Each month, the ESPN Stats & Information Group Home Run Tracker team takes a look at the most notable long-ball accomplishments in the major leagues.
Here's our take on the best of May.
Longest home run of the month: Giancarlo Stanton
Giancarlo Stanton hit nine home runs in May, including the four longest of the month. His 475-foot homer off Alex Wood at Marlins Park on May 16 is the second-longest this season, behind Alex Rodriguez’s 477-foot blast against the Rays on April 17.
Stanton’s nine home runs in May averaged 430 feet, best for any major league player with at least five home runs. Closest to Stanton was Lucas Duda, who averaged 427 feet on his May home runs.
On May 15 and May 16, Stanton hit the second- and third-longest homers in the history of Marlins Park. The only one longer is his 484-foot blast from April 4, 2014.
There were seven home runs of at least 460 feet in May, including four by Stanton. Since the start of last season, Stanton has nine such home runs, six more than any team (the Blue Jays have three in that time).
Home run hitter of the month: Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper matched his home run total from all of 2014 with a major league-high 13 in May, including three on May 6 against the Marlins at Nationals Park. It was the first three-home run game for the Nationals since Ryan Zimmerman against the Orioles on May 29, 2013. Harper’s 441-foot home run against Tom Koehler is the longest at Nationals Park this season.
Harper (22 years old) is the youngest player to hit three home runs in a game since Joe Lahoud did it for the Red Sox on June 11, 1969. Harper’s 13 home runs are the most in one month in Nationals history.
Shortest home run of the month: Allen Craig
Allen Craig’s 326-foot home run off CC Sabathia on May 1 at Fenway Park was the shortest homer of the month. It was the shortest of Craig’s career. The shortest home run of the season also was hit at Fenway Park (Caleb Joseph, 317 in April).
Prince Fielder and Lucas Duda crushing homers
Prince Fielder and Duda were the only two players in the majors to hit six home runs of 425 or more feet in May. Stanton and Paul Goldschmidt had five each.
Fielder’s nine home runs in May were second to Harper’s 13. In May, Fielder hit the longest home runs at Globe Life Park in Arlington (449 feet) and Progressive Field (446 feet). He is one of three players to hit the longest home runs in two stadiums this season (Stanton and Mike Trout).
Duda hit a 446-foot home run off Jaime Garcia at Citi Field on May 21, 2015, the longest home run at Citi Field by a Mets player since Marlon Byrd hit one 453 feet on June 16, 2013. Duda’s six home runs of 425 or more feet are the most by a Mets player since Duda hit eight in May of 2014.
Other notable figures from May
Highest peak: J.D. Martinez’s 349-foot home run on May 15 against the Cardinals had an apex of 154 feet. It was the highest apex on a home run since Miguel Cabrera hit one with a 161-foot apex Sept. 22, 2012.
Fastest speed off bat: Jose Bautista’s 445-foot home run on May 18 against the Angels had a speed off bat of 117.2 mph. It was the fastest speed off the bat for Bautista since May 16, 2012, when he homered against Hiroki Kuroda (117.5 mph).
Ryan Braun’s 465-foot home run off Tim Lincecum on May 25 was Braun’s second-longest at Miller Park (he hit a 476-footer on Sept. 24, 2007) and his longest anywhere since May 8, 2010, when he hit a 474-foot home run at Chase Field.
Noah Synergaard’s 430-foot home run off Sean O’Sullivan was the longest by a pitcher since Carlos Zambrano’s 431-foot shot off Joe Blanton on June 3, 2012.