Chicks dig the long ball. It’s a cliché because it’s true. But honestly, if you look at the landscape of Major League Baseball lately, the distribution of home runs by team has become sort of a "haves and have-nots" situation that defines who actually plays in October. We aren't just talking about the Yankees or Dodgers anymore. Small-market teams are either leaning into the power surge or getting left in the dust, and the math behind it is colder than a night game at Oracle Park.
Success used to be about manufacturing runs. Now? It's about the "three true outcomes." You strike out, you walk, or you park one in the bleachers.
When you look at the raw data for home runs by team, the numbers are staggering. In 2023, the Atlanta Braves didn't just lead the league; they tied the 2019 Minnesota Twins for the most home runs in a single season with 307. Think about that for a second. That is nearly two home runs every single game for six months straight. It’s relentless. It’s exhausting for a pitching staff. And more importantly, it’s a blueprint that every front office is desperately trying to copy, even if they don't have a Ronald Acuña Jr. or a Matt Olson on the roster.
The Launch Angle Revolution and the Top of the Charts
Why is the gap widening? It comes down to philosophy. Some teams, like the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees, have built their entire identity around the long ball. They recruit for it. They coach for it. They prioritize exit velocity over batting average every single day of the week.
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In the Bronx, the short porch in right field isn't just a quirk; it's a strategic weapon. The Yankees consistently rank near the top of the home runs by team leaderboard because they hunt for players who can exploit those dimensions. Juan Soto and Aaron Judge are the obvious headliners, but the organizational depth is designed to punish mistakes. If a pitcher leaves a hanging slider over the plate in Yankee Stadium, it's not a double. It's four bases.
But then you have the outliers. The 2019 "Bomba Squad" in Minnesota remains the gold standard for a collective effort. That year, the Twins had five different players hit over 30 home runs. It wasn't just one superstar carrying the load. It was a lineup where the guy batting ninth was just as likely to clear the fence as the leadoff hitter. That kind of depth creates a psychological weight on a pitcher. There is no "breather" in the inning.
The Great Divide: Small Markets vs. The Powerhouses
Let’s talk about the teams at the bottom. The gap in home runs by team often mirrors the gap in wins, but not always. You’ll see teams like the Cleveland Guardians or the Miami Marlins frequently sitting in the bottom third of the power rankings. These teams often play in "pitcher-friendly" parks, but there's more to it.
- Financial constraints often mean these teams can't afford the elite 40-HR bats that command $300 million contracts.
- They pivot to "small ball"—stealing bases, sacrifice flies, and contact hitting.
- Sometimes, it works. The 2014-2015 Kansas City Royals proved you could win a World Series without leading the league in homers. They relied on a lockdown bullpen and elite defense.
But that was a decade ago. Today, trying to win without power is like bringing a knife to a laser-tag fight. Even the Guardians have started to realize they need more thump to compete with the heavy hitters in the AL East.
The Ball, The Air, and The Humidors
You can’t talk about home runs by team without mentioning the environment. Coors Field is the obvious elephant in the room. The thin air in Denver makes the ball carry further. Period. The Colorado Rockies almost always have inflated power numbers at home, but they often struggle to find that same rhythm on the road. This is the "Coors Effect," and it’s a real headache for scouts trying to figure out if a player is actually a power hitter or just a product of 5,280 feet of elevation.
Then there are the humidors. MLB now requires all 30 stadiums to store their baseballs in climate-controlled humidors. This was done to standardize the "bounce" of the ball, but the results have been mixed. In some parks, it made the ball fly further; in others, it turned potential homers into long flyouts.
Statcast data from 2024 and 2025 shows that even a slight change in barometric pressure or humidity can swing a team's seasonal total by 10 or 15 home runs. That might not sound like much, but in a race for a Wild Card spot, 15 runs is the difference between making the playoffs and watching them from the couch.
The Surge of the "Non-Power" Hitter
The most interesting trend in the home runs by team data isn't the guys hitting 50. It’s the guys hitting 20. We are seeing middle infielders and catchers—positions traditionally focused on defense—putting up power numbers that would have led the league in the 1980s.
Look at someone like Francisco Lindor or Bobby Witt Jr. These are elite athletes who can run like the wind, but they also have the bat speed to put 25-30 balls in the seats. When your shortstop is a legitimate home run threat, your team's total power profile shifts dramatically. This is why the Baltimore Orioles have become such a force so quickly. Their young core, led by Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, provides power from positions that used to be "dead spots" in the lineup.
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How Stadium Dimensions Dictate Team Strategy
Not all ballparks are created equal. This is the "hidden" driver behind home runs by team.
- Fenway Park: The Green Monster in left field is a double machine, but it actually robs right-handed hitters of home runs that would be out in any other park.
- Great American Ball Park: Often called "Great American Small Park," this venue in Cincinnati is a launchpad. The Reds often over-perform their talent level in the HR category simply because the fences are so close.
- Oracle Park: The cold, heavy air in San Francisco and the deep right-field "Triples Alley" make it a graveyard for left-handed power. Barry Bonds was the exception, not the rule.
Teams are now smarter about building rosters that fit their home dirt. The Houston Astros, for example, have mastered the "Crawford Boxes" in left field. They look for right-handed hitters with high pull rates who can loft fly balls into those front rows. It’s an efficiency play.
What This Means for the Future of the Game
Is there a ceiling? Some fans complain that the focus on home runs has made the game "boring"—too many strikeouts, not enough action on the basepaths. MLB tried to counter this with the pitch clock and bigger bases, hoping to encourage more running. And it worked! Stolen bases are up.
However, the value of the home run remains supreme. Why? Because it’s the only play in sports that guarantees a run (or more) regardless of what the defense does. No error, no perfect throw, and no spectacular catch can stop a ball that’s 20 feet over the fence.
As we look at the projected home runs by team for the upcoming seasons, expect the gap between the elite offenses and the rebuilding projects to stay wide. Analytics departments have realized that a solo home run is worth more than three singles spread across three different innings. The math simply favors the big swing.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're tracking these stats to understand where the league is heading, don't just look at the total number of homers. Look at Home Runs per 9 Innings and Isolated Power (ISO).
- Check the Park Factors: Use sites like Baseball-Reference or FanGraphs to see how a stadium affects power. A team might have a low HR total simply because they play half their games in a "pitcher’s park."
- Watch the Weather: Power numbers always spike in June, July, and August. Hot air is less dense, and the ball travels further. If a team is trailing in HRs in May, don't count them out if they have a warm-weather schedule ahead.
- Analyze the Exit Velo: If a team is hitting the ball hard (95+ mph) but the homers aren't showing up yet, they are likely victims of bad luck or "at-the-track" flyouts. The home runs will eventually come.
- Diversify Your Evaluation: Remember that while home runs win games, they don't tell the whole story of an offense's health. Look at "Run Creators" (wRC+) to see who is actually the most efficient at the plate.
The era of the "all-or-nothing" swing isn't going away. It’s evolving. Whether you love the constant barrage of fireworks or miss the era of the bunt and the hit-and-run, the leaderboard for home runs by team is currently the most accurate pulse of who is winning the arms race in modern baseball.