Modern-day baseball is all about power hitting, and how many home runs a player hits in a season is the defining factor of this skill. The record for most home runs in a single season currently sits with Barry Bonds, who hit a whopping 73 HRs in 2001. So far, no one has come close to breaking that record. But will someone do it this year?

Considering how the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Mariners’ Cal Raleigh are going, one cannot put it past them to at least get close to it. Let’s look at the list of players who have scored the most home runs in a single season in MLB history.

What is the MLB single-season home run record? Who holds it? All to know

Barry Bonds still holds the single-season home run record with an incredible 73 bombs in 2001, a mark no one’s been able to touch since. Before Bonds, Mark McGwire had set the bar with 70 homers in 1998. That’s the same year Sammy Sosa made it a showdown by blasting 66. And then for a while, it was McGwire vs. Sosa in the home run race, until Bonds came along.

Fast forward to 2022, Aaron Judge made a serious run at it, finishing with 62, the closest anyone’s come in years. However, the chase for that legendary 73 is still very much alive. Now, with this year witnessing an intense battle between Judge and Raleigh for the batting leader title, fans are hoping that either one of the duo can break the 24-year-old record. Moreover, with nearly 12 games still left for each team to complete the regular season, there is still time for it to happen.

Where do Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh rank on the list?

Well, Cal Raleigh’s 2025 season has been nothing short of historic. Notably, he’s already become the first primary catcher in MLB history to hit 50 home runs in a season. On Tuesday against the Royals, Raleigh added two more HRs to his resume. Thus, standing with 56 HRs till now counts for the single-season franchise record for the Mariners.

And now, Raleigh’s got his eyes on even bigger marks like Aaron Judge’s American League record of 62 from 2022. Speaking of Judge, he’s sitting at 48 homers right now. That’s not quite in Raleigh’s neighborhood, but it’s hard to ever count him out. That said, Barry Bonds’ all-time mark of 73 still looks pretty safe. Let’s see if Raleigh can touch the milestone this year.

Is switch-hitter Cal Raleigh on pace to break it? A look at all the possibilities

Undoubtedly, Cal Raleigh is a man on a mission this year. He just burst onto the scene the break the power-hitting duopoly of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. With his 56th home run, he went past Mickey Mantle’s 1961 mark for the most home runs ever by a switch-hitter in a single year. And that’s not all, Raleigh also tied Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. for the franchise’s single-season record. For context, Griffey hit 56 in both 1997 and 1998. So, before touching Barry Bonds’ record, there are a few more to be broken by Raleigh in between.

There are still 12 games left for the Mariners in the 2025 regular season. And to touch Bonds’ record, Raleigh needs to hit another 17 home runs. 17 HRs from 12 games surely looks like an uphill task. And with the remaining games to be played against the Astros, Rockies, and Dodgers, the challenge is on for the Big Dumper.