Texas outfielder Josh Hamilton wrapped up an amazing week Saturday, May 12, 2012.
The Rangers' slugger bashed four home runs in a game on Tuesday, May 8, 2012. He finished with home runs in five of the six games he played during week and totaled nine long balls in six games -- one off the all-time total for one week. Frank Howard of the Washington Senators hit 10 in a week between May 12 and May 18, 1968.
Hamilton is batting .402 with 18 home runs and has knocked in 41 runs through action Saturday.
He should make a run at being the first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski achieved the feat for the Boston Red Sox during the "Impossible Dream" 1967 season.
At this pace Hamilton is projected to hit .402 with 86 home runs and 195 RBIs. While those will likely come down as the season goes on, and the possibility remains that opposing teams may stop pitching to him, the slugger has a chance at some pretty lofty home runs marks as the month and the season continues.
Here's a look at a few of the records Hamilton could break this season:
Most home runs in a month: Major League Record
The record was set by Sammy Sosa, who hit 20 with the Chicago Cubs in June 1998, the year he finished with 66 home runs.
Most home runs in a month: American League Record
The American League record for home runs in a month has been established since 1937 when Rudy York of the Detroit Tigers slugged 18 in August. York finished with 35 homers on the season.
Most home runs in a month by a left handed batter: Major League and American Records
The record for a left handed hitter in a month is held by Babe Ruth (American League record holder) and Barry Bonds (National League record holder) with 17 apiece.
Ruth hit 17 during September for the New York Yankees during the 1927 season. The Bambino finished with 60 home runs that year, eclipsing his own mark for most home runs in a season.
Bonds finished with 17 during May of the 2001 season, tying Ruth's mark for left-handed home runs during a month en route to a record 73 home run year for the San Francisco Giants.
Most home runs in May: Major League Record
Bonds' 17 in 2001 stands as the record for May and the left handed record for the month.
Most home runs in May: American League Record
The American League record for home runs in May was set by Mickey Mantle, who hit 16 of them for the Yankees during the 1956 season. Mantle hit 52 home runs and earned the Triple Crown that season.
With nine home runs in 13 games this month, and 17 more games before the calendar changes to June, Hamilton has a chance to make a run at all of theses records. He's already more than halfway to the records set by Mantle, Bonds, Ruth and and exactly halfway to the mark set by York.
Most home runs by the All-Star Game: Major League Record
Bonds set the mark with a whopping 39 home runs by the 2001 All-Star Game on his way to a record 73 homers.
Most home runs by the All-Star Game: American League Record
Reggie Jackson set the American League records for home runs by the All-Star Game when he hit 37 out of the park for the Oakland A's during the 1968 season. Jackson hit only 10 more the rest of the year, finishing with 47 home runs in 152 games.
With 18 home runs in just 34 games, and two months to go until the Mid-Summer Classic in Kansas City, Mo., Hamilton is on pace to top both records.
Most home runs in a season: Major League Record
This is the big one. Held for decades by Ruth (60 home runs in 1927) and Roger Maris (61 in 1961). The mark was eclipsed in 1998 by Mark McGwire with 70 home runs, then topped in 2001 by Bonds.
Most home runs in a season: American League Record
The mark set by Maris in 1961 still stands as the American League record, as Bonds, McGwire and Sosa all played in the National League when they hit more than 61 home runs in a season.
Even if Hamilton slows down a bit, or a lot, he could be on the hunt for the all-ti,e mark in late September. If he keeps up his torrid pace, he may sail past 73 home runs by August and 61 weeks earlier.
Related Articles:
Hamiton's Four Home Run Game Puts Him With Hall of Fame Company. A Fan's Look
Boston Red Sox's Top Home Run Hitters
Ten Most Memorable World Series Home Runs
Dodgers' Kemp Makes Run at Exclusive Triple Crown Club
Sources:
Richard Durrett, "Josh Hamilton Still Using Four-HR Bat," ESPN Dallas
Josh Hamilton's statistics, ESPN
Thirty-Plus HRs at Break, Major League Baseball
Home Run Records in Any Month, Baseball Almanac
Triple Crown Winners, Baseball Almanac
Jeff DeLuca has been a baseball fan since he attended his first game at Fenway Park in 1983. He has been a sports writer for 15 years.
