List of Major League Baseball all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers
In baseball, a home run (HR) is typically a fair hit that passes over an outfield fence or into the stands at a distance from home base of 250 feet or more, which entitles the batter to legally touch all bases and score without liability.[1][2] Atypically, a batter who hits a fair ball and touches each base in succession from 1st to home, without an error being charged to a defensive player, is credited with an inside-the-park home run.[3][4] If, during a play, defensive or fan interference is called, and the awarded bases allow the batter to cross home plate, the batter is credited with a home run.[3][5]
Wes Ferrell holds the all-time Major League Baseball record for home runs hit while playing the position of pitcher. He hit 37 as a pitcher.[6] Baseball Hall of Famers Bob Lemon and Warren Spahn are tied for second with 35 career home runs apiece.[7][8] Red Ruffing, Earl Wilson, and Don Drysdale are the only other pitchers to hit at least 25 home runs.[9][10][11] Jack Stivetts hit a total of 35 home runs in his playing career, 21 as a pitcher.[12]
As of the 2019 season, Madison Bumgarner, with 19 home runs, holds the lead among all active pitchers. Bumgarner also has hit the second most home runs by a pitcher since the American League adopted the designated hitter rule in 1973 (behind Carlos Zambrano). Bumgarner has played his whole career thus far for the San Francisco Giants of the National League.
Ferrell also holds the single-season record for home runs by a pitcher, with nine, a mark that he reached in 1931.[6] The record had previously been held by Stivetts, who had hit seven in 1890.[12] Since 1931, six different pitchers have hit seven home runs in a season: Ferrell, Lemon, Don Newcombe, Don Drysdale (twice), Wilson, and Mike Hampton.[6][7][10][11][13][14]
Babe Ruth started his major league career as a pitcher before moving to the outfield. Only 14 of his 714 career home runs were hit as a pitcher, however. [15]
The first pitcher to officially hit a home run was Jack Manning, who accomplished the feat on August 3, 1876.[16] The most home runs by a pitcher in a single game is three, achieved by Jim Tobin on May 13, 1942.[17]
Career
All-time
Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum | |
§ |
Active player |
Player | Home runs | Career total | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wes Ferrell | 37 | 38 | Hit one home run as a pinch hitter. | [6] |
Bob Lemon |
35 | 37 | Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter. | [7] |
Warren Spahn |
35 | 35 | [8] | |
Red Ruffing |
34 | 36 | Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter. | [9] |
Earl Wilson | 33 | 35 | Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter. | [10] |
Don Drysdale |
29 | 29 | [11] | |
John Clarkson |
24 | 24 | [18] | |
Bob Gibson |
24 | 24 | [19] | |
Carlos Zambrano | 24 | 24 | [20] | |
Walter Johnson |
23 | 24 | Hit one home run as a pinch hitter. | [21] |
Jack Stivetts | 21 | 35 | Hit 11 home runs while playing various other positions and three as a pinch hitter. | [12] |
Milt Pappas | 20 | 20 | [22] | |
Dizzy Trout | 20 | 20 | [23] | |
Jack Harshman | 19 | 21 | Hit two home runs as a first baseman. | [24] |
Madison Bumgarner§ | 19 | 19 | [25] | |
Cy Young |
18 | 18 | [26] | |
Schoolboy Rowe | 16 | 18 | Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter. | [27] |
Jim Tobin | 16 | 17 | Hit one home run as a pinch hitter. | [17] |
Jim Kaat | 16 | 16 | [28] | |
Mike Hampton | 16 | 16 | [14] | |
Jouett Meekin | 15 | 15 | [29] | |
Hal Schumacher | 15 | 15 | [30] | |
Lefty Grove |
15 | 15 | [31] | |
Claude Passeau | 15 | 15 | [32] | |
Joe Nuxhall | 15 | 15 | [33] | |
Early Wynn |
15 | 17 | Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter. | [34] |
Don Newcombe | 15 | 15 | [13] | |
Dick Donovan | 15 | 15 | [35] | |
Don Cardwell | 15 | 15 | [36] | |
Pedro Ramos | 15 | 15 | [37] | |
Rick Wise | 15 | 15 | [38] | |
Gary Peters | 15 | 19 | Hit four home runs as a pinch hitter | [39] |
Active
Player | Home runs | Career total | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
Madison Bumgarner§ | 19 | 19 | Only pitcher to hit two home runs on Opening Day.[40] | [41] |
Yovani Gallardo§ | 12 | 12 | [42] | |
Travis Wood§ | 11 | 11 | Hit one home run in the 2016 National League Division Series for the Chicago Cubs. [43] | [44] |
Adam Wainwright§ | 10 | 10 | [45] | |
Zack Greinke§ | 9 | 9 | [46] | |
Jake Arrieta§ | 6 | 6 | Hit one home run in the 2016 National League Division Series for the Chicago Cubs. | [47] |
Mike Leake§ | 6 | 6 | [48] | |
Noah Syndergaard§ | 6 | 6 | First pitcher to hit a home run in a 1-0 complete game shutout since Bob Welch in 1983. [49] | [50] |
Single-season
Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum | |
§ |
Active player |
Progression of the single-season record
Player | Home runs | Year | Team | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jack Manning | 1 | 1876 | Boston Red Caps | Tied by Jim Devlin (1877),[55] Terry Larkin (1877),[56] and John Montgomery Ward (1878).[57] | [16] |
John Montgomery Ward |
2 | 1879 | Providence Grays | [57] | |
