Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion produced his fifth multi-homer game this May in Thursday’s 8-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals, matching the MLB record for most multi-homer games in a calendar month, per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.
The other two players to accomplish the feat—Harmon Killebrew and Albert Belle—were also prolific sluggers of their time. Killebrew, a Hall of Famer who played from 1954 to 1975, sits in 11th place on the all-time home runs list with 573 dingers.
Belle probably won’t ever make it to the Hall, but he was unquestionably one of the most feared sluggers in the 1990s, an era known for power-hitting behemoths. With Belle, Machiavelli’s quote that “it’s better to be feared than to be loved” comes to mind.
As for Encarnacion, the Toronto slugger’s assault on the record books may not be complete. His second long ball Thursday gave him 16 in May, matching Mickey Mantle’s American League record and pulling within one of Barry Bonds’ MLB record, per the Blue Jays’ official website.
Looking to a more notable piece of history, Rudy York set the AL mark for most homers in any calendar month with his 18 round-trippers in August 1937. Sammy Sosa holds the MLB record, having somehow crushed 20 homers in June of his historic 1998 season.
With only two games remaining for the Jays in May, Encarnacion is a long shot to match York, and would need four more homers to tie Sosa. Of course, the way he’s been swinging, would anyone really be surprised if EE hits a few more homers in the last two days of his historic month?
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