It might be tomorrow, or it might be today (and after a wild Tuesday of long balls, it's very likely to be today), but very soon, baseball's all-time home run record is going to be broken. Which record is that? It's a fair question, because in 2019, you can't throw a dart at a media guide without hitting a home run record that has fallen or is in jeopardy.
Here's a sampling, and remember, we've still got almost three weeks to go:
• Most home runs in a season, MLB: Record is 6,105, set in 2017. There were 6,084 homers hit through Tuesday's games.
• Most home runs in a season, American League: Record is 3,170, set in 2017. There were 3,119 homers hit in the AL through Tuesday's games.
• Most home runs in a season, National League: Record is 3,005, set in 2000. There were 2,965 homers hit in the NL through Tuesday's games.
• Most home runs in a season, MLB team: new record, set by both the Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees (276 through Tuesday).
• Most home runs in a season, AL team: new record, set by the Twins and Yankees (276 through Tuesday).
• Most home runs in a season, NL team: new record, set by the Los Angeles Dodgers (258 through Tuesday).
• Most road homers in a season, MLB team: new record, set by the Twins (152 through Tuesday).
• Most road homers in a season, AL team: new record, set by the Twins (152 though Tuesday).
• Most homers by NL rookie: Pete Alonso, New York Mets (47 homers through Tuesday).
That's a sampling, really. Alonso still has a shot at the overall rookie record. The Yankees and Dodgers both have a shot at home runs hit at home, both in their respective leagues and overall. Three teams have at least a chance at the NL record for road homers (Cubs, Diamondbacks, Dodgers). It's dizzying, really.
To capture a sense of the sheer scale of the number of home run records being broken in 2019, we thought we'd approach it at the franchise level. The MLB and league records get the headlines, but most teams are breaking franchise records as well. What follows is the most impressive home run record that has been set for each team, along with a number of quests that might or might not be completed by the end of the season. We also listed the single-season record for each team, along with its current pace. As of today, 16 teams are on pace to set a club record for homers in a season.
Some ground rules: We're not getting too fancy in grubbing up records. The record can be team- or player-oriented, but it can't go more than one split deep. In other words, homers by a right-handed hitter, or team homers on the road are fair play. Road homers by right-handed hitters are not. A number of sources were used to compile the list, including Baseball-Reference.com, Baseball-Almanac.com and Lee Sinins' Complete Baseball Encyclopedia.