Home run history was made Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park.
In the fourth inning Saturday (NYY 8, BOS 5), rookie infielder Gleyber Torres swatted a two-run home run against Eduardo Rodriguez, giving the Yankees a whopping 265 home runs on the season. That is the most home runs in a single season in MLB history. Giancarlo Stanton added the team's 266th homer a little later for good measure.
Here's video of the milestone blast:
Torres' home run broke a tie with the 1997 Mariners, who clubbed a then-record 264 home runs. That 1997 Mariners team was loaded. Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. hit 56 home runs, should-be Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez hit 28 home runs, and possible future Hall of Famer Alex Rodriguez hit 23 home runs. Jay Buhner and Paul Sorrento chipped in 40 and 31 homers, respectively.
Here are the five highest single-season home run totals in baseball history:
- 2018 Yankees: 266 (and counting)
- 1997 Mariners: 264
- 2005 Rangers: 260
- 2010 Blue Jays: 257
- 1996 Orioles: 257
The Yankees set the single-season home run record despite not having a player having a true a monster season. Stanton leads the club with 38 home runs. No one else has more than 27. Furthermore, the Yankees were without Aaron Judge for nearly two months with a wrist fracture and Gary Sanchez for more than two months with groin injuries. They would've set the single-season home run record weeks ago had those two been healthy.
Rather than have a few big time home run hitters, the 2018 Yankees have power up and down their lineup. In fact, earlier this month they became the first team in MLB history to have 12 players hit at least 10 home runs. And, with the Torres home run Saturday, they also became the first team in history to receive 20-plus home runs from all nine lineup spots. The homer totals by lineup spot:
- 27
- 39
- 27
- 44
- 34
- 26
- 23
- 26
- 20 (Torres hit No. 20 on Saturday)
The Yankees fell off the record pace for a bit a few weeks ago while Judge and Sanchez were injured, though they've surged in September, and went into Saturday's game having hit 30 home runs in their previous 14 games. They hit four home runs Friday night to tie the 1997 Mariners.
The 2018 regular season ends Sunday, so the Yankees have one more game to pad their record home run total. That said, they've already clinched everything they can clinch with regards to the postseason, so they may sit a few of their regulars in the season finale.
