Top Five Power-Hitters Of All Time

With Spring Training well under way, many fans are more than excited for this upcoming season.  To add to this excitement, let’s take a walk down memory lane and explore the top 5 power-hitters in Major League Baseball history (in my opinion).  Determining a list such as this is extremely subjective, but I have decided that the best way to compile a ranking of this category of players is to analyze overall ISO and the amount of home runs that the player hit throughout their career.

For those of you who do not know, ISO stands for isolated power, and it is a statistic that can be computed by subtracting a player’s batting average from their slugging percentage.

5. Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez was feared by major league pitchers since the moment he stepped into the league as a rookie with the Cleveland Indians.  Whenever he had a bat in his hands there was a very good chance that he was going to put the ball out of the park.  Ramirez also proved to be extremely clutch, and throughout his time with the Red Sox he knocked a record 29 home runs during the post season.

ISO: .273

Home Runs: 555

4. Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig does not get enough credit.  I truly believe that if his career (and life) was not cut short by the debilitating disease that bears his name today, he could have gone down in history as the greatest first basemen of all time.  Gehrig was a class act, and played the game the right way for the 16 years that his body allowed him to (only a starter for 14 of those years).  Really embodied what the New York Yankees hope to see from all of their players.  Aside from all of this, the man could hit, and he could hit extremely well.  He collected 2,721 hits over a span of 8,000 at-bats and was a huge threat every time he stepped into the batter’s box. ISO: .292
Home Runs: 493

3. Barry Bonds

Absolute monster.  That’s all you can say to describe Barry Bonds at the plate.  He stands as the home run king, 7-time National League MVP, and 14-time all-star.  The guy hit more home runs into McCovey cove than Willie McCovey himself.  Bonds career may have been plagued with multiple scandals, but that cannot take away the overall skill that he had as a hitter.  He was hitting home runs on the Pirates, long before his steroid days with the San Francisco Giants.

ISO: .309

Home Runs: 762

2. Mark McGwire

Big Mac!  If you are thinking about baseball in the 1990’s, Mark McGwire automatically comes to mind.  He started his career with the Oakland Athletics, where he spent the bulk of his time in the league, and he finished off laying his last four years with the St. Louis Cardinals.  No matter which team McGwire was playing for, there always seemed to be one common trend: he was absolutely crushing baseballs.  McGwire smacked 33 home runs during his rookie season in 1987, and he led the MLB in home runs from 1996 – 1999.  And who could forget the battle between Mark and Sammy Sosa during the 1998 season to see who could surpass Roger Maris’ long standing single-season home run record.  McGwire won the battle hitting a whopping 70 homers that year! Absolute beast.

ISO: .325

Home Runs: 583

1. Babe Ruth

The Sultan of Swat, The Colossus of Clout, THE GREAT BAMBINO!!!!  You don’t get nicknames like these without hitting monstrous home runs throughout your entire career in the major leagues.  The Babe started his career as a pitcher for the Red Sox, and eventually cursed them for the next 80 some years when he was traded to the Yankees in 1920.  Babe Ruth was hitting home runs in New York before it was cool.  The man was an absolute monster at the plate and a celebrity on and off the diamond.  The best part about Babe Ruth is that there has never been any questions as to whether or not his home runs are tainted.  The man was fueled by hot dogs and beers, not steroids and other PED’s.

ISO: .348

Home Runs: 714