San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 12 (tied) – Fred McGriff

The “Crime Dog” arrived at San Diego via a trade with the Blue Jays for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter after the 1990 campaign.  Fred McGriff spent only two and a half years with the Padres, but he made the most of that time.

He led the majors with 35 homers in 1992 and added 37 more the following season. In half a season in 1994, he added 18 more. He also added 210 RBI in ’91 and ’92.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 84 HR
• 256 RBI
• .519 SLG
• .906 OPS

In mid-July 1993, the Padres shipped McGriff to the Braves for a bag of peanuts. He continued his highly productive career for another 12 years before calling it quits after the 2004 season, just seven home runs short of 500.

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 11 – Benito Santiago

Benito Santiago burst upon the scene in 1987 with 18 home runs, 79 RBI, 21 steals, and a .300 average – as a catcher! He captured the NL Rookie of the Year and became a cornerstone for the Padres.

Unfortunately, Santiago never topped any of those numbers with the Padres, outside of 97 RBI in 1991. His batting average never again came close to .300. Still, he was an All-star selection four times with San Diego and won three Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers. However, he was a consistent source of home runs, hitting double-digit dingers in all of his full seasons in Southern California.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 85 HR
• 375 RBI
• 62 Steals
• .705 OPS

He left the Padres via free agency after the 1992 season and kicked around the league for 13 more years, playing for seven other teams. His biggest year was in 1996, when he enjoyed an outlier season, bashing 30 round-trippers and driving in 85 runs.

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 10 – Chase Headley

Chase Headley spent parts of nine seasons in San Diego, accumulating 3,780 plate appearances. He never hit more than 13 home runs in any season except for a considerable outlying effort in 2012.

Hedley bashed 31 dingers during that career-best season and drove in 115, 51 more than his next highest season. His BABIP was usually well over .300, but he did have some issues getting the ball into play, striking out more than 100 times in five of his six full seasons with the Padres, and 92 times in the other campaign.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 87 HR
• 405 RBI
• .344 OBP
• 864 Strikeouts

The Padres shipped Headley to the Yankees during the 2014 season, for whom he produced similar numbers for three and a half more years. His slash line for the Padres is nearly identical to that of his career, so he was what he was, with one terrific career year thrown in.

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 9 – Hunter Renfroe

Hunter Renfroe got Padres fans excited after crushing four long balls in just 11 games in 2016. His power didn’t disappoint over the next three seasons as he averaged 28 round-trippers a season.

He did struggle, however, to get on base in those seasons. His best batting average was .248, and he only recorded one season with an OBP of more than .300 (.302). He averaged 134 strikeouts and just 34 walks.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 89 HR
• 204 RBI
• .294 OBP
• 408 Strikeouts

Renfroe was traded to the Rays before the 2020 season for Jake Cronenworth and Tommy Pham. He has bounced around since, playing with a different team in each of the last three campaigns. Like Headley, Renfroe’s career stats mirror those he produced with the Padres, so teams are pretty sure what he can bring to the table.

It is pretty impressive that in just basically three seasons, he earned himself a spot in the top ten home run hitters for the Padres.

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 8 – Ken Caminiti

There is a significant jump in home run totals on this list between number nine and number eight, as Ken Caminiti has 32 more dingers than Renfroe.

Caminiti’s career and life came to a traffic end in 2001, and it marred a fantastic career. His four seasons in San Diego were the best of his career, including his NL MVP campaign in 1996, when he hit 40, drove in 130 runs, and batted .326. Of course, those numbers are somewhat tarnished by his admission of steroid use during that season, as reported by Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 121 HR
• 396 RBI
• .295 BA
• 1 MVP, 2 All-star appearances, 1 Silver Slugger, 3 Gold Gloves

Even for the era in which he played, Caminiti’s 1996 season was impressive. It is hard to judge the performances during the Steroid Era, but Caminiti played hard and produced an incredible stat line in his four years with San Diego.

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 7 – Wil Myers

Number seven and climbing. As the 2022 season progresses, Wil Myers will probably jump up a couple more spots on this list. As a Padre, he’s averaged 18 homers a season, including the 58 he hit in 2016 and 2017 alone.

The Padres traded for Myers in 2014, and he has been a regular, when healthy, ever since. He has a better than average BABIP mark of .317 with the Padres but sometimes struggles to make contact. He has three seasons with 160 or more strikeouts.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 127 HR
• 399 RBI
• 409 RS
• 872 Strikeouts

2022 is most likely Myers’ last season in San Diego. There is a club option to keep him in town another season for $20 million, but it seems unlikely the team will activate that option. Regardless, he will be one of the top five home run hitters in franchise history when he is finished in San Diego.

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 6 – Ryan Klesko

Ryan Klesko spent nearly half of his very productive career with the Padres. He hit 18 or more homers in five of his seven seasons in San Diego and produced his best three-year stretch in the brown and gold.

