There are few sweeter sights in the world of sport than seeing someone bang a homer at the baseball.
Here we aim to relive some of those moments with a look back at the players with the most home runs in history which would surprise even the most confident sportsbook online. Let’s go!
Ken Griffey Jr
Kicking off our look at the players with the most home runs in history is Ken Griffey Jr who racked up a mammoth total of 630 homers off 407 pitchers; the most popular pitcher for him being David Wells who he homered off on eight occasions.
Griffey spent the vast majority of his playing career with the Seattle Mariners and, as such, it’s of little surprise that two-thirds of the 13-time All-Star’s home runs came with the franchise. His time with the Cincinnati Reds will also be fondly remembered by many whilst a trio of homers for the Chicago White Sox also can’t be forgotten.
Willie Mays
Willie Mays chalked up a whole 30 more home runs in his career than Griffey Jr did – albeit he took to the plate over 1200 times more. Even with that considered you can’t look at Mays as anything other than a baseballing icon.
The former Giants legend, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in the late seventies, gave plenty of pitchers he’ll during his career as he racked up double figures of homers against seven different pitchers; spare a thought for poor old Warren Spahn; he gave up 18 home runs to Mays during his career!
Albert Pujols
Next up in our look at the players with the most home runs in history is Albert Pujols; who knows just how far this lad can go given he’s the only active player in the top 25 for home runs. Currently, his tally of homers stands at an impressive 685 giving him enough to rank fifth on the all time list.
The St Louis Cardinals man has already hit 446 pitchers for home runs and has played 62 games where he has homered at least twice; his most famous set of homers though, most definitely came in the 2011 World Series as he hit a trio. With this year being his last season before retiring, the big question is will he make the 700 club?
Alex Rodriguez
We have just mentioned the 700 club and now we look at a man in Alex Rodriguez who missed out on that illustrious group by just four home runs, having banged a total of 696 out across his 22 year career; the first 500 of those runs came in an insane timeframe too with the now Shark Tank investor having become the youngest player to break 500 homers.
It’s not just his young age that makes his 696 haul crazy good though; it’s the fact he delivered for so many sides during his career that catches our eye. He scored over a century of homers for every team he represented; this impressive. Throw his three MVP awards into the mix as well and Rodriguez can hold his career up against pretty much anyone!
Babe Ruth
We are now stepping into the top three home run ‘go-getters’ of all time and the only players to have passed that 700 home run marker. Babe Ruth is a man that needs no introduction given what he achieved in the game; the seven World Series triumphs speak for themselves. As for Ruth’s ability to bat out of the park look no further than a career haul of 714.
Over 500 of the homers came with New York Yankees although Ruth also produced for the Boston Red Sox and Bruins before calling time on his career in 1935; that would have been music to ears of Detroit – Ruth scored 123 home runs against them, which makes them his favoured team to play against!
Henry Aaron
Some people might look at Henry ‘ Hank’ Aarons 755 home runs and point to the fact he achieved greater longevity than most in baseball owing to his 25 year career. Even so, you just can’t question the numbers he put up during that time as he led the league in homers four times. Despite that long career, all bar 22 of his home runs come for one team as well – the Braves, with whom he won the World Series in 1957. As for his preferred pitchers, there were a few with Aaron having reached double figures of home runs against six different players – most notably Don Drysdale of the Dodgers who he homered 17 times!
Barry Bonds
Topping not only our list but also the history books for the most home runs ever scored and the most home runs in a season (73) is Barry Bonds who pounded in 762 homers in total. Bonds represented two teams – the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants – and won multiple MVP awards with both as his ability to take apart an opposition knew no bounds with his home run count almost evenly split between home and away matches.
When you consider that, on top of having recorded seven more home runs than his closest challenger, he also went to the plate nearly 1400 times less his haul is even more mind blowing.
There you have it, the players with the most home runs in history. You can find some more curiosities about MLB history and the current odds on Bovada’s Twitter page.
@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@
