On April 13, 2019, a Triple-A game between the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) and Rochester Red Wings (Twins) featured 38 runs and 43 hits, including 15 home runs. The IronPigs eked out the 20-18 win in 10 innings.
We wrote about the memorable game at the time last year, but we have learned in the time since a lot about the baseballs that were being used. Triple-A began using Major League baseballs, which were “juiced” due to a change in manufacturing standards. That is likely why we ended up seeing 15 home runs on that Saturday afternoon in Rochester last year.
On the IronPigs’ side, Jan Hernandez, Dylan Cozens, Andrew Romine, and Sean Rodríguez each hit a pair of dingers while Mitch Walding added one of his own. For the Red Wings, Zander Wiel went deep twice while Wilin Rosario, Brent Rooker, Ronald Torreyes, and Wynston Sawyer had one round-tripper apiece.
Two major league games came close, as the Diamondbacks and Phillies combined to hit 13 home runs. The D-Backs had eight of those. Unsurprisingly, the league’s single-season home run record was shattered as 6,776 long balls were hit last year. That surpassed the 6,105 hit in 2017. The 5,693 homers hit in 2000 moved to No. 3 on the list.
