They don’t have a nickname quite as catchy or as historic as the Bronx Bombers, but Major League Baseball’s real sluggers hail from the Midwest. The Minnesota Twins lead baseball in home runs and are bashing their way toward an all-time record. In fact, as of Thursday, they already have one: The Twins have the most road home runs of any team in Major League history.
Jake Cave’s third-inning home run against White Sox starter Dylan Cease was No. 139 away from Target Field for the Twins, giving them the rudest guests in MLB history. Minnesota added two more before the day was out, making the record 141.
And oh yeah, there’s still almost a month to play in the regular season.
The @Twins just broke a major league record for most home runs on the road, getting back-to-back homers in the third inning for 140. | https://t.co/3YIJ26hIac pic.twitter.com/NOM0LnotLZ
— WCCO – CBS Minnesota (@WCCO) August 29, 2019
A lineup full of bashers
Baseballs are flying out of the yard all over the country, of course, with the Twins and Yankees both on pace to smash the record of 267 team home runs (in the next week or so, in fact).
But what the Twins are doing is extra special. They have more home runs on the road than some teams have overall. They also have tied a Major League record with nine players with 15 home runs or more (and a chance for a 10th).
Up and down the lineup, there is no break for pitchers against the Twin Cities’ sluggers.
The @Twins have tied an @MLB record with 9 players with at least 15 home runs in a season. @marwinGF9 just hit #15
Kepler- 35
Cruz- 33
Rosario- 27
Sano- 26
Garver- 23
Cron- 21
Schoop- 19
Polanco- 19
Gonzalez- 15
—————-
Castro- 12#MNTwins— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) August 28, 2019
The great home run race
There’s an individual home run race, of course, with the Angels’ Mike Trout sitting at 43 home runs, ahead of Cody Bellinger and Pete Alonso with 42 each and Christian Yelich with 41.
But the best home run race in September might just be the team competition. The Twins have 261 home runs, just seven behind the record set by last year’s Yankees. This year’s Bronx Bombers are hot on their tail, however, with 250 homers.
Can New York close the gap, even though the Yankees have two fewer games remaining? How far past 300 homers will the Twins blow?
Stay tuned, especially when Minnesota is on the road.
Most home runs in MLB history:
267 — 2018 Yankees
264 — 1997 Mariners
260 — 2019 #MNTwins
260 — 2005 Rangers
257 — 2010 Blue Jays
257 — 1996 OriolesTwins are in third place, with 29 games left. They’re on pace to break the all-time record on September 2 and finish with 320.
— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) August 29, 2019