Jim Whitney | 4 | 1882 | Boston Red Caps | Tied by John Clarkson (1885).[18] | [58] |
John Clarkson |
6 | 1887 | Chicago White Stockings | [18] | |
Jack Stivetts | 7 | 1890 | St. Louis Browns | [12] | |
Wes Ferrell | 9 | 1931 | Cleveland Indians | [6] |
Single-game
Player | Team | Home Runs | Date | Opposing team | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jim Tobin | Boston Braves | 3 | May 13, 1942 | Chicago Cubs | [17] |
References
- Official Baseball Rule, 6.09 (d), page 61
- Official Baseball Rule, 7.05 (a), page 66
- Lundman, Susan. "Definition of a Home Run". livestrong.com. Demand Media, Inc. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
- Paul Dickson (2011-06-13). The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (Third Edition). W. W. Norton. p. 426. ISBN 978-0-393-34008-2.
- "Major League Baseball Official Rules: 7.00 The Runner". mlb.com. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- "Wes Ferrell career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Bob Lemon career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Warren Spahn career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Red Ruffing career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Earl Wilson career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Don Drysdale career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Jack Stivetts career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Don Newcombe career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Mike Hampton career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/MLB_all-time_leaders_in_home_runs_by_pitchers
- "Jack Manning career home runs". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
- "Jim Tobin career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "John Clarkson career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Bob Gibson career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Carlos Zambrano career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
- "Walter Johnson career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Milt Pappas career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Dizzy Trout career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Jack Harshman career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Madison Bumgarner career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
- "Cy Young career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Schoolboy Rowe career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Jim Kaat career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Jouett Meekin career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Hal Schumacher career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Lefty Grove career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Claude Passeau career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Joe Nuxhall career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Early Wynn career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Dick Donovan career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Don Cardwell career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Pedro Ramos career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Rick Wise career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Gary Peters career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Madison Bumgarner becomes first pitcher to hit two home runs on Opening Day". ESPN.go.com. Associated Press. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
- "Madison Bumgarner". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
- "Yovani Gallardo career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
- "Travis Wood replaced Kyle Hendricks in NLDS Game 2 and coolly hit a solo home run". m.mlb.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- "Travis Wood career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
- "Adam Wainwright career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- "Zack Greinke career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
- "Jake Arrieta career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 7, 2018.
- "Mike Leake career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
- "'One of the Rarest Things in Baseball': Noah Syndergaard Does It All". nytimes.com. NY Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- "Noah Syndergaard career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- "Statistics". mlb.mlb.com. MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- "Bill Hutchinson career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
- "Ferguson Jenkins career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Sonny Siebert career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
- "Jim Devlin career home runs". baseball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
- "Terry Larkin career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
- "John Montgomery Ward career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
- "Jim Whitney career home runs". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
Bibliography
- Official Baseball Rules (PDF). Major League Baseball. 2011. p. 130.