His blasts were more like laser beams. (Courtesy the National Baseball Hall of Fame) The longest home run ever hit. He finished his career with 256 homers and 994 RBIs while playing in 1,946 games over 16 seasons. Comments to: jdoyle@pophistorydig.com. It may not have been the only home run ever to leave Jacobs Field, but it was memorable. "He is an icon and mentor to three generations of customers from all corners of Oklahoma and surrounding states . Mickey Mantle was a much loved baseball player, typically humble about his hitting abilities and notthe boastful type when it came to claiming records or distance. As a result, no assortment of baseball's longest blasts can be considered 100 percent credible. Teammate Frank Howard said, Youll never see five balls hit like that in a lifetime. The path of the alleged 565-foot home run that Mickey Mantle was reported to have hit in a game against the Washington Senators on April 17,1953 in Washington, D.C.s former Griffith Stadium. After retiring, Mantle signs a minor league contract with the New York Mets but was released after appearing in only three games due to knee problems again. While I don't doubt his greatness, he most likely could not have hit a ball that far in the air. David Halberstam, October 1964, Villard Books, New York, 1994, 380pp. The angle of incoming pitch will effect our ability to optimize both exit speed and launch angle. The barrel his tipped forward, this mechanic can be seen by the top. One of the most exciting home runs I witnessed in Royals Stadium came in a late-season September game in 1977. The best of those bombs occurred June 26, when he smacked one off Shea Stadium's scoreboard. Whether because of overinflated estimations or technical questions of eligibility for a list of MLB home runs, these notable exceptions missed the cut: Joey Meyer, a minor league first baseman for theDenver Zephyrs, hit a long ball onJune 3, 1987, which reportedly went a staggering 582 feet. One big advantage of being a slugger for the Colorado Rockies are the friendly confines and thin air of Coors Field. Whats most impressive about the moon shot is that McGwire hit it off of Mariners ace Randy Johnson, who would go on to win 20 games that year and nearly capture his second Cy Young. HistorianWilliam J. Jenkinson reported the home run's distance at 502 feetthe longest estimate from IBM's measuring system from 1982 to 1996in a study published by Baseball Almanac. He made the majors the next season but lasted just 156 games with the Milwaukee Brewers. The barrel his tipped forward, this mechanic can be seen by the top home run hitters of all time. Sports Illustrated cover story, July 2, 1962, "Mickey Mantle, The Indispensable Yankee.". Fans of an earlier generation remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when Bobby Thompson beat the Brooklyn Dodgers with a ninth inning walk off or when Bill Mazeroski dispatched the Yankees in the ninth inning of the seventh game of the 1960 World Series. Mickey Mantle hit 298 solo homers, 162 with a single runner on base, 67 with two men on base, and 9 grand slams. ESPN's Home Run. This writer trusts the newer, in-depth data (Statcast) over a ballpark number given without much supporting evidence, so Piazza makes the cut over other tape-measure hits reported at greater distances. Canseco and fellow Bash Brother Mark McGwire teamed to hit their share of monstrous homers with the Oakland Athletics, none bigger than this blast. The grandest account of his power? Hitting a baseball hundreds of feet is incredibly hard. Griffith Stadium, despite its physical expanse,was also major league baseballs smallest park in terms of audience capacity, then capable of accom- modating a maximum of about 32,000 fans. "The Longest Home Runs Ever Hit" Keep up with all the important NBA updates, including news on LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and more:http://po.st/PlaylistSI-NBAFrom Bryce Harper and Mike Trout to Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner, Sports Illustrated brings you the smartest commentary and inside stories on the latest MLB news:http://po.st/PlaylistSI-MLBCheck out the most recent clips and highlights from episodes of SI Now, Sports Illustrateds daily talk show. Yogi Berra was next, and Dobbs walked him. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; A passerby remarked thats where Thomes home run landed. It was here, on April 4, 1919, in a game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Giants, that Babe Ruth hit his longest home run ever -- 587 feet. He hit for a career .263 batting average and earned 3 silver slugger awards. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. The sixth one was hit 469 feet (145 m) away from home plate and went over the left-field wall for a grand slam victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on September 25, 2012. Koufax shelved the slider for the rest of the night. Facing Seattles Mike Moore in a game on September 14, 1986, Bo hit his first major league home run, a titanic blast that landed high on the grassy knoll of left-center field. Urban legends of Mickey Mantle's power prowess have run wild. What is the longest home run in MLB history. In case you're wondering, the minimum distance for a ball to be legal at the time was 60 feet, 6 inches. 535 Feet: Adam Dunn (Cincinnati Reds, 2004), Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh Pirates . Tiger Stadium was famous for its low roof and a few players have hit balls completely out of the ballpark, but Jacksons 532-foot home run stands as one of the longest on record. The Straw Man was one of the best at it, as evidenced by his dinger that hit the lights on Opening Day at Olympic Stadium in Montreal in 1988. The Yankees defeat the Kansas City Athletics 7-4 in a game that lasts only 95 minutes because of rain delays. The Longest Home Run Ever Was So Deep, It Fooled the Camera Man. But not so fast. To maximize our exit velocity, the path of the bat needs to match the path of the oncoming pitch perfectly. Nobody could do that, said Turner. Longest Home Run Ever Hit, Baseball Almanac .com. Mantle's homer was part of an offensive outburst by the Yankees that day: New York beat Washington, 4-3, in 11 innings. The 66 journeyman outfielder had great extension, enough to hit 306 career homers, mostly during his prime with the Seattle Mariners and the Milwaukee Brewers. Man, that ball got out of here in a hurry! Jack Doyle, Mantles Griffith Shot, April 1953, "ESPN's Stats & Info Group marks the landing point at 496 feet from home plate and 26 feet above field level.". Thanks for visiting and if you like what you find here, please make a donation to help support the research and writing at this website. , we can still make definitive evaluations of the approximate landing points of all of his 714 career home runs. Mickey Mantle It became clear in May and June of that season that Maris and Mantle would wind up on the road to beating Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a single season. Baseballs best sluggers have embraced that philosophy and raised the bar for what it means to mash, crush and blast. Maris hit 26. Thank you. While he hit .190/.323/.329 during 2003's sad swan song, the burly first baseman at least cleared the fences 26 times in 2002. Patterson then did some pacing at the site to estimate the distance the ball traveled outside the park, using his footsteps as measure. The slugger will either strike out or mash a hanging curve ball into the bleachers. Brian Brady is a professional sports agent. A Mickey Mantle homer was originally estimated to have . In 1921 alone, which was, best tape measure season, he hit at least one 500 foot home run in all eight American League cities. Young Mickey Mantle at spring training, 1954. In September 2008, Dunn crushed a fastball from Colorado lefty Glendon Rusch that hit the Jumbotron at Chase Field. In more recent times, Alex Gordons ninth inning, Game one World Series blast against the New York Mets in 2015 will be remembered forever. Last Update:2 December2020 One Pirate later observed that \"giving Koufax a new pitch is like giving Rockefeller a dime. He hits balls that just keep carrying. Kingman hit at 13:57. A hearty hack on May 20, 1978 which went further than any ball ever hit at Montreal Stadium. When I watch video of Benchs home run, Im convinced that the McRae home run went further. The blast came with two outs in the top of the 12th, and it took more than 50 years for anyone to come close to hitting a ball this far again. The previous record of five balls being thrown into the stands at one time was set by the Chicago White Stockings vs. Louisville Colonels game on June 14, 1877. But Lemon gives up four runs without recording an out before being replaced by Joe Pepitone. Brandon Moss only spent one season in Kansas City, but he did produce 22 home runs. Younger fans will recall Joe Carters 1993 series-ending blast, which broke the hearts of Philadelphia fans. And, the fact that this bomb came in the post-season makes it even more impressive. On April 17, 1953, when Mickey Mantle cleared the left-center-field bleachers at Clark Griffith Stadium in Washington, the whole baseball world assumed the ball had gone 565 feet from home plate to