Babe Ruth was said to have hit a home run over 600 feet. It did not, however, journey 540 feet as have some suggested. There's no video evidence or official measurement of his monumental feat, but Negro League star Josh Gibson allegedly smacked a home run580 feetout of Yankee Stadium on June 3, 1937. Yogi Berra was next, and Dobbs walked him. But one thing is for sure, Mickey Mantle loved to hit the baseball hard and far, and he often did just that. Odds & lines subject to change. It would have left the park, almost certainly would have cleared Lansdowne Street and the House of Blues. Chuck Stobbs Faces Mickey Mantle With . Not knowing where the ball landed on April 4, 1988, the Mets outfielder stopped at second before receiving clearance to finish rounding the bases. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Mantle finishes his career with six games left in the season. Then Mantle came to the plate. That's right, Mantle actually topped himself. There's home run king Barry Bonds, there's Adam Dunn depositing baseballs into other states. amzn_assoc_title = "Related Books & DVD"; This wasnt even peak Stargell. That '63 season, Dave slugged 22 home runs, walked 63 times and drove in 70 runs for a White Sox team that won 94 games. But did it really travel 565 feet? Will the Golden State Warriors make history again? A lot of these homers reached the upper decks and some even left the ballpark completely. Decades before these modern advances, historians were left to make questionable estimations or even use an actual tape measure. The actual distance was 480 feet 10 inches, which is one of the great tragedies of sports history. It was as no doubt about it a home run as could possibly be. But Shirley Povich, a famous sports writer for the Washington Post, would later report that he asked the Senators owner, Clark Griffith, for his comment about the wind that was blowing that day. The Yankees defeat the Kansas City Athletics 7-4 in a game that lasts only 95 minutes because of rain delays. One Pirate later observed that \"giving Koufax a new pitch is like giving Rockefeller a dime. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "thpohidill-20"; We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. In June, 1985, Mantle's blow was retroactively measured at 643 feet, and was listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the longest Home Run in History. They never spoke about the home run that broke . When I watch video of Benchs home run, Im convinced that the McRae home run went further. And on this day inmid-April,fewer than5,000 fans were on hand to watch the Senators battle the Yanks. This cannon shot to straightaway center carried an estimated 474 feet. The exact distance, however, remains disputed. The As McGwire hit the ball so hard off of Clevelands Orel Hershiser that it caused the veteran pitcher to mouth the word wow as the ball sailed into the left field bleachers. Neither of them really needs it.\" September 10, 1999, The Red Sox trip the Yankees, 3 - 1, as Pedro Martinez hurls an impressive one-hitter for his 21st victory of the year. A Mickey Mantle homer was originally estimated to have gone 734 feet. In 1921 alone, which was, best tape measure season, he hit at least one 500 foot home run in all eight American League cities. In virtually every other field of endeavor in which physical performance can be measured, there are no Ruthian equivalents. Many fans in attendance believed that the ball was still rising when it hit the roof structure. Mr. Wengert was reportedly so traumatized by the long fly that he refuses to discuss it with reporters. Then New York Mets slugger Dave King Kong Kingman one upped everybody that came before him though, and everybody that has played at Wrigley Field since. Jenkinson's findings serve as the basis for the used mark of 530 feet. Determining the longest homer ever in MLB history is an exercise in myth-busting. Jose Canseco played in the Major Leagues from 1985 to 2001, over that time span he hit 462 home runs. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) May 22, 2014. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1961 Nu-Card Scoops Mickey Mantle Hits Longest Homer At Stadium PSA 8 #450 HOF at the best online prices at eBay! July 3, 1999, the Cleveland Indians star sent a ball screaming an estimated 511 feet. 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. While there's no definitive list of longest All-Star Game home runs, it's safe to say Reggie Jackson's 1971 blast would top it. "An inning or so later, they told us it was charted at 484 feet. "I don't think anyone could ever be comfortable getting a statue, I mean that respectfully," Thome said during the unveiling ceremony, per. Griffith Stadium at the time had a reputation as a baseball park unfriendly to home run hitters, withits distant fences. 