TORONTO — The postseason began here on Tuesday with two fitting representatives of baseball in 2016. The Baltimore Orioles led the majors in home runs. The Toronto Blue Jays ranked second in homers among playoff teams. Each team had six players with 20 or more homers.
The Orioles did not set a major league record for homers; their 253 fell 11 homers short of the 1997 Mariners. The majors’ leading home run hitter, Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo, hit 47 — impressive, but nothing approaching a record.
For casual observers, then, this year’s home run explosion might have seemed fairly subtle.