Jorge Soler crushes home run No. 37, moves closer to Royals record

Move over Steve Balboni. Again.

Two years after Balboni’s single-season home run record was topped by Mike Moustakas, Balboni was passed in the Royals record book on Wednesday afternoon.

Designated hitter Jorge Soler lined a home run to left-center field in the first inning of the Royals’ game against the Oakland A’s at Kauffman Stadium. It was his 37th home run of the season, the most by a right-handed hitter in Royals history. Balboni hit 36 in 1985.

Soler is one behind former third baseman Moustakas’ single-season Royals record of 38, which was set in 2017.

The only question about Soler’s home run Thursday was whether it would be high enough:

Soler turned on a cutter from A’s starter Chris Bassitt and the ball traveled 391 feet. It had an exit velocity of 112 mph and the hang time was 3.7 seconds.

This story was originally published August 29, 2019 at 1:11 PM.