Major League Baseball has seen home run numbers emerge at historic rates over the last couple of seasons, and this season isn’t any different, as the year of the home run continues.
Dating back to the 2017 season, teams across the league set a new standard of hitting home runs with a grand total of 6,105 long balls. 2018 was no slouch either, hitting 5,585 home runs.
MLB currently sits on a pace for another record year of home runs with 6,591. They’re averaging 1.36 home runs per game, whereas the current record set in 2017 averaged 1.26 home runs per game. If this pace holds up they will shatter the old record by 486 more home runs and an increase of nearly eight percent.
There’s three teams that are leading the charge of home runs in this record-breaking season. The Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, and Milwaukee Brewers all find themselves on track to break the all-time record of home runs hit by a single team in one season. The record was set last year when the New York Yankees hit 267 big flys, but that will likely be shattered this season.
The Twins lead the way with being on pace for 317 home runs this season. The craziest thing is that the Twins don’t have a player on their roster with at least 20 home runs. However, they do have seven players who have hit 10 or more long balls, with Eddie Rosario leading the team with 19 home runs.
The Mariners find their squad on pace for 291 home runs. Seattle is led by three-time all-star Edwin Encarnacion who leads the American League with 21 home runs. The Mariners also get major contribution from Daniel Vogelbach and Mitch Haniger who have both hit more than 15 long balls. Their dynamic three-headed monster gives them one of most powerful hitting lineups in baseball and have been the constant forces for the club offensively.
The Brewers are on pace to be third in home runs with 284. They’re led by last year’s National league MVP Christian Yelich, who leads all of baseball with 25 home runs, and Mike Moustakas who ranks fourth in the NL with 21 home runs. Milwaukee doesn’t quite have the depth of home run hitters up and down their lineup like the Twins or Mariners have, but they do have two players who could find themselves in the MVP race down the stretch of this season.
In 2017, over half the teams hit 200 or more home runs, which stands as a record. This season 23 teams are on the verge of hitting 200 or more home runs to complete a new record for the 2019 season.