If you asked a casual fan last year who the most dangerous hitter in baseball was, you’d probably hear the name Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani before they even finished their sentence. It makes sense. Judge is a mountain of a man who makes Yankee Stadium look like a Little League park, and Ohtani is, well, Ohtani. But if you look at the final 2025 stat sheet, the name sitting at the very top of the list for the MLB leader in home runs is someone that honestly catches a lot of people off guard: Cal Raleigh.
Yes, the Seattle Mariners catcher.
Baseball has a funny way of shifting the spotlight when you aren't looking. While everyone was busy tracking Ohtani’s quest for another 50/50 season or Judge’s chase for 60, "Big Dumper" went out and actually hit the 60-homer mark. He didn't just lead the league; he rewrote what we think a catcher can do in the modern era.
The 2025 power surge and the new king of the hill
We’ve lived through the "Steroid Era" and the "Juiced Ball" summer of 2019, but 2025 felt different. It was the year of the specialized athlete. Cal Raleigh ending the year as the MLB leader in home runs with 60 bombs is statistically wild. To put that in perspective, he’s the first switch-hitting catcher to ever touch that number. He basically took the power profile of Mickey Mantle and stuffed it into a guy who spent 140 games squatting behind home plate.
It wasn't a fluke, either. The ball was jumping off his bat all summer.
But he wasn't alone in the stratosphere. The leaderboard for the 2025 season looked like a video game:
- Cal Raleigh: 60 Home Runs
- Kyle Schwarber: 56 Home Runs
- Shohei Ohtani: 55 Home Runs
- Aaron Judge: 53 Home Runs
Schwarber doing Schwarber things in Philly isn't news, but hitting 56 is a career high for him. Then you have Ohtani. Fresh off his historic 2024, he "settled" for 55 homers while also working his way back onto the mound. It’s almost unfair. Aaron Judge finished with 53, which in any other decade would be a legendary season, but in 2025, it only got him fourth place.
All-time greatness vs. single-season magic
When people search for the MLB leader in home runs, they’re usually looking for one of two things: who is winning now, or who is the greatest of all time.
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The "All-Time" conversation is where things get heated at the bar. Barry Bonds still sits on the throne with 762 career home runs. Whether you like the era he played in or not, the record books don't have an asterisk, even if some fans wish they did. Hank Aaron is right there at 755, and honestly, many purists still consider him the "real" home run king because of how he did it.
The Career Leaderboard (As of 2026)
- Barry Bonds: 762
- Hank Aaron: 755
- Babe Ruth: 714
- Albert Pujols: 703
- Alex Rodriguez: 696
It’s a steep mountain to climb. For the active guys, Giancarlo Stanton is the closest, sitting at 453. He’s 40th all-time. Mike Trout has 404. Unless these guys find a fountain of youth or start hitting 50 a year into their late 30s, Bonds' record looks pretty safe for a while.
But then you look at Aaron Judge. He’s at 368 career homers right now. He’s 33 years old. If he stays healthy—and that's a massive "if" with his frame—he has a legitimate shot at joining the 500 club soon and maybe, just maybe, sniffing 600.
Why the "home run leader" title is harder to keep now
The game has changed. Pitchers aren't just throwing hard; they're throwing "stuff" that looks like it's being controlled by a remote. When you see a guy like Raleigh or Judge lead the league, you have to realize they’re doing it against 100-mph fastballs and sweepers that break two feet.
In the 90s, you might see a starter four times in a game. They’d be tired, their velocity would dip, and boom—home run. Today? You get a fresh arm throwing gas every three innings.
This is why Shohei Ohtani’s 55 homers in 2025 is arguably more impressive than some 60-homer seasons from the past. He’s doing it while preparing to pitch. The physical toll is immense. He actually led the NL in home runs back-to-back in '24 and '25, proving that the move to the Dodgers didn't just help his brand—it turned his power up to eleven.
Misconceptions about how home runs are hit
One big mistake people make is thinking that more home runs mean the ball is "juiced." Sometimes it's just better tech. Players today use bat sensors and high-speed cameras to optimize their "launch angle." Basically, they’ve figured out the exact swing path needed to get the ball over the fence.
If you aren't hitting the ball at an angle between 25 and 35 degrees, you aren't going to be the MLB leader in home runs. It’s physics.
We also saw a shift in 2025 with the parks. Some teams are moving fences, sure, but the real change is the humidity and altitude controls. Even with those factors, the raw strength of guys like Junior Caminero (who hit 45 last year as a youngster) and Pete Alonso (38 homers) keeps the league's total numbers high.
What to watch for in the 2026 season
As we head deeper into the 2026 calendar, the race is wide open. Can Cal Raleigh repeat? It’s tough. Catchers usually break down. But he’s young and built like a tank.
The smart money is always on Judge or Ohtani, but keep an eye on the young kids. Nick Kurtz, the A's rookie, put up 36 homers in a partial season last year. If he plays 162 games, he could easily be the next MLB leader in home runs.
Then there’s the Juan Soto factor. Now that he's settled into his massive contract, his power numbers have actually gone up. He hit a career-high 43 last year while also stealing 38 bases. He’s becoming a complete monster at the plate.
How to track the home run race like a pro
If you want to stay ahead of the curve, don't just look at the total number of homers. Look at these three things:
- Barrel Percentage: This tells you how often a player hits the ball with the "sweet spot" at the right speed and angle.
- Hard Hit Rate: If a guy is consistently hitting the ball over 95 mph, the home runs will eventually come.
- Home/Road Splits: Some guys are only leaders because of a short porch in their home stadium. True leaders do it everywhere.
The 2025 season proved that the home run is still the most exciting play in sports. Whether it's a 450-foot blast from Ohtani or a walk-off from Raleigh, the chase for the crown is what keeps us watching.
To really get the most out of following the 2026 season, start by checking the daily Statcast leaders on MLB.com. Look for players with a high "Expected Slugging" (xSLG). These are the guys who are hitting the ball hard but might be getting unlucky with the wind. Over a full 162-game season, that luck usually even out, and those are the players who will eventually climb to the top of the home run leaderboard. Focus on the exit velocity—anyone consistently over 110 mph is a threat to take the title by October.