MLB Record-Setting 1,135 Home Runs Hit in May
A record-setting 1,135 home runs were hit this May, breaking the previous record set in August 2017.
MLB batters needed to hit 25 homers on Friday, the final day of the month, to break the mark. Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a home run in the eighth inning of the Blue Jay's game against the Rockies to set the record with the 1,120th homer in May. Colorado's Trevor Story hit a pair of two-run homers to add to the monthly total.
40 total homers were hit on Friday to set the record at a historic 1,135 home runs on the month, bringing the league total to 2,279 on the year. There was a homer every 25.0 at-bats in May which is the highest monthly rate in MLB history, according to ESPN's Stats & Information.
Three teams hit at least 50 dingers during that span. The Twins tallied 56–just two short of tying the record of 58 homers hit in a month–while the Cubs and Red Sox finished with 51 on the month. Minnesota became just the second team ever to hit 100 home runs in their first 50 games of the season on Friday, May 24 when it hit three home runs against the White Sox to bring their season total to 101.
May marks the first time in league history that three teams have reached that mark in the same month, per to ESPN Stats & Info. Pirates first baseman Josh Bell, Astros infielder Alex Bregman and Reds second baseman Derek Dietrich led hitters with 12 home runs each in the one-month span.
