The 2025 Major League Baseball season has been the year of the home run, both in terms of single-game performances and season totals. A home run, the most thrilling outcome of any at-bat, has made this season special.
The New York Yankees got it all started. On March 29, in their second game of the season, they hit nine home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers. Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge hit home runs on each of the first three pitches the team saw — the first time since 1988 such a feat has happened. Aaron Judge hit three of the nine home runs, driving in a career-high eight runs, propelling the Yankees to a 20-9 victory.
On Aug. 19, the Yankees hit nine home runs in one game again, becoming the first team to do it multiple times in one season. Giancarlo Stanton and Cody Bellinger both hit two home runs in that game.
From 1894 to 2024, there were only 18 instances of a player hitting four home runs in one game, occurring once every seven or eight years on average. This season, the rare feat occurred an incredible three times.
Eugenio Suárez hit four home runs for the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix on April 26. Fighting for a playoff appearance after falling short in recent years, the Seattle Mariners acquired Suárez in 2022. Suárez has hit 42 home runs this season and has a chance of hitting 50 by the end of the season.
Nick Kurtz of the Athletics became the first rookie in history to hit four home runs in one game on July 25. Through his first 66 games, he hit 23 home runs while also posting a 1.060 on-base plus slugging.
Entering the game against the Atlanta Braves with 45 home runs, Philadelphia Phillies’ designated hitter Kyle Schwarber increased his season total to 49 on Aug. 28.
While the least surprising of the three, Schwarber’s four-home run game was unique for two reasons. Firstly, out of the 21 players to hit four, Schwarber became only the fourth to have an opportunity to hit five. Secondly, Schwarber almost became the first player in MLB history to achieve a home run cycle — when a player hits a grand slam, a one-run, two-run and three-run home run in one game. Amazingly, Schwarber does not lead the MLB in home runs as of right now: The Mariners’ catcher Cal Raleigh remains ahead of him.
Cal Raleigh has been phenomenal this year and even won the Home Run Derby. On Aug. 24, Raleigh hit his 48th and 49th home runs of the season, tying and then breaking the single-season record for home runs hit by a catcher. He now has 50 home runs and is projected to have 59 by the end of the season.
Will Cal Raleigh break Aaron Judge’s American League record of 62 home runs? Will Kyle Schwarber reach that mark? That would be a fitting ending to the 2025 season.