Edwin Encarnacion ties Mickey Mantle with 16 home runs in one month
By Hayden Kane
Edwin Encarnacion has crossed into a whole different territory. One of the hottest hitters in baseball this month, he has officially reached the history books with the kind of offensive month that people will be talking about for some time.
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He hit his 15th home run of May earlier in Thursday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals. That set a franchise record, no small accomplishment. Later in that same game Encarnacion hit his 16th shot of the month, tying Mickey Mantle for the American League record for home runs in one month.
Having long since locked up player of the month honors and having created joyful celebrations for numerous fantasy baseball owners nationwide, Encarnacion now gets to see his name in the same sentence as Mantle. That is cause to pause, take a moment, and enjoy just how extraordinary his accomplishments have truly been.
Here are some statistics to consider. In May Encarnacion is slugging .743. His OPS is 1.088. On a team that is finding a number of different ways to win games, Encarnacion is the guy who has consistently carried the day on offense.
This is also a study in the zany nature of statistics in baseball. This puts Encarnacion well on pace to hit 40 home runs, or even more. When viewed as a body of work, his home run total might cause some people to scratch their heads. In actuality, it is a number propped up by one heck of a hot streak in the month of May.
Here is the video of his 16th homer of the month, which he also hit off starting pitcher James Shields.