Most leadoff home runs in a single season

Power has not traditionally been an attribute associated with leadoff hitters, who for much of baseball history have been selected primarily for their ability to make contact, get on base, and run.

That thinking has shifted in recent years, making the leadoff home run a bit less of a rarity, even as it remains a notable achievement. Before 2016, there had never been a season with at least 120 leadoff home runs across MLB. Since 2016, every completed season has had at least 150, besides the 60-game 2020 season.

• Most career leadoff home runs in MLB history

With that in mind, here is a look at the most leadoff homers hit by a player in a single season.

1. Kyle Schwarber (2024 PHI), 15: On Aug. 4, Schwarber joined Alfonso Soriano as the only players with multiple seasons with 10-plus leadoff homers, and he wasn't done. On Sept. 10, Schwarber crushed a leadoff home run that left his bat at 113.9 mph and traveled 437 feet, giving him the most leadoff home runs (14) in a single season in MLB history. When he hit his 13th leadoff homer of the 2024 campaign, Schwarber also became the first player since at least 1974 (when tracking of this stat began) to have three consecutive seasons with 30 or more home runs out of the leadoff spot in the batting order. He hit his 15th and final leadoff homer of the year on Sept. 21.

2. Alfonso Soriano (2003 NYY), 13: Only Rickey Henderson and George Springer have hit more career leadoff dingers than Soriano (54), who produced at least nine in a season three times. Soriano went deep 38 times total and stole 35 bases in 2003, his last season with the Yankees before he was sent to Texas in the Alex Rodriguez trade.

3-T. Shohei Ohtani (2025 LAD), 12: Ohtani moved to the top spot in the Dodgers’ batting order after Mookie Betts suffered an injury in June 2024 and has swatted 18 leadoff home runs since that point, including 12 in '25 to tie Betts for the Dodgers' single-season record.

3-T. Mookie Betts (2023 LAD), 12: Betts' 12 leadoff home runs in 2023 were part of a 39-homer campaign, a career high for the 2018 AL MVP.

3-T. Jose Altuve (2022 HOU), 12: The Astros won an MLB-best 106 regular-season games en route to a World Series title in 2022. Nine of those wins began with Altuve launching a leadoff homer. Three of his 12 leadoff dingers came against the division-rival Mariners, and two of those came off of the same pitcher, left-handed starter Robbie Ray.

3-T. George Springer (2019 HOU), 12: Before Altuve took over as the firestarter in the Astros’ lineup, Springer was arguably the most fearsome leadoff hitter in the game. He belted 35 leadoff home runs from 2016-19, which was 11 more than any other player. He was his most productive in 2019, when he bopped a career-high 39 home runs.

3-T. Alfonso Soriano (2007 CHC), 12: Soriano signed with Chicago after the 2006 season, then put up 33 big flies in his first year with the Cubs, who had him make 125 of his 134 starts in the leadoff spot.

3-T. Brady Anderson (1996 BAL), 12: It wasn’t hard to see why Anderson was batting first. From 1992-95, he posted a .367 OBP and averaged a solid 16 homers and 34 steals. Then the power suddenly exploded in 1996, as Anderson crushed 50 taters -- more than double what he produced in any other season. He remains the only player to hit leadoff homers in four straight games, from April 18-21 of that season.

9-T. Francisco Lindor (2025 NYM), 11: Lindor's third consecutive 30-homer season with the Mets included 11 leadoff dingers. Lindor, now with 13 leadoff home runs as a Met, could be the franchise's all-time leader in leadoff homers in fairly short order. José Reyes and Curtis Granderson are tied at the top with 21 such homers with New York.

9-T. Byron Buxton (2025 MIN), 11: After a host of injury-shortened years, the uber-talented Buxton stayed relatively healthy during his 11th season and cleared 30 home runs for the first time in his career. Although he had batted first in 727 career games entering 2025, Buxton's 11 leadoff long balls more than doubled his career total prior to that season (nine).

9-T. Kyle Schwarber (2023 PHI), 11: The 2024 season wasn't Schwarber's first year reaching double figures in leadoff homers. He also had 11 of those in 2023.

9-T. Jacque Jones (2002 MIN), 11: This was a career year for Jones, who smacked 27 homers in all while slugging .511 for a Minnesota club that stormed to 94 wins and a division title.

9-T. Bobby Bonds (1973 SF), 11: Barry Bonds outhomered his dad overall, but Bobby has him beat when it comes to leadoff shots, both in a single season (Barry’s high was eight in 1988), and in a career (Bobby 35, Barry 20). As for Bobby, he finished 1973 one homer shy of a 40-40 campaign (39 homers, 43 steals).