The 14 Most Jacked MLB Players Of All Time

Strength is far from the only skill that comes in handy if you’re going to make a living as a professional baseball player, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. There are plenty of guys in the MLB who’ve managed to turn heads with an impressive physique, but there are some that really stand out from the rest of the pack.

“Chicks dig the long ball” served as the basis for an amazing ad Nike whipped up with the help of Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, and having some extra muscle certainly doesn’t hurt when it comes to knocking balls out of the park on a regular basis.

You can’t talk about the most imposing MLB players in history without talking about people who got some help from performance-enhancing drugs, and while steroids may be keeping some of them out of the Hall of Fame, I’m not going to let them prevent those guys from making the cut on this list.

Giancarlo Stanton

We’re going to kick things off with current players who (presumably) haven’t gotten help from PEDs.

That includes Giancarlo Stanton, the man who led the National League in home runs on two separate occasions and became one of the best power hitters in the MLB thanks in no small part to a very intense gym routine that’s helped him pack on the muscle he’s leveraged to clock 429 dingers—the most among any active player heading into his 16th season in the league.

Tyler O'Neill

Tyler O’Neill’s dad Terry was a bodybuilder who won the Mr. Canada competition in 1975, and the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.

O’Neill got plenty of attention after he ripped off his jersey when he hit a walk-off home run as a member of the Cardinals in 2019, and he’s a gym rat just like his dad who says he’s maxed out at 435 pounds on the bench press and can squat close to 500 pounds multiple times.

Yandy Diaz

Yandy Diaz flies a little bit below the radar due to the fact he prefers to play with a long-sleeve shirt under his jersey, but he’s packed some massive pipes under them.

Diaz was maxing out at 400 pounds on the bench press in 2023, and he also sports some of the biggest biceps the MLB currently has to offer.

Adolis Garcia

Diaz isn’t the only MLB player hailing from Cuba who’s packed some impressive muscle onto their frame, as Adolis Garcia is also an absolute beast.

The Rangers outfielder claims he doesn’t know how much he’s able to bench press or squat, but it’s pretty safe to assume it’s way more than the average person based on his build.

Randy Arozarena

Randy Arozarena got an endorsement from Garcia, as he picked him and Yandy Diaz when asked to name the strongest MLB players currently in the league.

The Mariners outfielder might be a little leaner than the guys we’ve mentioned so far, but he noticeably bulked up ahead of the 2024 season that he began in Tampa Bay before being traded to Seattle during a campaign where he had 20 homers and 20 steals for the fourth year in a row.

Eric Thames

I feel like I don’t really have to say that much about Eric Thames when you consider you really only have to look at a picture of him to realize why he ended up on this list.

It’s safe to say he does not skip arm day.

Jose Canseco

We’re moving on to some former MLB players who are inextricably linked to baseball’s Steroid Era—including the man who arguably served as its poster boy.

Jose Canseco has not been shy about the role steroids played in his success, and they initially helped him make a name for himself as a member of the Athletics and one part of the duo known as “The Bash Brothers” alongside…

Mark McGwire

Mark McGwire was the first person to surpass the 61 home runs Roger Maris hit to set the single-season record that stood for 37 years before the Cardinals slugger finished the 1998 season with 70.

McGwire also got some help from PEDs while cultivating the pythons that boasted biceps that measured 19 inches in circumference, but the record only stood for a few years until it was broken by…

Barry Bonds

There weren’t many people who were genuinely shocked to discover Barry Bonds also harnessed PEDs while setting both the MLB’s single-season and career home run record, as he underwent a shocking physical transformation as a fairly scrawny outfielder for the Pirates who ballooned into a behemoth on the Giants.

Jason Giambi

Jason Giambi also got plenty of help from steroids and HGH while transforming into one of the most imposing players in the MLB, but he was also a shining example of what they’re capable of doing based on how big he managed to get.

Frank Thomas

Unlike the last few guys on this list, Frank Thomas never had his career marred by steroid use and was actually an early advocate for the testing the MLB would eventually adopt in the 2000s after it became impossible to ignore the PED problem it had turned a blind eye to for decades.

There’s a reason the White Sox slugger was dubbed “The Big Hurt,” and he harnessed the frame he built the natural way to clock 521 long balls during his Hall of Fame career.

Bo Jackson

Bo Jackson was simply a freak of nature and one of the most notable members of the exclusive group of people who’ve played in at least one MLB and NFL game.

Jackson appeared in 694 contests as a member of the Royals, White Sox, and Angels and certainly looked like someone who also suited up for 38 games as a running back for the Raiders.

Gabe Kapler

Most of the retired players we’ve mentioned so far were pretty big names during the peak of their careers, but I want to give some credit where credit is due to some less heralded guys who still deserve a mention.

That includes Gabe Kapler, the journeyman who played for six different teams during a playing career that spanned 14 seasons and was one of the most noticeably shredded players in the MLB for a good chunk of it.

Brad Fullmer

Brad Fullmer also never really came close to becoming a household name, but the man who hit a home run in his first-ever MLB at-bat spent eight seasons as one of the sneakier jacked players in the league before his career was derailed by injuries.