From 2000 through 2001, Klesko bashed 84 dingers and drove in 300 runs. His slash line was also impressive – .290/.388/.531/.919. One of the great things about Klesko is he wasn’t a slugger who struck out all that much. He had two seasons in Atlanta where his K totals spiked well over 100, but in San Diego, he never whiffed more than 89 times. He also walked at least 65 times in each of his full seasons.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 133 HR
• 493 RBI
• .279 BA
• 470 Walks, 486 Strikeouts

Klesko finished up his career in 2006 with the Giants, but his time with the Padres proved he was a dependable, productive hitter who is among the best power hitters in franchise history.

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 5 – Tony Gwynn

Tony Gywnn was a lot of things, and most of them great, but he was no power hitter. He made this list by longevity, but no one is complaining. In his outstanding career, spanning two decades, Gywnn only hit double-digit homers five times, topping out at 17 in 1990.

It doesn’t matter because he had just as many seasons with 200+ hits. He led the majors in batting average eight times. His career-low in OBP was .337, in his rookie season, in just 54 games. His next lowest was .364.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 135 HR
• 3,141 Hits
• .338 BA
• 319 SB

One tremendous number should be highlighted when talking about Tony Gwynn’s stats – he only struck out 790 times in 20 years. He never stuck out more than 40 times in a season, and in a six-year stretch from 1991 through 1996, he never struck out more than 19 times. What a stud! We miss you, Tony!

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 4 – Dave Winfield

Big Dave Winfield wasn’t the kind of slugger we see in today’s game, but he was a power hitter for his era. From his first full year in 1974 through his final season in San Diego in 1980, Winfield averaged over 21 homers a year. The fewest he hit was 13 in 1976, and the most were 34 in 1979. In his mid-twenties, he became a premier run producer, averaging almost 99 RBI a season from 1977 through 1980, including a league-high 118 in 1979.

A true five-tool player, Winfield could do it all, from stealing bases to hitting for average to playing great defense.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 154 HR
• 626 RBI
• 133 SB
• .284 BA

Winfield left the Padres after the 1980 season, signing an almost unheard contract at the time of ten years, at $1.3 million for the first year and going up to $1.96 million in 1990. Overall, Winfield played in 12 All-star games and earned six Silver Sluggers and seven Gold Gloves on his way to Cooperstown.

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 3 – Phil Nevin

The Padres acquired Phil Nevin via trade just before the 1999 season. San Diego was his fourth organization in five seasons, but in Southern California, his power blossomed. He had 29 total homers before joining the Padres, then hit 24, 31, and 41 in his first three campaigns in San Diego. He also drove in 318 during those three seasons.

After a couple of injury-riddled years, Nevin bounced back in 2004 with 26 round-trippers and 105 RBI. He also hit for a much higher average with the Padres than with any other team.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 156 HR
• 573 RBI
• .288 BA
• .359 OBP

The Padres shipped Nevin to the Rangers at the trade deadline in 2005, but he never regained his form. He played for three teams over the next year and two months and was out of the game after the 2006 season. His years in San Diego were the best of his career, and they placed him high on the list of home run hitters for the Padres.

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 2 – Adrian Gonzalez

Adrian Gonzalez had a long, productive career in which he played for five teams, but his five seasons in San Diego were his best. He averaged 32 home runs with the Padres, including 40 in 2009. He also averaged 100 RBI.

Gonzelez also whiffed a lot, averaging 124 strikeouts a year in San Diego, but he could work a walk, too, as evidenced by his majors-leading 119 free passes in 2009.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 161 HR
• 501 RBI
• .288 BA
• .888 OPS

After the 2010 season, the Padres traded Gonzalez to the Red Sox in a package that included Anthony Rizzo. Gonzalez played eight more years, staying very productive through the 2016 campaign, after which his numbers slipped significantly.

Gonzalez’s time with the Padres wasn’t long, but he was a terrific hitter and run producer for the club and ended up at number two in franchise history for home runs.

San Diego Padres all-time home run leaders: No. 1 – Nate Colbert

The Padres grabbed Nate Colbert from the Astors during the 1968 expansion draft with the 18th pick, and what a steal it was! In his six-year stay in San Diego, Colbert ranked in the top ten in home runs three times and played in three Summer Classics. He drove in 80 or more runs in four of those years as well.

While he was an above-average power hitter in his day, he also struggled to put the bat on the ball. He was in the top ten in strikeouts each of his six-season with the Padres. In true, three-outcome hitting style, he also could take a walk, which kept his On-base Percentage respectable.

Key Stats with the Padres

• 163 HR
• 481 RBI
• 773 Strikeouts
• .800 OPS

Colbert must have enjoyed the lovely weather in Southern California because he never regained his form after being traded at the end of the 1974 campaign. He played for three more teams over the next two years and was out of baseball after the 1976 season at 30.

From an expansion draft pick to the home run king of the San Diego Padres, Nate Colbert earned his spot at the top with six terrific seasons of power hitting.