MLB Sets Record for Most Home Runs in a Single Season with 5,694

Kansas City Royals outfielder Alex Gordon made history when he went yard in the top of the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.

Gordon hit the 5,694th home run of the 2017 season, which is the highest number of homers across a single season in MLB history, per David Adler of MLB.com. 

MLB shared a replay of the record-setting blast:

The previous mark had been set in 2000, when MLB hitters combined to hit 5,693 home runs, according to FanGraphs. This is also the second season in a row the league has registered 5,600-plus homers after 2016 reached 5,610.

Many have wondered what has led to the offensive explosion from the past two years.

Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer wrote how knowledge about launch angles has led some batters to adopt swings that naturally lead to more home runs. The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh and FiveThirtyEight's Rob Arthur made the case that MLB is juicing the baseballs—something the league has continuously denied.

Judging by how the home run totals have spiked in 2016 and 2017, fans should expect more of the same in 2018, and the homer record may be under threat once again.