The Year of the Home Run now has seen several individuals set franchise record, the league as a whole set a record and at least (at least) two clubs break the previous single-season team record.
On the team level, seasonal records are falling and more are on the way. Eight teams have already set new single-season franchise records and that number could double before the final homer of the regular season is smashed. So which clubs are having their most homer-heavy seasons ever? Let's go through team by team and take a look.
Home run records by team
| 1 |  |
| The Twins enter Tuesday leading the majors with 287 home runs and that's an MLB record. Their previous high was 225 (1963). This thing has been shattered. | |
| 2 |  |
| The Yankees set the all-time, single-season team home run record in 2018 with 267 (their previous high was 245 in 2012). This season they are at 286, second in history only to the Twins. | |
| 3 |  |
| The 2000 Astros hit 249 homers and that stood as the franchise record until this season. The Astros enter Tuesday with 262, so they, too, are set to go over the previous MLB record. | |
| 4 |  |
| Before 2017, the Dodgers had never hit more than 211 home runs (2000). Now, for the third straight season, they've set a franchise record, going 221 in 2017, 235 in 2018 and 261 and counting this year. | |
| 5 |  |
| The 1996 A's hit 243 homers and that stood as the record until this season. These A's are at 245 and counting. And we're five for five. It'll keep going, too. Watch ... | |
| 6 |  |
| The 2004 Cubs with Sammy Sosa, Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Moises Alou hit 235 homers. That was the record until this past weekend. The Cubs have stormed by the figure and now sit at 243. | |
| 7 |  |
| The Braves now sit tied with their 2003 club at 235 home runs. This one will go down soon, likely Tuesday, making seven new club records (and counting ... ). | |
| 8 |  |
| The 2007 Brewers had their club record with 231 home runs, but that is another team record that has fallen. The Brew Crew currently has 233 longballs. | |
| 9 |  |
| Finally, we find a team that won't set a new club record. The 1997 Mariners with Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez -- in addition to A-Rod, Jay Buhner and Paul Sorrento -- hit 264 home runs. It was the MLB record until last season. This year's Mariners have hit 230, good for only fifth in club history. They can get to second (245 in 1996), but I think first is out of reach. | |
| 10 |  |
| The Red Sox haven't yet set a record, but they likely will. Their 2003 club with Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Nomar Garciaparra, Kevin Millar, Trot Nixon and Jason Varitek hit 238 homers. This season, the Red Sox have 228. We're up to nine that are likely to fall. | |
| 11 |  |
| This one might be safe. The 2010 Blue Jays with Jose Bautista, Vernon Wells, Adam Lind and Aaron Hill got to 257, one of the highest ever totals until last year. This year, the Jays have 223, good for fourth in club history. Can they hit 34 in a week and a half? Even in 2019, that's very unlikely. | |
| 12 |  |
| Pete Alonso has already set the individual club record and the team is going to make its own history. The 2017 Mets hold the club record at 224 and this year's iteration is just four away at 220. | |
| 13 |  |
| Eugenio Suarez eyes the club record and his team is gonna break its record, too. The 2005 Reds with Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr. clubbed 222. The 2019 Reds are fifth in franchise history, but it's all bunched up. They are only six away at 216. Yet another club record is going down. | |
| 14 |  |
| Another one bites the dust. The Nationals' club record was set in 2017 at 215. They currently have 214. | |
| 15 |  |
| Notably with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the injured list for the rest of the season, the Angels' record is safe. The 2000 Angels with Troy Glaus, Garret Anderson, Tim Salmon and Mo Vaughn hit 236. This season's version currently sits with 211. If at full strength, I think there would be a chance, but this ragtag bunch isn't gonna do it. | |
| 16 |  |
| They'll probably get it. The 2017 D-Backs clubbed 220 for the franchise record. This season, the Snakes have 209. Eleven homers in 11 games? They are averaging well more than one per game. | |
| 17 |  |
| The Padres' previous record was 189, set in 2017. The Padres already have 209 this year. They've smoked it. | |
| 18 |  |
| The 2000 Indians with Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and company hold the club record with 221. So far this season, the Indians have 208. This will be close. | |
| 19 |  |
| This one is very safe. The 2005 Rangers with Mark Teixeira, Alfonso Soriano, Hank Blalock and David Dellucci clubbed 260. Before last year, that was one of the most prolific homer teams ever. This season, the Rangers have "only" hit 205. | |
| 20 |  |
| Another safe one. The 1997 pre-humidor Rockies that featured Larry Walker, Vinny Castilla, Andres Galarraga and Ellis Burks crushed 239. The Rockies this season have hit 201. | |
| 21 |  |
| This one feels unlikely. The 2017 Rays hit 228 homers. This year, the Rays have 199. | |
| 22 |  |
| Another safe one, I think. The 2009 pennant-winning Phillies with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez hit 224. The 2019 Phils have 196. | |
| 23 |  |
| Unsurprisingly, this one is extremely safe. The 1996 Orioles with Brady Anderson, Rafael Palmeiro, Cal Ripken and Bobby Bonilla hit 257. Again, that was one of the best all-time home run hitting teams until very recently. This year, the woeful Orioles have 191. | |
| 24 |  |
| Another safe one. This year's Cardinals are the rare contender that hasn't been overly reliant on homers. They have 190, which so far ranks 10th in history for the storied franchise. The record is 235, pulled off in 2000 by the likes of Mark McGwire (32 in only 89 games), Jim Edmonds and Ray Lankford. | |
| 25 |  |
| I'm guessing we're done seeing records. The White Sox this year have 164 homers and that ranks 21st in franchise history, even falling behind some White Sox teams from low-homer eras. The record is 242, which happened in 2004, thanks in part to Paul Konerko, Jose Valentin, Carlos Lee, Aaron Rowand and Juan Uribe. | |
| 26 |  |
| Actually, I might have been wrong. The Pirates have a really low record. In 1999, thanks to the likes of Brian Giles, Kevin Young, Al Martin and Ed Sprague, the Pirates set a franchise record at 171 (they were 10th in the NL in homers that year, hilariously). This season, they have 159. Do they have 12 left in them in 12 games? | |
| 27 |  |
| No chance. The 2001 Barry Bonds (73), Rich Aurilla and Jeff Kent Giants hit 235 bombs. So far this year, the Giants have just 158 homers. | |
| 28 |  |
| Jorge Soler has set a club record and is likely to be the first Royals player to ever lead the league in homers. He's not getting a ton of help, though. The Royals have 156 homers. Two years ago, behind Mike Moustakas' then club record, the Royals hit 193 for the team record. | |
| 29 |  |
| Here we have the longest-standing club record and it's not in any bit of danger. The 1987 Tigers with Darrell Evans, Matt Nokes, Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson hit 225 homers to lead the league. The Tigers this season have just 140, ranking 53rd in club history. | |
| 30 |  |
| We knew this was safe before I looked it up, right? The lowly Marlins have just 129 home runs this season. Their club record is 208, which was set in 2008 by the likes of Mike Jacobs, Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez, Jorge Cantu and Cody Ross. | |
Some league wide stats...
- Teams that have already set a new record: 8
- Teams tied with club record: 1
- Teams likely to set new record: 6 (including the tie)
- Too close to call: 2
- Teams unlikely to set new record: 14
If the Indians and Pirates get the job done, we're going to see 16 teams hit more home runs in a season than the franchise had ever previously done.
That's astounding and remarkable and just about any other superlative you want to use. The people who think there are too many home runs have a lot of legs to stand on with this season.
