<P> This is a list of the top 300 Major League Baseball leaders in home runs hit . In the sport of baseball, a home run is a hit in which the batter scores by circling all the bases and reaching home plate in one play, without the benefit of a fielding error . This can be accomplished either by hitting the ball out of play while it is still in fair territory (a conventional home run), or by an inside - the - park home run . </P> <P> Barry Bonds holds the Major League Baseball home run record with 762 . He passed Hank Aaron, who is currently second with 755, on August 7, 2007 . The only other player to have hit 700 or more is Babe Ruth with 714 . Alex Rodriguez (696), Willie Mays (660), Ken Griffey, Jr. (630), Albert Pujols (614), Jim Thome (612), and Sammy Sosa (609) are the only other players to have hit 600 or more . </P> <P> Listed are all Major League Baseball players with 214 or more home runs hit during official regular season (i.e., excluding playoffs or exhibition games). Players in bold face are active as of the 2017 Major League Baseball season (including free agents), with the number in parentheses designating the number of home runs they have hit during the 2017 season . The last change in the cutoff for the top 300 occurred on April 22, 2017, when Giancarlo Stanton hit his 214th career home run, displacing Travis Hafner and Andy Pafko . </P>

Who holds the record for most home runs in major league baseball