the place where it landed. Dunn finished the season with a career-high 46 long balls. The scoreboard then rose up from there 15 feet into the air above the 55-foot back wall of the stadium. Thats right, Mantle actually topped himself. A second home run in that game, with Mantle batting right-handed, cleared the left-field wall and landed on top of a three-story house well over 500 feet away. 1. Using the best information available, let's take a stab at locating the longest recorded home runs ever. 1956 would be a record-breaking season: the golden summer fans would remember forever . Strawberry hit another dinger during New York's Opening Day victory and matched his previous season's career high with 39 homers that year. Manage Settings City of Denver engineer Jerry Tennyson was able to verify the distance of the home run at 582 feet. Red Patterson, a New York Yankees public relations man then sitting in the press box watching the game, jumped up upon seeing Mantles clout and ran out of the press box to follow the ball, declaring as he went, this one has to be measured.. New York Mets fans don't hold many fond memories of Mo Vaughn. amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; Patterson returned some time later with a scuffed-up ball claiming it had traveled 565 feet, a distance that would make it the longest home run ever measured. Ive witnessed hundreds of long balls. Sitting in the first row behind home plate, I had a great view of the ball's flight. Over 40 scorching-hot games, Hill hit .333/.378/.735 with 16 homers for the eventual World Series champions. He was already America's homerun king. The shot came in the top of the first. The game has become one of the most memorable in baseball history, because in the fifth inning, Mickey Mantle hit one of the longest home runs ever recorded. In a 5-3 win against the Japan Stars at the Tokyo Dome, Ortiz drove a ball into the lights high above the upper deck in right field. Mark McGwire played in the Major Leagues from 1986 to 2001, over that time span he hit 583 home runs. The longest shot I have seen in person in Royals Stadium came in August of 1973. The Royals were locked in a tight pennant race with the hated Oakland As. As MLB.com's Ben Weinribnoted, the blast marked the longest homer since MLB installed Statcast in all stadiums in 2015. Want to know whats up with Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Tom Brady and more? Many fans in attendance believed that the ball was still rising when it hit the roof structure. There should be no doubt about the authentication of these conclusions. Affectionately known to Red Sox fans as Big Papi, Ortiz unloaded on many a hapless pitcher, sending home runs rocketing past Peskys pole at Fenway. The poor sap who fed the Hall of Fame outfielder a gopher ball: Chuck Stobbs. Not a long fly ball, a true pop up to the infield is caused by the swing plane slicing too far downward in relation to pitch plane. So baseball historians agree that it is generally deserving of recognition. And most of them were absolutely crushed. Mantle, a switch-hitter, batted right against Stobbs. Stobbs had broken into the majors with Boston in 1947,was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1952, and then to the Senators. According to Greg Maddox, chicks dig the long ball. A player with a steeper swing plane will be able to hit a low pitch 500 ft. A player who practices swinging down and hitting ground balls will have a hard time hitting the ball both high enough AND hard enough to go 500 ft. How many home runs has Ted Williams hit at Fenway Park? The distance: 656 feet to the point where it first landed! The home run, Mantle's first of 1953, has been listed in the Guinness Book of records as the longest documented blast. The record is now held by Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels. There is a huge difference between a ball that is hit squarely in the air and a ball this has been sliced and resulted in a true pop up. By holding the barrel forward, the bat must untip and then turn around the hands and into the baseball. What is the distance between home plate and the mound? Washington's Griffith Stadium. He was about to become a national hero. Domo Arigato, Big Papi. From interviews with the biggest newsmakers to discussions with our award winning writers and editors, SI Now is your spot for all things football, basketball, baseball and everywhere else around the world of sports:http://po.st/PlaylistSI-NowThe best of SIs award-winning video storytelling. According to one measurement of the parks dimensions in that left field area,it was 391 feet from home plate