Baseball fans know the old Ted Williams quote: “The hardest thing to do in sports is to hit a round baseball with a round bat, squarely.”
Yes, it’s arguably the hardest sport on earth. But, to me, the charm of America’s pastime is that its players come in all shapes and sizes.
Seriously, in what other sport can you watch a 5’6″ first-round draft pick face off against a 6’9″ 285-pound pitcher?
In the spirit of the diversity of ballplayer body types, let’s dive into the data on the largest men to play at the sport’s highest level.
Here are the heaviest MLB players ever – sourced from MLB.com, Retrosheet, Baseball Reference, and more historical databases.
As a tiebreaker, poundages are sorted by the player’s highest recorded weight.
Heaviest Players in MLB History
Walter Young, 1B – 322 Pounds
At 6’5″ and 322 pounds, Walter Young is the heaviest recorded player in MLB history.
Growing up in a small Mississippi town of less than 2,000 people, the powerful first baseman received a football scholarship offer from LSU, where he was projected to play defensive end.
But after the Pirates chose him in the 31st round of the 1999 MLB Draft, Young decided to forgo the college offer to sign a pro baseball contract.
“I’ve always loved baseball,” he said, “everything about it.”
He showed impressive power at every level of the minor leagues, but his weight became an issue. After the Pirates released him in 2004, he latched on with the Orioles organization and smashed 33 homers in Double-A.
All told, Walter Young played 14 total MLB games, slashing .303/.378/.424 with 10 hits and 1 home run.
He played one more minor league season split between the Padres and Astros organizations before a three-year stretch in indy ball. By 29-years-old, he was out of pro baseball.
After baseball, Young worked as a shift sergeant at a Mississippi county jail. Unfortunately, he passed away of a heart attack at 35-years-old.
“Loved ones remember him as a team player, who loved law enforcement and was willing to do anything possible to keep students and faculty safe.”
Jumbo Díaz, RHP – 315 Pounds
The 6’4″ 315-pound relief pitcher’s nickname is self explanatory.
Signed as a 17-year-old prospect by the Dodgers in 2001, Jumbo Díaz spent 12 years climbing through the ranks of the minors with 5 different organizations.
He battled weight issues his entire career. At the end of the 2013 MiLB season, he weighed 347 pounds.
Realizing the clock was ticking, he put in serious work to slim down.
By the time spring training rolled around in 2014, he’d lost nearly 70 pounds.
“When I got here and everybody saw me, they said ‘where is Jumbo?'” he told MLB.com.
“I said ‘I left Jumbo in the Dominican.’ I’m New Jumbo right now. I feel really good.”
The hard work paid off – Díaz made his major league debut on June 20th, 2014. Overall, he played four MLB seasons, striking out 172 batters in 168 innings.
After electing free agency in 2018, Jumbo pitched in the Mexican League and represented the Dominican Republic in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Jumbo Brown, RHP – 295 Pounds
Before there was Jumbo Díaz, there was Jumbo Brown.
Born in 1907, Brown made his MLB debut at 18-years-old for the Chicago Cubs.
He wasn’t always so large. In fact, it wasn’t until after he got his tonsils removed that he gained all the weight – 68 pounds after the operation.
Despite working out for 5 hours a day at the YMCA, he still couldn’t shed it.
According to SABR, journalists referred to the colossal righty as “Walter the Whale,” “Big Brownie,” and “Big Bertha.”
In a 12-year MLB career that spanned more than 597 innings on the mound, Jumbo Brown was a two-time World Series champion – including the ’32 Yankees where he witnessed teammate Babe Ruth call his shot.
When asked if the tale was true, Brown said: “Absolutely. I was there. I watched him do it.”
Kyle Blanks, OF/1B – 285 Pounds
Kyle Blanks is the first “big guy” I remember watching.
The 6’6″ 285-pound slugger was born in Souderton, Pennsylvania, but was raised out west. He played ball at Yavapai College, a JUCO in Arizona with a storied history of producing MLB players.
Selected in the 42nd round (1,241st overall) of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Padres, Blanks hammered minor league pitching for the better part of five seasons.
After being named the Padres’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2008, he got the call to the big leagues in ’09.
Over seven years in the majors, Blanks never played a full MLB season. Unfortunately, he couldn’t beat the injury bug, overcoming plantar fasciitis, elbow surgery, labrum surgery, and more throughout his career.
Altogether, he clubbed 33 home runs with a .241 batting average at the MLB level.
Jonathan Broxton, RHP – 285 Pounds
There must be something in the water down in Georgia, because that state has produced some large athletes. Jonathan Broxton was no exception.
As a high schooler, he stood 6’4″ and weighed 250 pounds.
“I remember there were 75 scouts at the first game I pitched my senior year,” Broxton said. “But it didn’t make me nervous.”
By the time he reached the majors, Broxton weighed 285 pounds and served as the Dodgers’ intimidating shut-down closer.
In his 13-year MLB career, Jonathan Broxton tallied 118 saves and struck out 758 batters through 676 innings.
