Baltimore Orioles: Top Ten Home Run Hitters In Franchise History

The Baltimore Orioles have a long history of power hitters gracing their lineup. Here’s the list of top ten home run hitters in franchise history.

After a season in which home run records across major league baseball were shattered, we’re paying homage to the top ten greatest home run hitters in Baltimore Orioles franchise history.

This list includes only home runs hit in a Baltimore Orioles uniform, so the number you see for many of these players is not their career total. Despite their rich history, no one on this list has accumulated more than 500 home runs with the franchise and only one has eclipsed the 400 mark.

Seven players have hit more than 40 home runs in a single season, two of whom do not appear on the top ten all-time list. Chris Davis and his 53 home runs in 2013 are a franchise-high for a single season (also hit 47 in 2015), while Mark Trumbo (47 in 2016) and Nelson Cruz (40 in 2014) do not appear on the all-time list.

10. Frank Robinson– 179 home runs

One of the greatest players the game of baseball has ever seen, Frank Robinson amassed 586 home runs across his 21 seasons of major league ball, hitting 179 of them in his six seasons with the Orioles.

There isn’t much that can be said about the legend that hasn’t already been said. A two-time World Series champion, 14-time All-Star, 1956 Rookie of the Year, a World Series MVP, Triple Crown Winner, Manager of the Year, MLB Hall of Famer, and a beloved teammate only begin to describe one of the most impressive careers in MLB history.

Robinson hit at least 25 home runs in each of his six seasons in Baltimore, except for his 1968 season in which he hit just 15. He led the league with 49 home runs, a .316 average, and .410 OBP in his MVP season of 1966, his first season in Baltimore.

All it took to acquire Robinson from the Cininnati Reds was Milt Pappas, Jack Baldschun, and Dick Simpson. I think it’s safe to say the Orioles won that trade.

9. Ken Singleton– 182 home runs

Originally a member of the New York Mets and Montreal Expos, Singleton joined the Baltimore Orioles before the 1975 season, traded along with RHP Mike Torrez from the Expos for RHP Bill Kirkpatrick, OF Rich Coggins, and LHP Dave McNally.

Another trade which proved to go well in favor of the Orioles, Singleton played the final 10 years of his career in Baltimore, appearing in three All-Star games and racking up 182 home runs, including a career-high 35 in 1979. He finished second in Most Valuable Player voting that season.

Singleton owned a career on-base percentage of .388, posting a season-high OBP in 1977 with a .438 mark. In nine of this 15 seasons in the major leagues, Singleton had more walks than strikeouts, ending with 1,263 career walks and 1,246 strikeouts. His 886 walks in an Orioles uniform ranks fifth all-time.

8. Brady Anderson– 209 home runs

A Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer, Brady Anderson come over via a trade with the Boston Red Sox in July of 1988. The Orioles netted Anderson and starting pitcher Curt Schilling in exchange for RHP Mike Boddicker.

Across his 14 seasons in Baltimore, Anderson slashed .256/.362/.430 with 209 home runs, 744 RBI, 329 doubles, and 64 triples. He sits atop the Orioles career leaderboard in hit by pitches (148) and stolen bases (307).

One of the more productive hitters in franchise history, Anderson made three All-Star teams and had one of his best seasons in 1996. Launching a career-high 50 home runs, Anderson also posted career-highs in batting average (.297), OPS (1.034), and RBI (110). He finished among the Top 10 in MVP voting. He was 32 years old and had just 41 combined home runs in the three seasons before his 1996 campaign.

He played his final season with the Orioles in 2001 and made one last attempt to stick in the majors with the Cleveland Indians the following season. At 38, he appeared in just 34 games before being released.

7. Rafael Palmeiro– 223 home runs

Despite testing positive for PEDs during the height of Major League Baseball’s PED scandal, Rafael Palmeiro was a dominant player for his 20 years in the league with the Orioles, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers. A career .288 hitter, Palmeiro hung up his spikes with 569 career home runs, 3,020 hits, three Gold Glove Awards, two Silver Sluggers, and four All-Star appearances to his name.

He played seven seasons in an Orioles uniform, sending 223 home runs over the fences while posting a slash line of .284/.366/.520 and recording 1,071 total hits.

