Wes Ferrell holds both the career and season records for home runs by a pitcher.

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] Yovani Gallardo, with 12 home runs, holds the lead among all active pitchers.^[13]

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][14][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[edit]

All-time[edit]

Bob Lemon hit 35 of his 37 career home runs as a pitcher.

Warren Spahn hit all 35 of his career home runs as a pitcher.

Walter Johnson hit 23 of his 24 career home runs as a pitcher.

Key to symbols in player table

	Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
§	Active player

Most home runs by a pitcher in a career, and their career total including home runs at other positions

Player	Home runs	Career total	Notes	Ref
Ferrell, WesWes Ferrell	37	38	Hit one home run as a pinch hitter.	[6]
Lemon, BobBob Lemon	35	37	Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter.	[7]
Spahn, WarrenWarren Spahn	35	35		[8]
Ruffing, RedRed Ruffing	34	36	Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter.	[9]
Wilson, EarlEarl Wilson	33	35	Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter.	[10]
Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale	29	29		[11]
Clarkson, JohnJohn Clarkson	24	24		[18]
Gibson, BobBob Gibson	24	24		[19]
Zambrano, CarlosCarlos Zambrano	24	24		[20]
Johnson, WalterWalter Johnson	23	24	Hit one home run as a pinch hitter.	[21]
Stivetts, JackJack Stivetts	21	35	Hit 11 home runs while playing various other positions and three as a pinch hitter.	[12]
Pappas, MiltMilt Pappas	20	20		[22]
Trout, DizzyDizzy Trout	20	20		[23]
Harshman, JackJack Harshman	19	21	Hit two home runs as a first baseman.	[24]
Young, CyCy Young	18	18		[25]
Rowe, SchoolboySchoolboy Rowe	16	18	Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter.	[26]
Tobin, JimJim Tobin	16	17	Hit one home run as a pinch hitter.	[17]
Kaat, JimJim Kaat	16	16		[27]
Hampton, MikeMike Hampton	16	16		[15]
Meekin, JouettJouett Meekin	15	15		[28]
Schumacher, HalHal Schumacher	15	15		[29]
Grove, LeftyLefty Grove	15	15		[30]
Passeau, ClaudeClaude Passeau	15	15		[31]
Nuxhall, JoeJoe Nuxhall	15	15		[32]
Wynn, EarlyEarly Wynn	15	17	Hit two home runs as a pinch hitter.	[33]
Newcombe, DonDon Newcombe	15	15		[14]
Donovan, DickDick Donovan	15	15		[34]
Cardwell, DonDon Cardwell	15	15		[35]
Ramos, PedroPedro Ramos	15	15		[36]
Wise, RickRick Wise	15	15		[37]
Peters, GaryGary Peters	15	19	Hit four home runs as a pinch hitter	[38]

Active[edit]

Yovani Gallardo, to date, has 12 home runs as a pitcher.

• Statistics obtained from MLB.com.^[45] Updated through October 26, 2014.

Single-season[edit]

Jack Stivetts hit 7 home runs, as a pitcher, in 1890.

Mike Hampton hit 7 home runs in 2001 for the Colorado Rockies.

Key to symbols in player table

	Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
§	Active player

Most home runs by a pitcher in a season, their total home runs, year, and team

Player	Home runs	Season total	Year	Team	Ref
Ferrell, WesWes Ferrell	9	9	1931	Cleveland Indians	[6]
Stivetts, JackJack Stivetts	7	7	1890	St. Louis Browns	[12]
Ferrell, WesWes Ferrell	7	7	1933	Cleveland Indians	[6]
Lemon, BobBob Lemon	7	7	1949	Cleveland Indians	[7]
Newcombe, DonDon Newcombe	7	7	1955	Brooklyn Dodgers	[14]
Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale	7	7	1958	Los Angeles Dodgers	[11]
Drysdale, DonDon Drysdale	7	7	1965	Los Angeles Dodgers	[11]
Wilson, EarlEarl Wilson	7	7	1968	Detroit Tigers	[10]
Hampton, MikeMike Hampton	7	7	2001	Colorado Rockies	[15]
Clarkson, JohnJohn Clarkson	6	6	1887	Chicago White Stockings	[18]
Hutchinson, BillBill Hutchinson	6	6	1894	Chicago Colts	[46]
Schumacher, HalHal Schumacher	6	6	1934	New York Giants	[29]
Ferrell, WesWes Ferrell	6	7	1935	Boston Red Sox	[6]
Harshman, JackJack Harshman	6	6	1956	Chicago White Sox	[24]
Harshman, JackJack Harshman	6	6	1958	Baltimore Orioles	[24]
Wilson, EarlEarl Wilson	6	6	1965	Boston Red Sox	[10]
Wilson, EarlEarl Wilson	6	7	1966	Boston Red Sox/Detroit Tigers	[10]
Jenkins, FergusonFerguson Jenkins	6	6	1971	Chicago Cubs	[47]
Siebert, SonnySonny Siebert	6	6	1971	Boston Red Sox	[48]
Wise, RickRick Wise	6	6	1971	Philadelphia Phillies	[37]
Zambrano, CarlosCarlos Zambrano	6	6	2006	Chicago Cubs	[20]

Progression of the single-season record[edit]

John Clarkson tied the single-season record in 1885 with four, then broke it by hitting six in 1887.

Progression of the single-season home run record by a pitcher, their home run total, year, and team

Player	Home runs	Year	Team	Notes	Ref
Manning, JackJack Manning	1	1876	Boston Red Caps	Tied by Jim Devlin (1877),[49] Terry Larkin (1877),[50] and John Montgomery Ward (1878).[51]	[16]
Ward, John MontgomeryJohn Montgomery Ward	2	1879	Providence Grays		[51]
Whitney, JimJim Whitney	4	1882	Boston Red Caps	Tied by John Clarkson (1885).[18]	[52]
Clarkson, JohnJohn Clarkson	6	1887	Chicago White Stockings		[18]
Stivetts, JackJack Stivetts	7	1890	St. Louis Browns		[12]
Ferrell, WesWes Ferrell	9	1931	Cleveland Indians		[6]

Single-game[edit]

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Official Baseball Rules (PDF). Major League Baseball. 2011. p. 130. 

External links[edit]

Baseball portal

• "Pitchers Dig the Long Ball (At Least When They Are Hitting)"