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. One of the most notable came in July of 2015 when Yoenis Cespedes, then playing for the Detroit Tigers sent one into orbit off the Red Soxs Steven Wright. It was quite the shot, something that had never been seen at the Big O. Strawberry even stopped at second base after the ball hit the roof of the stadium, unsure whether to complete his home run trot, until the umpire gave him the go-ahead to touch them all. The angle of incoming pitch will effect our ability to optimize both exit speed and launch angle. The longest home runs still needed a little bit more oomph. That much is known. Meyer made his big league debut the following season with the Milwaukee Brewers. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; According to ESPN's findings, the ball landed on a fan's straw hat deep in the right field bleachers. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. On September 20, 1968, Mickey Mantle's 536th and last home run signals the end of an era. He was Big Papi before Big Papi. Some say it was a dinger hit by Johnny Bench in the 1973 All-Star game. New York Mets fans don't hold many fond memories of Mo Vaughn. Turns out, they were only right about half of that. Lets take a look at some of the longest home runs ever hit. Copyright 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc. Where did Mickey Mantle hit the longest home run in baseball? This is a great example of getting the barrel on plane with the pitch. Bo hit this ball harder than Brian Bosworth. What is the distance between home plate and the mound? That's the longest home run in history. What made Mickey Mantle so good? This one traveled 493 feet (147 m) but it was not measured so there is no confirmation that it went out of Fenway. But Mickey wasn't finished. But Mickey Mantle would soongive them something to remember. 54-57. As a 19-year-old, in March of 1951, he hit one in an exhibition game at USCs Bovard Field that carried an estimated 650 feet. Brian Brady is a professional sports agent. He hit for a career .237 batting average. In more recent times, Alex Gordons ninth inning, Game one World Series blast against the New York Mets in 2015 will be remembered forever. I would have believed 1,484 feet.". That game ended in a 1-1 tie after nine innings with both teams having scored twice. Martinez strikes out 17 batters, the most Yankees ever fanned in a single game. Hal McRae, acquired the previous winter, had gotten off to a slow start, but by the time this game, against the Boston Red Sox rolled around, Mac was heating up. The home run, Mantle's first of 1953, has been listed in the Guinness Book of records as the longest documented blast. Some cite it as the longest home run in baseball history. 1:24. The new system pinpointed a 115.8-mph exit velocity with a launch angle of 18.3 degrees. The first baseman ended his MLB career with 18 home runs in 156 games across two seasons, but it was his monstrous minor league homer that etched his name into the history books. Mantle was known for his epic blasts. With apologies to those whose over-reported shots were downgraded or removed, bumping up a career .344/.482/.634 legend feels warranted. There's the unbelievable power of Wily Mo Pea or Glenallen Hill. Although it came nowhere close to 734 feet, ESPN determined an impressive true distance of 503 feet. Young Mickey Mantle at spring training, 1954. In 565 feet, Mickey Mantle (1953). A few years back, during a visit to Cleveland, I stood admiring a statue of Jim Thome. On April 17, 1953, in a game against the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium, Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees hit what could have been the most majestic home run in a career filled with them. That much is known. Such was the National League during those days, when a demi-god like Aaron had to share the stage with other baseball demi-gods with names like Mays, Clemente, Musial, Banks, Robinson, and Koufax. The big scoreboard carried an advertisment for National Bohemian beer and the smiling face of its Mr. . The noted historian also backed ancient anecdotes of the Sultan of Swat's hitting one over 600 feet atWilkes University'sArtillery Parkin 1926. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Ronald Acua Jr., ATL, 2020: 495 feet. Mickeys Historic Homer On Trial!,Mickey Mantle.com. Only Mantle. Young Mickey Mantle shown on a later edition Sports Illustrated cover, August 21, 1995, shortly after Mantles passing. For guys with a flatter swing path, they will need a pitch that is high in the strike zone. Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article: Jack Sackman Without a closer look from ESPN at this Adam Dunn dinger, the lofty 535-foot approximation receives the benefit of the doubt. Before Susman's research, Mantle's longest homer was thought to be the one he hit in 1953 in Washington, a drive measured at 565 feet. 