Signing as a free agent ahead of the 1994 season and again before the 2004 season, Palmeiro hit more than 20 home runs in all but one season in Baltimore, including 43 in 1998. It wasn’t a career-high (he hit 47 twice in Texas), but it was the most in a single season as an Oriole.

Palmeiro attempted a comeback recently, playing independent ball to try and work his way back to the big leagues, but that dream now appears to be done. The Palmeiro legacy does live on in Baltimore. His son, Preston Palmeiro, is currently in Double-A with the Bowie Baysox.

6. Chris Davis- 253 home runs

At the time of this writing, Davis is 33 years old and general manager Mike Elias has stated that Davis will return to the Orioles in 2020, at least for spring training. Unfortunately, his struggles over the last few seasons have left fans in Birdland with an image of a once-feared power hitter who has become more of a financial burden and unwanted roster piece.

Despite his sub-.200 batting average in each of the last two seasons, Davis has continued to add to his home run total, now sitting at 253 across nine seasons with the Orioles.

His best season came in 2013 when Davis set the franchise record for home runs in a single season with 53. He slashed .286/.370/.634 and added 138 RBI, 42 doubles, and 103 runs scored, all-career highs. Davis earned a Silver Slugger Award for his dominant season.

Davis’ 1,533 strikeouts are a franchise record, 228 more than Cal Ripken Jr. who sits in second place on the list. As you are well aware, Ripken played for 21 seasons in a Baltimore Orioles uniform.

5. Adam Jones– 263 home runs

The result of another unbelievable trade in Orioles history, Jones came to Baltimore from the Seattle Mariners, along with Chris Tillman and others, in exchange for Erik Bedard in the winter of 2008.

Jones took over in center field at the age of 22 and roamed the outfield of Camden Yards for the next 11 seasons, compiling 263 home runs, five All-Star nods, four Gold Glove Awards, and a Silver Slugger award during that time span.

His contributions to the local Baltimore community and his memorable play on the field will keep Jones fresh in the minds of Orioles fans for a long time, despite his departure to Arizona before the 2019 season.

Jones hit 25 or more home runs in all but three seasons while with the O’s, launching a career-high 33 in 2013. At the time of this writing, he is just 18 home runs away from 300 in his career.

4. Brooks Robinson– 268 home runs

Even in 2019, Brooks Robinson, now 82 years old, continues to be a main attraction at Camden Yards and a beloved member of the Birdland community. While his 16 Gold Glove Awards are phenomenal, we’re highlighting his 268 career home runs in an Orioles uniform, good enough for fourth on the all-time franchise list.

His stat page is always a beautiful site, consisting of 23 years worth of numbers, all compiled while playing for just one franchise. An 18-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion, World Series MVP, an MLB Hall of Famer, and unquestionably one of the most impressive players in Orioles history, Robinson was never known for his power, but 23 years of baseball will put you at or near the top of many lists.

Robinson eclipsed 20 home runs just six times, collecting a career-high 28 in 1964, his MVP season. He hit only 34 home runs over his final six seasons, but continued to flash the leather, extending his 16-year Gold Glove streak through his age-38 season.

3. Boog Powell– 303 home runs

A two-time World Series champion, the Most Valuable Player of the 1970 season, a four-time All-Star, master of barbeque, and never a dull conversationalist, Boog Powell‘s 303 home runs in an Orioles jersey ranks third all-time on an impressive list.

Powell played for 14 seasons in Baltimore before a two-year stint in Cleveland and a quick appearance in Los Angeles with the Dodgers before calling it a career after the 1977 season.

He finished his time in the majors with 339 home runns 1,776 hits (how patriotic), and more than 2,000 games played.

2. Eddie Murray– 343 home runs

Originally drafted by the Orioles in the third round of the 1973 draft, Murray played in Baltimore from 1977-1988 and once again in 1996. He appeared in eight All-Star games, was a World Series champion in 1983, won three Silver Sluggers and three Gold Glove Awards, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

Murray wasted no time in making his presence known on the diamond, winning the 1977 Rookie of the Year Award behind a 27 home run season. He would go on to hit at least 22 home runs in all but one season with the Orioles.

His 343 home runs in Baltimore was part of his 504 total homers and 3,255 career hits. Hank Aaron, Alex Rodriguez, Willie Mays, Rafael Palmeiro, and Albert Pujols are the only other players in major league history to be a part of the 500 HR/3,000 hit club.