MLB: The home run leader for all 50 states (plus D.C.)
Who hit the most home runs from your state?
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Baseball's home run hitters come in all shapes and sizes — and they also hail from all across the country. Small states like Idaho produced legends like Harmon Killebrew while Alabama's top tier of home run hitters is unmatched for a state its size. We took a look at all 50 states (plus the District of Columbia) to see which player reigns above all others in his respective place of birth. Two notes before we get started:
Players are listed by their place of birth, not necessarily where they grew up or later retired (ie: Roger Maris was born in Minnesota, but is one of North Dakota's favorite sons).
Totals for still active players were current as of May 23, 2021.
Alabama — Henry Aaron
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Alabama's reputation for producing top-flight home run hitters is insane. In addition to Hammerin' Hank's 755 homers, there's Willie Mays (660), Willie McCovey (521) and Billy Williams (426).
Alaska — Josh Phelps
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Curt Schilling was born in Anchorage, so Alaska would do pretty well for a top wins leader. When it comes to home runs, though, it's Josh Phelps — who grew up in Idaho, by the way — and his 64 dingers. Baseball-Reference lists only 12 players in major league history that were born in Alaska, the fewest of any state.
Arizona — Ian Kinsler
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Kinsler leads Arizona products with 257 career home runs, but for how long? Cody Bellinger already has 123 dingers through his first five seasons.
Arkansas — Torii Hunter
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Hunter, who hails from Pine Bluff, hit 353 homers over 19 seasons, putting him comfortably ahead of Pat Burrell (292) and Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson (268).
California — Barry Bonds
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California has produced 2,354 major-league players, by far the most of any state. (Pennsylvania is second with 1,437.) Californians have hit over 53,000 homers in the big leagues, and Barry Bonds is at the top with 762 of them. Mark McGwire is second with 583, followed by Ted Williams (521), Eddie Murray (504), and Jason Giambi (440).
Colorado – Chase Headley
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Coors Field may be a hitters' paradise, but the state has not been a hotbed for home run heroes. Longtime Padre Chase Headley leads all Coloradans with 130 career home runs.
Connecticut — Mo Vaughn
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Born in Norwalk, Vaughn hit 328 homers during his career.
Delaware — Paul Goldschmidt
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Randy Bush, John Mabry and Dave May all shared the Delaware lead with 96 homers until Goldy came along. Goldschmidt has hit 255 career homers (and counting) during his 11-year career with the Diamondbacks and Cardinals.
Florida — Gary Sheffield
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Sheffield leads the Sunshine State with 509 career homers, and 122 of them came in a Florida Marlins uniform. Close behind Sheff are Fred McGriff (493), Chipper Jones (468) and Andre Dawson (438).
Georgia — Frank Thomas
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Frank "The Big Hurt" Thomas hit 521 homers in his career, well ahead of Johnny "The Big Cat" Mize with 359.
Hawaii — Kurt Suzuki
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Hawaii has produced 47 major-leaguers to date and still-active Angels catcher Kurt Suzuki leads them all with 134 home runs.
Idaho — Harmon Killebrew
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Idaho's list has the largest margin between first and second place. Harmon Killebrew tops it with 573 career homers, followed by Vance Law's ... 71.
Illinois — Jim Thome
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Jim Thome hails from Peoria and hit 612 homers on his way to the Hall of Fame. Gary Gaetti is second with 360, followed by Curtis Granderson at 344.
Indiana — Gil Hodges
(AP)
The Dodgers great was born in Princeton, Indiana and finished his career with 370 homers. Scott Rolen, who was born in Evansville, is next with 316. Both Hoosiers have great Hall of Fame cases, though neither has ever received the call.
Iowa — Hal Trosky
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The Hawkeye State doesn't have the hitting equivalent of favorite son Bob Feller. Hal Trosky (pictured on the left) leads all Iowans with 228 home runs. Verstaile journeyman Casey Blake is next with 167.
Kansas — Tony Clark
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The current head of the players union, Tony Clark, was born in Newton, Kansas but spent his high school years in California. He hit 251 career homers, just ahead the 235 hit by Johnny Damon, who was born at Fort Riley.
Kentucky — Jay Buhner
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The Mariners great hit 310 homers in his career and places just ahead of Mark Reynolds (298) and Dan Uggla (285).
Louisiana — Mel Ott
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Will anyone from Louisiana ever be able to surpass Ott? The Gretna, La. native hit 511 homers over his 22-year career, and no one has ever made a serious run at his mark. (Albert Belle is second with 381 homers.)
Maine — Del Bissonette
Maine is known for many things, but great home run hitters is not one of them. Bissonette only played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1928 to 1933, but his 66 homers still stands as the most ever hit by someone born in Maine.
Maryland — Babe Ruth
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Maryland has a wealth of home run hitters for a state its size. It certainly helps when Babe Ruth (714) is born in Baltimore, but Maryland can also claim Jimmie Foxx (534), Cal Ripken, Jr. (431), Mark Teixeira (409), Al Kaline (399), and Harold Baines (384).
Massachussetts — Jeff Bagwell
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Bagwell was born in Boston but his family moved to Connecticut soon after. He hit 449 homers on his way to the Hall of Fame. Richie Hebner, who is from Walpole and famously dug graves in the offseason, is second with 203 career homers.
Michigan — Kirk Gibson and John Mayberry
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Michigan is the only state that features a tie atop its list. Both Gibson and Mayberry finished their careers with 255 homers.
Minnesota — Dave Winfield
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A three-sport star at the University of Minnesota, Winfield hit 465 home runs in the big leagues. Kent Hrbek, meanwhile, his 293 — all for his hometown team.
