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MLB home runs per season, 1901 to 2025

Home runs hit across the American and National Leagues each season, 1901 to 2025. · published Aug 2026

About this statistic

MLB home runs per season stood at 5,650 in 2025, up 3.6% on the previous period.

Major League Baseball hit 5,650 home runs in 2025. The all-time high is 6,776, set in 2019, and the low point of the modern era is 235 in the war-shortened 1918 season.

How it is measured

The count sums every home run recorded by American League and National League teams in a regular season, from the team batting tables of the SABR Lahman Baseball Database (updated each December, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0). Negro League and other historical major league records are kept in the database as separate leagues and are not folded into this total.

What the curve shows

The dead-ball era holds under 700 home runs a season until 1920, when the live ball and the end of trick pitches lifted the total to 630 and rising. Expansion pushed it to 2,730 in 1961. The 1987 season spiked to 4,458, the 1998 home run chase reached 5,064, and 2000 hit 5,693. The 2019 season set the 6,776 record, and the full-length seasons since have sat between 5,215 and 5,944.

Frequently asked questions
Which MLB season had the most home runs?
The 2019 season, with 6,776 home runs across the American and National Leagues. No other season has passed 6,200.
How many home runs were hit in MLB in 2025?
5,650 across both leagues in the 2025 regular season, down from the 2019 record of 6,776.
Why did home runs jump after 1920?
The live-ball era: a more tightly wound ball, a ban on the spitball, and clean balls kept in play. The league total rose from 447 in 1919 to 922 by 1927.
Does this total include the Negro Leagues?
No. The count covers the American and National Leagues only. The database records Negro League statistics as separate leagues with their own team tables.
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MLB home runs per season — Kitegraph