stovey	16	New York Giants Boston Beaneaters		11
		13	Cincinnati Reds	^†	12
	^†	19	Philadelphia Phillies		17
	^†	18	Boston Beaneaters	Bobby Lowe	17
	^†	18	Philadelphia Phillies		17
	^† Ed Delahanty^†	13	Philadelphia Phillies Washington/New York	^†	12
	^†	11	Boston Beaneaters	^†	10
	^†	15	Boston Beaneaters	Honus Wagner^†	10
		25	Washington Senators		12
		12	Boston Beaneaters	^†	11
	^†	16	Cincinnati Reds		11
			Pittsburgh Pirates	^†
			Brooklyn Superbas	Tommy Leach Mike Donlin Sam Mertes Cy Seymour Ginger Beaumont
			Brooklyn Superbas
			Cincinnati Reds
		12	Brooklyn Superbas
		10	Boston Doves
		12	Brooklyn Superbas	^†	10
			New York Giants	Tommy Leach Larry Doyle
	Fred Beck	10	Boston Doves Chicago Cubs	Larry Doyle
		21	Chicago Cubs		16
		14	Chicago Cubs		12
		19	Philadelphia Phillies		18
		19	Philadelphia Phillies		18
		24	Philadelphia Phillies		13
	Dave Robertson	12	Chicago Cubs New York Giants		11
	Dave Robertson	12	Philadelphia Phillies New York Giants	^†
			Philadelphia Phillies	Cy Williams
		12	Philadelphia Phillies		10
		15	Philadelphia Phillies		14
	^†	23	New York Giants	^†	21
	^†	42	St. Louis Cardinals		26
		41	Philadelphia Phillies		22
		27	Brooklyn Robins	^†	25
	^†	39	St. Louis Cardinals		24
	^†	21	Chicago Cubs	^†	19
	Hack Wilson^†	30	Chicago Cubs Philadelphia Phillies	^†	26
	^† Jim Bottomley^†	31	Chicago Cubs St. Louis Cardinals		27
	^†	43	Philadelphia Phillies	^†	42
	^†	56	Chicago Cubs		40
	^†	31	Philadelphia Phillies	^†	29
	^† ^†	38	Philadelphia Phillies New York Giants	^†	28
	^†	28	Philadelphia Phillies		27
	^† Ripper Collins	35	New York Giants St. Louis Cardinals		34
		34	Boston Braves	^†	31
	^†	33	New York Giants		28
	^† Joe Medwick^†	31	New York Giants St. Louis Cardinals		27
	^†	36	New York Giants		30
	^†	28	St. Louis Cardinals	^†	27
	^†	43	St. Louis Cardinals		25
		34	Brooklyn Dodgers	^†	27
	^†	30	New York Giants	Johnny Mize	26
		29	Chicago Cubs	^†	18
		33	Chicago Cubs	^†	26
		28	Boston Braves		25
	^†	23	Pittsburgh Pirates	^†	22
	^† Johnny Mize^†	51	Pittsburgh Pirates New York Giants		36
	^† Johnny Mize^†	40	Pittsburgh Pirates New York Giants	^†	39
	^†	54	Pittsburgh Pirates	^†	36
	^†	47	Pittsburgh Pirates		36
	^†	42	Pittsburgh Pirates		40
	^† Hank Sauer	37	Pittsburgh Pirates Chicago Cubs		32
	^†	47	Milwaukee Braves	^†	42
		49	Cincinnati Reds		42
	^†	51	New York Giants		47
	^†	43	Brooklyn Dodgers	Frank Robinson^†	38
	^†	44	Milwaukee Braves	^†	43
	^†	47	Chicago Cubs		35
	^†	46	Milwaukee Braves	^†	45
	^†	41	Chicago Cubs	^†	40
	^†	46	San Francisco Giants	^†	40
	^†	49	San Francisco Giants	^†	45
	^† Hank Aaron^†	44	San Francisco Giants Milwaukee Braves	^†	38
	^†	47	San Francisco Giants	^†	33
	^†	52	San Francisco Giants	^†	39
	^†	44	Atlanta Braves		40
	^†	39	Atlanta Braves		37
	^†	36	San Francisco Giants		33
	^†	45	San Francisco Giants	^†	44
	^†	45	Cincinnati Reds	^†	42
	^†	48	Pittsburgh Pirates	^†	47
	^†	40	Cincinnati Reds		38
	^†	44	Pittsburgh Pirates		43
	^†	36	Philadelphia Phillies	^†	33
	^†	38	Philadelphia Phillies		36
	^†	38	Philadelphia Phillies		37
		52	Cincinnati Reds		41
		40	Cincinnati Reds		35
		48	Chicago Cubs	^†	45
	^†	48	Philadelphia Phillies		35
	^†	31	Philadelphia Phillies	^†	24
		37	New York Mets		36
	^†	40	Philadelphia Phillies		36
	^† Dale Murphy	36	Philadelphia Phillies Atlanta Braves	^†	27
		37	Atlanta Braves		34
	^†	37	Philadelphia Phillies	Dave Parker	31
	^†	49	Chicago Cubs		44
		39	New York Mets		30
		47	San Francisco Giants		36
	^†	40	Chicago Cubs		37
		38	New York Mets		34
		35	San Diego Padres		34
		46	San Francisco Giants		40
		43	San Francisco Giants	^†	39
		40	Colorado Rockies	^† Sammy Sosa	36
		47	Colorado Rockies	Gary Sheffield	42
	^†	49	Colorado Rockies	^†	43
		70	St. Louis Cardinals		66
		65	St. Louis Cardinals		63
		50	Chicago Cubs		49
		73	San Francisco Giants		64
		49	Chicago Cubs		46
	^†	47	Philadelphia Phillies	Barry Bonds	45
		48	Los Angeles Dodgers	Albert Pujols	46
		51	Atlanta Braves		46
		58	Philadelphia Phillies		49
		50	Milwaukee Brewers		47
		48	Philadelphia Phillies		40
		47	St. Louis Cardinals		46
		42	St. Louis Cardinals		38
		39	Los Angeles Dodgers		38
		41	Milwaukee Brewers		37
	Paul Goldschmidt	36	Pittsburgh Pirates Arizona Diamondbacks		30
		37	Miami Marlins		32
	Bryce Harper	42	Colorado Rockies Washington Nationals		40
		41	Colorado Rockies Milwaukee Brewers		39
		59	Miami Marlins		39
		38	Colorado Rockies		37
		53	New York Mets		49

Other major leagues

Year	Winner	HR	Team	League	Runner-up	2nd HR	Ref
	^†		St. Louis Brown Stockings	American Association
		14	Philadelphia Athletics	American Association		10
	^†	11	Cincinnati Red Stockings	American Association		10
		13	St. Louis Maroons	Union Association		12
		13	Philadelphia Athletics	American Association		10
	^†		Cincinnati Red Stockings	American Association	Dave Orr
		14	St. Louis Browns	American Association		10
		13	Cincinnati Red Stockings	American Association
	Bug Holliday	19	Cincinnati Red Stockings Philadelphia Athletics	American Association		16
			St. Louis Browns	American Association
	^†	14	New York Giants	Players' League		13
		12	Boston Reds	American Association	Denny Lyons	11
		16	Chicago Chi-Feds	Federal League		15
		17	Buffalo Blues	Federal League		13

Footnotes

Recognized "major leagues" include the current American and National Leagues and several defunct leagues – the American Association, the Federal League, the Players' League, and the Union Association.

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