Top 5 Single-Season Cincinnati Reds Home Run Leaders

Last Updated on September 20, 2026 by Matt Musico

The Cincinnati Reds have been around as a professional baseball team for quite a while — since 1882, to be exact. During that time, they’ve had some excellent players take the field. But when it comes to having a historically powerful campaign for single-season Reds home run leaders, there’s a very small group who have reached the 40-homer plateau.

There have been just 16 different 40-homer seasons, accomplished by nine dudes donning a Cincy uniform. Only one of them — which we’ll cover in a minute — has surpassed 50 home runs in a season.

Let’s dive into the details when it comes to the five most powerful seasons in Reds history.

Related: A Complete Guide to Single-Season (& Single-Game) HR Performances

Reds Home Run Leaders: Top 5

George Foster: 52 Home Runs in 1977

George Foster hit 348 home runs with 1,239 RBI during his 18-year MLB career. But when you take a peek at his year-by-year stats, it’s clear when his prime was. It happened from 1976 (his age-27 season) to 1979 (his age-30 season). During that time, he slugged 151 home runs and 488 RBI, appeared in four straight All-Star Games, and finished in the top-12 of NL MVP voting each year. He also slugged 30-plus homers in three straight seasons, which were the only times he got over that number in his career.

The one time he took home the NL MVP hardware was in 1977. He was not only the league’s home run champion with those 52 taters, but he was also the RBI champion (149) while leading the way in runs scored (124), slugging percentage (.631), OPS (1.013), and total bases (388). It was a sharp rise in power for Foster, as he never hit more than 29 in a single season entering the year, which he had done the year prior.

Foster posted a slugging percentage over .600 in each of his final four months of the year, but July and August were his best when it came to accumulating home runs. He hit nearly half of his season-long total (24) during this span, with 12 coming in each month.

Ted Kluszewski: 49 Home Runs in 1954

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know much about Ted Kluszewski before doing some research, since he’s heavily featured on the Reds’ home run leaderboards. But the dude seemed like an absolute baller. His power didn’t blossom until his seventh year in the majors. When it did, it was fast and furious for a short period.

In Kluszewski’s first six seasons, he hit 74 dingers in 2,723 plate appearances. In 1953, he hit 40 in just 629 plate appearances. This was his first of three straight years with 40-plus homers, with his 1954 campaign being the best. He led the league in both homers (49) and RBI (141) while slashing .326/.407/642. He placed second in MVP voting to Willie Mays, but he did get selected to the All-Star Game for a second straight year.

The two situations in which “Big Klu” thrived? The first was facing right-handed pitching. As a left-handed hitter, Kluszewski slashed .347/.437/.706 in 446 plate appearances, which included 36 of his 49 homers. He also loved hitting at home, as evidenced by the 34 homers and .724 slugging percentage he racked up in that situation.

Eugenio Suárez: 49 Home Runs in 2019

I love looking at Eugenio Suárez‘s home run progression between his MLB debut and his career-high mark of 49 in 2019. As a rookie with the Detroit Tigers in 2014, he hit four dingers. He then began his ascension in this category after joining the Reds. It started with 13 in 2015, followed by 21 in 2016 and 26 in 2017. The upward trend continued with 34 in 2018 before getting to 49 in ’19, which set a franchise record for home runs by a third baseman.

Suárez was on track to keep his home run streak going by the All-Star break, but he went on a tear in the second half to bring things to a whole new level. At the midsummer respite, the third baseman had 20 home runs and a .811 OPS in 365 plate appearances. Over his final 297 trips to the plate, though, he slugged 29 homers with a 1.081 OPS that was powered by a .684 slugging percentage.

Ted Kluszewski: 47 Home Runs in 1955

A year after his 49-homer performance, Kluszewski followed it up with another 47 taters and 113 RBI. It included placing sixth in MVP voting and appearing in another All-Star Game. Not a bad encore performance, right?

This was his third straight season with at least 40 homers. He had a total of four years with 30-plus dingers (he hit 35 in 1956). Outside of these four years, though, he eclipsed 20 just one other time when he hit 25 dingers in 1950.

His performance was much more even this time around when checking out his platoon and home/road splits. He hit 27 homers against righties and 20 against lefties. He also hit more homers on the road (25) than he did at home (22).

Either way, I love looking at it this way — Big Klu enjoyed a 15-year MLB career that yielded 279 home runs. But in just about a quarter of his career, he slugged about 61% of his total homers (171).

Adam Dunn: 46 Home Runs in 2004

Adam Dunn was drafted by the Reds in the second round of the 1998 MLB Draft right out of high school. He was in the big leagues by 2001, and the 2004 season was the first of three straight years in which Dunn led the league in strikeouts. However, this was a certified power breakout for the outfielder.

It was his first of five straight 40-homer seasons, which was a number he’d ultimately get to six times during his career.

By the looks of it, Dunn enjoyed putting together a huge performance every other month in 2004. He began in April with eight homers, 18 RBI, and a 1.288 OPS. After a .717 OPS in May, it went back up to 1.052 in June with 11 homers and 21 RBI. While his .947 OPS in July wasn’t shabby, it went back up in August to 1.001 with another 11 homers and 22 RBI.

If you’re looking for the rest of the franchise’s single-season home run leaderboard, check out this full list on FanGraphs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Cincinnati Reds player had the most home runs in a single year?

George Foster is the Reds’ single-season home run king. He hit 52 home runs in 1977. There have been some close calls along the way, but he’s still the only player in franchise history to post a season with 50-plus home runs.

Who are the top five Cincinnati Reds players in home runs for a single season?

The five most powerful seasons in Reds history are the following: George Foster (52 home runs in 1977), Ted Kluszewski (49 home runs in 1954), Eugenio Suarez (49 home runs in 2019), Ted Kluszewski again (47 home runs in 1955), and Adam Dunn (46 home runs in 2004).

Who leads the Cincinnati Reds in all-time home runs?

The Reds’ all-time home run king is Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench. He spent 17 years in the big leagues with Cincy and racked up 389 career homers.

Where does Joey Votto rank among single-season Reds home run leaders?

Votto, who has been the league’s on-base percentage champion seven times in his career, is right behind Bench on the Reds’ all-time home run list with 356 career home runs. He’s mysteriously absent from this list because of the arbitrary cut-off I made at 38 homers. He’s surpassed the 30-homer plateau three times while playing for the Reds: 37 in 2010, as well as 36 in both 2017 and 2021.

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