Whether it’s juiced baseballs or an increase in launch angles or hitters taking more of an all-or-nothing approach at the plate, players are hitting home runs and striking out at a record pace this season.
The 1,101 homers hit in June were the most in any calendar month in major league history and 32 more than the previous high of 1,069 homers hit in May 2000, the peak of baseball’s so-called steroid era. The 1,060 homers hit this May are the third-most in any month.
Of the 25,382 hits this season through Saturday’s games, 3,657 of them, or 14.