to the base of the left field wall and another 69 feet to the back of the bleachers. So it's reasonable to assume that at least one of his homers was hit 605 feet or more from home plate. You know anything that travels that far ought to have a damn stewardess on it, dont you think?, Theres something romantic about home runs. 565 ft may be where the ball stopped rolling, which is certainly possible, but home runs are typically measured by where they land. Thome lacerated the Royals with 49 career home runs, many coming in late game situations. If the home run is the most exciting play in baseball, than here are the most awesome. Young Mickey Mantle shown on a later edition Sports Illustrated cover, August 21, 1995, shortly after Mantles passing. "You can feel the wind blowing," Expos right fielder Hubie Brooks said, per Durso's report. Maybe Mantle didn't quite hit it 565 feetWilliam Jenkinson suggested 510 feet as a better approximation. "The ball assumed what can only be called a majestic arc and landed on the left-field roof in Tiger Stadium," Ryan wrote. The park estimated his powerful swing at 505 feet, making it one of the longest homers to invite a Big Apple rising. Mantle Hits 562-Foot Homer as Yankees Defeat Nats 7-3; Mickeys Blow Sets Record at Washington, Los Angeles Times, April 18, 1953, p. B-1. Determining the longest homer ever in MLB history is an exercise in myth-busting. Many in the crowd were still settling into their seats when Cespedes came to the plate. YanksAtShea finds another archival goodie (some video-audio problems). It said, "Barney, you're still the greatest." Schultz finished the Series with an 18.00 ERA. Take your pick, his three-home run outburst against Catfish Hunter in the 1978 Championship Series, the 1983 Pine Tar home run, or the 1980 upper deck jack off arch-nemesis Goose Gossage that all but ended the 1980 American League Championship Series and exorcised the demons of the 1976-78 playoff losses. The stadiums dimensions, though varying over the years with changes to its structure, were roughly 400 feet down the left field line, 420 to center, and just under 330 to right. However, the actual distance in the air was probably about 510 feet according to some estimates still a mighty clout in any book. In this game, the Yankees lose 1-0 but it doesn't matter since Boston has already secured its spot in the playoffs. A Mickey Mantle homer was originally estimated to have gone 734 feet. This rocket came off a pitch from the Royals Don Wengert and traveled 511 feet onto a plaza in center field of what was then known as Jacobs Field. Shirley Povich, To Whom It May Concern, Washington Post, April 26, 1953, p. C-1. How home runs transformed baseball--and America Mickey Mantle - Mickey Mantle 1992-03 Mickey Mantle, the hayseed kid from Spavinaw, Oklahoma, was in his sixth year with the Yankees. With two outs in the ninth, Bob Lemon comes on to relieve Johnny Allen with the score 4-4. 1:24. This particular home run came off of a pitch by Senators' right hander Chuck Stobbs in Washington D.C. in April, 1953. "I know if he throws that changeup, he'll make me look like an ass, because he had such a good one, if you don't sell out to it. This blast off Glendon Rusch caromed off the center field awning for an estimated 504 feet. This dinger off the bat of The Mick went an estimated 140 feet further than the 15thlongest home run on this list, which makes it that much more impressive. A ball hit 122 mph can normally travel 500-515 feet. Mickeys Historic Homer On Trial!,Mickey Mantle.com. Mantle was known for his epic blasts. Nobody ever dreams of a statue, I certainly didn't.". Ill never forget the night, April 8, 1974, my sisters birthday, when Henry Aaron, a black man playing in the Deep South, turned on an Al Downing fastball and with his powerful wrists, sent the ball over the left field fence for career home run 715, breaking Babe Ruths long-standing record. Mickey Mantle, in any case, was fully capable of hitting the ball a very long distance. How far was Mickey Mantles farthest home run? The actual distance was 480 feet 10 inches, which is one of the great tragedies of sports history. Frank Gifford, who later made a name for himself with the New York Giants, Monday Night Football and airline stewardesses, was a running back at USC at the time, said no one ever hit a ball onto the football field. He had yielded just four homers during the first half, but Jackson took him deep for an unofficial fifth. 'S reasonable to assume that at least cleared the fences 26 times in 2002 Mantle 's power prowess have wild! 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