On this first day of May, we’re celebrating greatness. Specifically, greatness in May.

We didn’t have to look far since May was the month last season when it became clear the Twins were special. They won 21 of 29 games and opened up a 10 1/2-game lead in the American League Central.

How they did it was something to see. That would be home runs, bunches of them, 56 in all, the third-most in history for the month of May, trailing only the 1999 Mariners and ’87 Orioles (58 each), according to research by MLB.com's David Adler.

May has seen some spectacular individual achievements, like both Roy Halladay (2010) and Randy Johnson (2004) pitching perfect games.

Anyway, here’s greatness in May in three categories: team, hitter, pitcher:

TEAM

The pick: 1939 Yankees
Key stats: 24-4, .857 winning percentage

That this is the best May winning percentage in history will come as no surprise except for two things: The Yankees had neither Lou Gehrig nor Joe DiMaggio. Gehrig played the final game of his career on April 30 of that season. DiMaggio, who in 1939 won the first of three AL MVP Awards, was injured and limited to two pinch-hit appearances all month.

• MLB Quiz of the Day: Gehrig plays his final game

But George Selkirk, who had replaced Babe Ruth in the Yankees' lineup in 1935, batted .348 with eight homers and a 1.294 OPS on his way to the second of his two All-Star appearances. Catcher Bill Dickey, a future Hall of Famer, batted .340 as the Yankees ran up a +108 run differential and ripped off a 12-game winning streak from May 9-23. The Yankees outscored opponents by an average 3.9 runs a game that month. They scored 213 runs, the third-most ever in May.

Runner-up: 2018 Nationals
Key stats: 20-7, .741 winning percentage

It’s not quite as easy to dominate today as it was back in the 1930s in the era before free agency and globalization, so let’s tout a more recent squad.

The Nationals allowed just 71 runs the entire month. Their 2.48 team ERA was the lowest in May since the 2007 Padres. In 16 starts, Max Scherzer, Gio González and Jeremy Hellickson allowed 19 earned runs combined. The Nationals had the back of the bullpen locked down, as well, with Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson giving up two earned runs combined in 19 appearances. That was also the month 19-year-old Juan Soto burst onto the scene by hitting .342 in his first 12 Major League games.

HITTER

The pick: Todd Helton, 2000 Rockies
Key stats: .512 BA, .588 OBP, 11 HRs, 7 doubles

Todd Helton's batting average is the highest ever in May. So is his 1.588 OPS. Yes, Helton hit .564 at home that month, and he’d be the first to tell you Coors Field is a great place to hit. But the first baseman hit .407 on the road in May 2000 on his way to leading the National League in batting (.372), total bases (405), doubles (59) and a string of other categories.

Runner-up: Frank Thomas, 1994 White Sox
Key stats: .452 BA, .593 OBP, 39 runs

Frank Thomas, the 1993 AL MVP, began his quest to go back to back with a huge May. The first baseman's .593 OBP is a May record, and his 1.581 OPS is the third-highest in history, behind only Helton and Barry Bonds. (Let’s pause for a moment to celebrate Bonds’ 17 homers in May 2001 on his way to setting the single-season home run record.

Thomas hit 12 homers in 25 games, but two other numbers speak to his greatness: 31 walks, 11 strikeouts. His .419 career OBP is the 20th-highest of all-time, and he was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2014.

PITCHER

The pick: Clayton Kershaw, 2016 Dodgers
Key stats: 5-0, 0.91 ERA

Clayton Kershaw had won the NL Cy Young Award three times in the previous five seasons and led the NL in ERA and WHIP four times. But even by his own ridiculously high standards, May 2016 was a historically good month. The left-hander was unbeaten in six starts and threw three complete-game shutouts, tying for the most May shutouts since the mound was lowered in 1969. He had 65 strikeouts and two walks in 49 2/3 innings. And the .354 OPS by opposing hitters is the lowest ever in May for a starting pitcher.

Runner-up: Nolan Ryan, 1984 Astros
Key stats: 5-0, 0.20 ERA

Nolan Ryan’s ERA from May 1984 is the lowest ever for a starting pitcher in May and in the top five for any month. The right-hander also had three complete games, two shutouts and a .459 OPS against. Yes, the Astrodome in the mid-1980s was pretty much the optimal pitching environment, but the final four games of the month were classic Ryan, as he operated with little run support and won by scores of 3-1, 1-0, 3-2 and 2-0.