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New York Yankees hit 250th HR, join elite group of five teams

By Bobby Mueller

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 21: Luke Voit #45 of the New York Yankees celebrates after hitting a two-run single in the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 21: Luke Voit #45 of the New York Yankees celebrates after hitting a two-run single in the seventh inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

An Aaron Hicks home run put the New York Yankees in elite company as one of just six teams in MLB history with 250 or more homers in a season.

When Aaron Hicks launched his 26th home run of the season off David Hess in the second inning of Saturday’s game, the New York Yankees had their 250th home run in 2018. Two batters later, Luke Voit hit number 251. Hicks’ homer pushed the Yankees past the 2000 Astros, who were tied for sixth on the list for most home runs by a team in a single season. Voit’s homer put the Yankees two behind the 2016 Baltimore Orioles, who hit the fifth-most home runs in MLB history.

Even before this season started, the Yankees were predicted by some to challenge the single-season team home run record. They led baseball in home runs last year and added the MLB home run leader, Giancarlo Stanton, who had a career-high 59 big flies in 2017.

Stanton won’t come close to 59 home runs this year. He’s sitting at 35. Aaron Judge, who hit 52 homers in 2017, has 26 this year. With Stanton and Judge dropping from a combined 111 home runs last year to 61 this year, it’s surprising to see the Yankees challenging for the all-time single-season home run record.

The key has been the sheer number of double-digit home run guys the Yankees have employed this season. Luke Voit recently joined the double-digit homer club, giving the team a record 12 players with 10 or more long balls. Six of these ten have 20 or more home runs. Along with Stanton and Judge, mentioned above, they are Didi Gregorius (27), Aaron Hicks (26), and the two AL Rookie of the Year candidates, Miguel Andujar (25) and Gleyber Torres (23).

The Yankees have eight games left and need 13 home runs to tie the record for most home runs in a season. They’ve averaged 1.63 home runs per game so far. At that pace, they are projected to hit 264 in a 162-game season. This would put them in a tie for first with the 1997 Seattle Mariners. The Yankees finish this season with a three-game series in Boston. They may not have anything to play for as far as the postseason is concerned, but will likely be eyeing the all-time home run record in that final series at Fenway Park.

Let’s look at the other five teams to hit 250 or more home runs in a season.

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