More heavy players in MLB history:
- Jeff Niemann, RHP – 285 Pounds
- Calvin Pickering, DH/1B – 283 Pounds
- Max Castillo, RHP – 280 Pounds
- Luis Jiménez, DH – 280 Pounds
- José Ceda, RHP – 280 Pounds
- Chris Britton, RHP – 278 Pounds
- AJ Reed, DH/1B – 275 Pounds
- Franmil Reyes, DH/1B – 275 Pounds
Heaviest Active MLB Players
Félix Bautista, RHP – 285 Pounds
At 6’8″ and 285 pounds, right-handed closer Félix Bautista is the heaviest active MLB player.
While he technically is tied with the next player for listed weight, Bautista is taller and thus the largest player in Major League Baseball.
“Around 12 years old I started leaving everyone else behind,” Bautista said about his growth spurt through the Orioles’ team translator, Brandon Quinones.
“A whole group of us went to school together. But I just kept growing.”
Nicknamed “The Mountain”, the Dominican right-hander originally signed with the Marlins as a 17-year-old international prospect. But he hit a bump in the road a few years later.
After posting a 12.41 ERA in rookie ball, he was released and didn’t play professionally for the entire year of 2015.
Luckily, the Baltimore Orioles took a chance on him in 2016. He rose slowly through the low-level minors before hitting his stride in 2021 – where he lept from High-A to Triple-A in a single season.
These days, the giant closer is known for a 103 MPH fastball and a devastating arsenal of pitches that generated a 44.3% whiff rate in 2023.
Alek Manoah, RHP – 285 Pounds
After a heck of a high school career, Alek Manoah signed to play college ball at West Virginia.
His production at WVU earned him Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and press coverage from the likes of Baseball America.
The Toronto Blue Jays took him 11th overall in 2019, and he was an MLB All-Star by 2022. But his career took a turn the following year.
Battling issues with his weight, Manoah’s ERA went from a pristine 2.24 to a bloated 5.87. Toronto sent him back to the minors, where he’s since attempted to turn things around.
“My wife is an accredited nutritionist and she’s been helping me a lot and my brother with his gym (in Miami) is pushing me hard,” Manoah told the Toronto Sun in February of 2024.
“The off-season we had with the attention to detail on everything — throwing, stretching, nutrition, hydration.”
Rowdy Tellez, 1B/DH – 283 Pounds
At 6’4″ and 283 pounds, Rowdy Tellez is the heaviest first baseman in Major League Baseball.
Though his real name is Ryan John Tellez, his real parents dubbed him “Rowdy” because he was “so active in [the womb], moving around all of the time.”
The left-handed slugger was 230 pounds as a 17-year-old and packed on size as he rose through the ranks of pro baseball.
In the big leagues, he’s put that size to good use. Over five straight seasons, Tellez posted an average exit velocity in the top 6% of all MLB hitters.
Aaron Judge, OF – 282 Pounds
At 6’7″ and 282 pounds, Aaron Judge is the heaviest outfielder in baseball.
The towering Yankees superstar was originally drafted by the Oakland A’s in 2010 but opted to play college ball at Fresno State instead.
After three all-conference seasons for the Bulldogs, the Yankees took him 32nd overall in the 2013 MLB Draft.
He debuted in the big leagues in 2016 and quickly made a name for himself as one of the game’s premier power hitters.
And who can forget the iconic comparison of him next to Jose Altuve?
More of the heaviest active MLB players:
- Carlos Estévez, RHP – 277 Pounds
- Joe Jimenez, RHP – 277 Pounds
- Miguel Sanó, 3B/1B/DH – 272 Pounds
- Bryse Wilson, RHP – 272 Pounds
- Lance Lynn, RHP – 270 Pounds
- Daniel Vogelbach, 1B/DH – 270 Pounds
- Ronel Blanco, RHP – 270 Pounds
- Thyago Vieira, RHP – 265 Pounds
- Brusdar Graterol, RHP – 265 Pounds
- Alejandro Kirk, C/DH – 265 Pounds
- Hunter Gaddis, RHP – 260 Pounds
- Bailey Ober, RHP – 260 Pounds
- Jose Abreu, 1B – 255 Pounds
- Lucas Giolito, RHP – 245 Pounds
FAQs
That would be Big John McSherry, who at 6’3″ topped out at 351 pounds. He umpired in the National League from 1971 until his passing in 1996.
Sources are conflicted on this one, but according to historical data from Retrosheet, that would be 255-pound Frank Howard – the former MLB All-Star who managed the Padres and Mets in the early ’80s.
At 230 pounds, Brandon Drury is the heaviest current middle infielder. He plays all over the field – second, third, first, outfield, and even some shortstop.
Not at all. Throughout baseball history, we’ve seen heavy players who’ve struggled and smaller players who’ve dominated. And it’s been the other way around in many cases, too.
Yes. Out of all MLB players ever listed above 250 pounds, the majority have played within the past two decades.
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The Heaviest NFL Players in Football History
