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 plate of 250 feet or more, which entitles the batter to legally touch all bases and score without liability.Official Baseball Rule, 6.09 (d), page 61Official Baseball Rule, 7.05 (a), page 66 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. 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."Major League Baseball Official Rules: 7.00 The Runner". mlb.com. Retrieved June 6, 2012.

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. Baseball Hall of Famers Bob Lemon and Warren Spahn are tied for second with 35 career home runs apiece. Red Ruffing, Earl Wilson, and Don Drysdale are the only other pitchers to hit at least 25 home runs. Jack Stivetts hit a total of 35 home runs in his playing career, 21 as a pitcher. Ferrell and Ruffing also rank among the top pitchers in batting average, hitting .280 and .269, respectively.

As of the 2025 season, Shohei Ohtani holds the lead among all active pitchers with 11 (he has 280 total HRs, but 266 were hit as a designated hitter and 2 were as a pinch hitter). Carlos Zambrano has hit the most home runs by a pitcher since the American League adopted the designated hitter rule in 1973. Starting with the 2022 season, the National League also adopted the designated hitter rule, so most pitchers will no longer bat, except two-way players, such as Ohtani.

Ferrell, who had a career slash line of .280/.351/.446, had his best offensive year in 1931, when he set the single-season record for home runs by a pitcher with nine. The record had previously been held by Stivetts, who had hit seven in 1890. Since 1931, six different pitchers have hit seven home runs in a season: Ferrell, Lemon, Don Newcombe, Don Drysdale (twice), Wilson, and Mike Hampton.

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.

The first pitcher to officially hit a home run was Jack Manning, who accomplished the feat on August 3, 1876. The most home runs by a pitcher in a single game is three, achieved by Jim Tobin on May 13, 1942 and Shohei Ohtani in a postseason game on October 17, 2025. However, Ohtani only hit 2 of those HRs as pitcher of record. His 3rd HR came in the 7th inning after he had been removed as pitcher, but remained in the game as the DH.

Career

All-time

+ Key to symbols in player tableDenotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame. BoldDenotes active player.A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or not played for a full season. + Most home runs by a pitcher in a career, and their career total including home runs at other positionsPlayerHome runsCareer total NotesRef 37 38 Hit one home run as a pinch hitter. 35 37 Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter. 35 35 34 36 Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter. 33 35 Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter. 29 29 24 24 24 24 24 24 23 24 Hit one home run as a pinch hitter. 21 35 Hit 11 home runs while playing various other positions and three as a pinch hitter. 20 20 20 20 19 21 Hit two home runs as a first baseman.1919 18 18 16 18 Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter. 16 17 Hit one home run as a pinch hitter. 16 16 16 16 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 17 Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter. 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 19 Hit four home runs as a pinch hitter

Statistics obtained from MLB.com. Updated through April 24, 2025.

Single-season

+ Key to symbols in player tableDenotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame. BoldDenotes active player. + Most home runs by a pitcher in a season, their total home runs, year, and teamPlayerHome runsSeason total YearTeamRef 9 9 1931 Cleveland Indians 7 7 1890 St. Louis Browns 7 7 1933 Cleveland Indians 7 7 1949 Cleveland Indians 7 7 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers 7 7 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers 7 7 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers 7 7 1968 Detroit Tigers 7 7 2001 Colorado Rockies 6 6 1887 Chicago White Stockings 6 6 1894 Chicago Colts 6 6 1934 New York Giants 6 7 1935 Boston Red Sox 6 6 1956 Chicago White Sox 6 6 1958 Baltimore Orioles 6 6 1965 Boston Red Sox 6 7 1966 Boston Red Sox/Detroit Tigers 6 6 1971 Chicago Cubs 6 6 1971 Boston Red Sox 6 6 1971 Philadelphia Phillies 6 6 2006 Chicago Cubs

Progression of the single-season record

+ Progression of the single-season home run record by a pitcher, their home run total, year, and teamPlayerHome runsYear TeamNotesRef 1 1876 Boston Red Caps Tied by Jim Devlin (1877), Terry Larkin (1877), and John Montgomery Ward (1878). 2 1879 Providence Grays 4 1882 Boston Red Caps Tied by John Clarkson (1885). 6 1887 Chicago White Stockings 7 1890 St. Louis Browns 9 1931 Cleveland Indians

Single-game + Most home runs by a pitcher in a game, team, home runs, date of game, and opposing teamPlayerTeamHome Runs DateOpposing teamRef Boston Braves 3 May 13, 1942 Chicago CubsShohei Ohtani Los Angeles Dodgers 3 October 17, 2025 Milwaukee Brewers

Notes

References

Bibliography