© Dale Zanine/Imagn
Death, taxes, and power-hitting first basemen. Those are the three certainties in life. At least, those were the three certainties in life. But it appears the last one may no longer be true, and nobody can seem figure out exactly why.
For as long as Major League Baseball has been around, first baseman have hit for power. You’ve got Albert Pujols, Jim Thome, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro all among the top 15 home run hitters of All-Time. Of course, if we want to go back ever farther we can talk about Lou Gehrig’s five seasons with 40-plus home runs for the Yankees, or Jimmie Foxx and his 534 home runs between the Athletics and Red Sox.
Only two first basemen slugged over .500 in 2024.
BK and @jaysonst talk about the decrease in power production from a historically offense-focused position. pic.twitter.com/Hxk7P0F1yU
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) April 14, 2025
If you play first base, you better hit for power. That was a must. But it’s no longer the case. MLB Network’s Brian Kenny and Jayson Stark of The Athletic noted that only two first basemen – Bryce Harper and Vladdy Guerrero – slugged over .500 in 2024. Of course, home runs aren’t the only part of slugging percentage. But none of the top-10 leaders in home runs in 2024 were first basemen.
In fact, Pete Alonso of the Mets had the highest home run total among third basemen with 34, which ranked just 12th in the league. Josh Naylor and Harper were the only other two in the top-20. They finished in 19th and 20th respectively with 31 and 30 home runs.
Stark and Kenny questioned whether the implementation of the designated hitter in the National League played a role. But the only designated hitters in the top 10 – Kyle Schwarber and Marcel Ozuna – were each corner outfielders before switching positions.
Things are looking up a bit early in 2025. Both Wilmer Flores of the Giants and Tyler Soderstrom of the A’s are tied for the league lead with six home runs. But Flores has a career-high of just 23 home runs. So don’t expect that to continue. Soderstrom is former first-round pick in his first full season at the Major League level.
Maybe it was a one-year thing. Alonso is currently raking and he, Soderstrom, Spencer Torkelson (Detroit) and Michael Busch (Chicago) are all slugging over .500 in the early season. Plus, average and slugging are down league-wide. But if we can’t believe in the power-hitting first baseman anymore, what can we believe in?