Mississippi — Ellis Burks
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The top two home run hitters born in Mississippi can't lay a huge claim on the state. Burks was born in Vicksburg, but spent most of his early life in Forth Worth, Texas. His 352 career home runs are just ahead of Dave Parker's 339. (Parker mostly grew up in Cincinnati.)
Missouri — Ryan Howard
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Howard was born in Florissant, Missouri and hit 382 homers in his career with the Phillies. Yogi Berra grew up in St. Louis and would hit 358 homers for the Yankees while becoming one of baseball's most famous players.
Montana — John Lowenstein
(AP Photo/William A. Smith)
Lowenstein was born in Wolf Point, Montana and hit 116 home runs for the Indians, Rangers and Orioles. His extra-inning walkoff in the 1979 ALCS gave Baltimore a Game 1 victory over the Angels.
Nebraska — Alex Gordon
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Alex Gordon was born in Lincoln and hit his 190 career home runs just a few hours drive away in Kansas City. Wade Boggs had 118 career homers and was born in Omaha, but he spent his childhood living in several places before settling in Tampa.
Nevada — Bryce Harper
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Bryce Harper has hit 239 homers to take a commanding lead in Nevada. Friend Kris Bryant is second with 152 and could always catch him depending how both careers shake out.
New Hampshire — Phil Plantier
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Plantier leads New Hampshire with 91 career homers. Red Rolfe is second with 69.
New Jersey — Mike Trout
(Getty Images) The Millville native already has 310 homers to his name, placing ahead of Eric Karros (284) and Derek Jeter (260). (Jeter was born in Pequannock Township but moved to Michigan when he was four.)
New Mexico — Ralph Kiner
(AP Photo/Danny Jacino)
Kiner was born in Santa Rita, New Mexico but was raised in California. His 369 homers are more than Vern Stephens' 247, who was born in New Mexico while his parents were moving from Oklahoma to California.
New York — Alex Rodriguez
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A-Rod was born in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan in 1975. His 696 career homers put him ahead of another NYC native — Lou Gehrig (493).
North Carolina — Ryan Zimmerman
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The longtime National was born in Washington, North Carolina but graduated high school in Virginia Beach. His 275 career home runs are ahead of the still-active Kyle Seager, who has hit 216.
North Dakota — Travis Hafner
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Only 20 players have been born in North Dakota and Hafner — who was born in Jamestown — leads them all with 213. Darin Erstad, who was also born in Jamestown, is second with 124 dingers.
Ohio — Mike Schmidt
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The pride of Dayton, Schmidt also attended Ohio University before hitting 548 home runs in a Hall of Fame career with the Phillies.
Oklahoma — Mickey Mantle
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The Commerce Comet hit 536 homers in his career as a New York Yankees. Willie Stargell is second on the list with 475 career home runs.
Oregon — Dave Kingman
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Kingman was born in Portland, but his father worked for United Airlines and so his family moved around a lot. He would hit 442 career home runs over the course of his career. Dale Murphy is second on that list and graduated from high school in Portland. He had 398 home runs.
Pennsylvania — Ken Griffey Jr.
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The first and third members of the Pennsylvania list were both born in Donora, Pennsylvania on November 21 — 49 years apart! No. 1 is Ken Griffey Jr., who hit 630 homers and was born in 1969. No. 3 is Stan Musial, who hit 475 and was born in 1920. In between them is fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, who hailed from Philadelphia and hit 563 homers.
Rhode Island — Paul Konerko
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The White Sox slugger is tops from the tiny state, putting 439 balls over the wall. Second is Gabby Hartnett, another player who spent plenty of time in Chicago and hit 236 career home runs.
South Carolina — Jim Rice
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The Hall of Fame outfielder was born in Anderson, S.C. and lead the Palmetto State with 382 homers.
South Dakota — Jason Kubel
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Kubel was born in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, but he attended high school in California. He hit 140 homers during his career.
Tennessee — Todd Helton
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It's a well-known fact that Todd Helton was the University of Tennessee's starting quarterback in 1994 for four games and then was replaced a few weeks later by a freshman named Peyton Manning. The Knoxville native also has the most homers of any Tennessee-born big leaguer with 369. Steve Finley is second with 304.
Texas — Frank Robinson
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The great Frank Robinson — who hit 586 homers — was born in Beaumont, Texas but moved as an infant to Oakland. Fellow Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Eddie Mathews share second place on the list with 512.
Utah — Duke Sims
Duke Sims played 11 years in the big leagues from 1964 to 1974 and finished with exactly 100 home runs. Chris Shelton is second on Utah's list with 37.
Vermont — Carlton Fisk
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Like Idaho, Vermont has quite the disparity between first and second place. Born in Bellows Falls, Carlton Fisk hit 376 career home runs. That's more than 300 more than second place, Pat Putnam with 63.
Virginia — Willie Horton
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Detroit Tigers legend Willie Horton leads all Virginia natives with 325 home runs, but for how much longer? Justin Upton holds second on the list with 315.
Washington — Ron Santo
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The top three on Washington's list all have strong Cubs ties: Santo (342), Ron Cey (316) and Ryne Sandberg (282).
West Virginia — George Brett
(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
Brett and his sibling were born in West Virginia, but the family soon moved to California. The Royals Hall of Famer hit 317 career homers.
Wisconsin — Al Simmons
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The Milwaukee native and Hall of Famer played for two decades and hit 307 homers. Cubs legend Andy Pafko is second with 213 home runs.
Wyoming — John Buck
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Buck was born in Kemmerer, Wyoming, but attended high school in Utah. He hit 134 career home runs.
Washington D.C. — Don Money
(AP Photo)
Don Money hit 176 homers over a 16-year career. Justin Bour is in second place and hit 92 over six seasons.
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