Inside the long list of home run records set in 2019
Pete Alonso gets emotional after making history with his 53rd home run of the season, which tops Aaron Judge’s previous record for a rookie. (1:00)
The MLB single-season record. A slew of team single-season records. The all-time rookie record. And many more. If there was a home run record in the books, there’s a good chance it was rewritten now that the homer-happy 2019 regular season is complete. How amazing was the great power surge we all witnessed this season? Check out this list of home run-related records that fell in 2019 and judge for yourself.
6,776 total home runs
It doesn’t get bigger than this. The 6,776 home runs hit this year are a whopping 671 more than were hit in any previous season, but even that doesn’t do the number justice. To fully understand just how amazing 6,776 is, you have to understand that the previous record of 6,105 set in 2017 was more than 500 more than the previous record, so 2019’s record is more a thousand more than the third-most homers in a single season when 5,693 balls left the yard in 2000. It’s also almost 1,200 more than were hit in 2018 (5,585).
307 home runs by Twins
The 2018 New York Yankees hit 267 home runs, at that point the single-season home run mark. The 2019 Minnesota Twins hit their 267th home run on Aug. 31 and continued crushing long balls to the tune of 307 for the season. The 2019 Yankees joined the Twins in the 300-home run club with 306, and four teams eclipsed the previous MLB record with the Astros belting 288 and the Dodgers blasting 279 without the benefit of the DH.
14 teams set franchise records
But those four teams weren’t the only ones putting up record-setting home run totals. In all, 14 teams set franchise home run marks, meaning just under half of the league will be updating its record book now that the 2019 season is complete.
24 teams with 200-plus home runs
While the Yankees and Twins put the all-time team record into a different stratosphere with their 300-plus home run seasons, 24 teams hit at least 200 homers this year. Before 2019, the most teams to reach 200 in a season was 17 in 2017. Entering this season, there were only six teams that hit 250 home runs in a single season in MLB history, and there had never been multiple teams with 250 homers in a single season. This year, seven teams reached the 250 mark.
305 home runs given up by the Orioles
Hitting 300-plus home runs in a season is impressive, but what about giving up 300 as a pitching staff? Well, that’s exactly what the Baltimore Orioles did this year as they obliterated the record for most gopher balls given up in a season. Though Baltimore’s pitchers were in a league of their own when it came up to serving up long balls, the Rockies, Angels and Mariners all gave up more than the previous record of 258, held by the 2016 Reds entering the season.
53 home runs from one rookie slugger
If you’re looking for one face of the Year of the Home Run, it would be hard to argue with New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso, whose 53 homers were the most ever for a rookie. In between winning the All-Star Home Run Derby in July and setting the rookie mark on the season’s final weekend, Alonso smashed the Mets’ team record when he hit his 42nd home run of the year … on Aug. 27.
273 players with double-digit home runs
Sluggers like Alonso certainly helped, but it was the sheer volume of players going deep that fueled the record numbers of the season. A record 256 players hit double-digit home runs this year and 129 reached the 20-homer mark.
13 home runs, in one game
If you want to tell the story of the Year of the Home Run in one game, look no further than the June 10 contest between the Diamondbacks and Phillies, which featured a major league record 13 home runs.
1,228 in one calendar month
Before 2019, there had been only seven calendar months with 1,000 or more home runs hit. Now there are 13 such months after each full month of the 2019 season saw 1,000 long balls hit. August stands alone at the top of the list as the 1,228 home runs hit in the month are 92 more than were hit in May, which had the second most of the season.
74 home runs in one month … by one team
The Yankees were the biggest contributors to that record-setting August as their 74 home runs smashed the previous record for homers in a month of 58 set by the 1999 Mariners, a number that the Twins (59) also topped in August.
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31 straight games with a home run
August wasn’t the only month in which the Yankees made home run history, as the Bombers set a mark for consecutive games with a home run by going deep in 31 straight from May 26-July 2.
114 five-homer games
Entering the season, the most games in a single season in which five or more home runs were hit was 60 set in 2016. The 2019 season laid waste to that record by July and nearly doubled the record with a grand total of 114 such home run games.
1,937 team multihomer games
The 1,937 team multihomer games this year is easily the most in history, obliterating the previous record of 1,703 set in 2017. But this is another mark that becomes even more amazing when you look one spot deeper in the record books. Before 2017, there had never been more than 1,560 such games in a season — meaning this year’s total is nearly 400 more than third place on the list.