Over recent seasons there has been a noticeable uptick in home runs across Major League Baseball. The theme has repeated itself in 2019, where hitters continue sending balls over the fence at a rapid pace.
The start of the 2019 season saw a whopping 1,144 home runs mashed in March and April. MLB hitters followed suit with a record-breaking 1,135 home runs in May alone — the most ever hit during a single calendar month.
Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. helped officially set the record with his solo home run against Colorado Rockies left-hander Chris Rusin on Friday at Coors Field.
The previous record for most home runs hit in a single calendar month was achieved in August 2017, when MLB hitters collectively accounted for 1,119 homers. It bested June’s total of 1,101 homer, which stood as the record for a mere two months before being shattered.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who finished the month of May with a superb 19-7 record, combined for 40 home runs during the stretch. Max Muncy and Joc Pederson individually led the team with seven homers each, and both hit one in Friday’s win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger Stadium.
The Minnesota Twins led all of baseball with 56 home runs in May, propelled by first baseman C.J. Cron’s total of eight. The Boston Red Sox (51), Chicago Cubs (51), Houston Astros (47) and Oakland Athletics (45) rounded out the top five.
Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell, Astros third baseman Alex Bregman and Cincinnati Reds utility man Derek Dietrich tied for the MLB-lead with 12 home runs each during games played in May.
Other players that reached double-digits for the month were the Cubs’ Kris Bryant (10), the New York Mets’ Pete Alonso (10) and the Chicago White Sox’s Jose Abreu (10).
Entering play on Saturday — the first day of June — MLB hitters have already accumulated a grand total of 2,279 home runs for the year. At this current pace, a stunning 6,507 home runs will be hit across the sport by the end of the season.
That would set another record, easily surpassing the 2017 single-season mark of 6,105. That year, the Dodgers finished fourth in the National League with 221 home runs en route to their first of back-to-back World Series appearances.