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. Article Citation: Although there is still dispute about how far Mantles home run that day actually traveled, it was the only one to ever clear the Griffith Stadium left field bleachers during decades of major league and Negro League competition. Not bad at all, but. 1964 WS Gm3: Mantle hits a walk-off home run MLB 4.05M subscribers Subscribe 2.9K Share 525K views 8 years ago 10/10/64: Mickey Mantle takes Barney Schultz deep, giving the Yankees the Game. Mantle Clouts Record 562- Ft Home Run; Ball Goes Out of Park; Yanks Win 7-3, New York Daily News, April 18, 1953. The bat tip allows for more bat speed to be carried into the baseball. A ball landing on the plaza might have bounced clear to I-70. Mantle's homer was part of an offensive outburst by the Yankees that day: New York beat Washington, 4-3, in 11 innings. Man, that ball got out of here in a hurry! The majestic shot actually hit the scoreboard above the centerfield fence. This particular homer came courtesy of The Big Cat Andres Galarraga, who absolutely smoked an inside pitch from Marlins ace Kevin Brown into the top deck of the old Pro Players Stadium. Most home runs in that park land in the first ten rows of the lower deck. The ball. Theres considerable debate about who hit the longest home run in Royals/Kauffman Stadium history. Eye tests lead to a wide array of biases, but the video evidence helps his case. Next time you visit Target Field, take a seat behind home plate and that will give you some appreciation on how far these balls traveled. Joe Dimaggio Hails Mantle, Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1953, p. C-1. City of Denver engineer Jerry Tennyson was able to verify the distance of the home run at 582 feet. OnJuly 3, 1999, the Cleveland Indians star sent a ball screaming an estimated 511 feet. That's the longest home run in history. While ESPN didn't dare to debunk this legend, it studied another home run against the Kansas City Royals onMay 22, 1963. While those feats would shatter Meyers mark, there was no technology or tool that could give an exact measure of those distances. In case you're wondering, the minimum distance for a ball to be legal at the time was 60 feet, 6 inches. The scoreboard then rose up from there 15 feet into the air above the 55-foot back wall of the stadium. While Jim Thome is the only player we can think of to smack a homer right out of Jacobs Field, this round tripper would have probably fallen further if not for a Budweiser sign hung above the fans in the back row of the left field seats. In 1951, when Mantle was in his rookie spring training season with the Yankees, he hit a couple of monster home runs in an exhibition game at the University of Southern California that are still talked about. One of the most commonly told is that in 1953 he cleared . 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. Canseco and fellow Bash Brother Mark McGwire teamed to hit their share of monstrous homers with the Oakland Athletics, none bigger than this blast. Thats a long way away. Pitching for the Senators that day was Chuck Stobbs, a southpaw. amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; The optimal launch angle for a home run distance is 28 degrees. By holding the barrel forward, the bat must untip and then turn around the hands and into the baseball. 535 Feet: Adam Dunn (Cincinnati Reds, 2004), Willie Stargell (Pittsburgh Pirates . To maximize our exit velocity, the path of the bat needs to match the path of the oncoming pitch perfectly. Most are forgotten the next day, but many become things of lore. There really is nothing like getting the head of the bat out on a high fastball. June 9, 1946, for a dinger deemed to have traveled 502 feet. Others claim the longest jack was hit by the Angels Mike Trout in June of 2014 off Jason Vargas. While the Miami Marlins slugger doesn't need a ballpark's help to punish a baseball, he collaborated with the high-altitude venue to produce a 504-foot homer on Aug. 6, 2016. Willie Stargell scorched plenty of moonshots over his career. The place:Washington's Griffith Stadium. Babe Ruth (1921): 575 feet That one, like the shot at Griffith Park, traveled some distance on the ground as well, so it was likely short of its claimed distance.Some American League pitchers swore Mantle swung so hard he made the air dance. Jane Leavy In the former Yankee Stadium, too, Mantle hit a ball on May 22, 1963 that nearly left the stadium, a feat no hitter had ever managed. It was commemorated with a card in the Topps 1961 baseball set. "I think we like seeing it fly like that, especially if it's our guys hitting it," Marlins manager Don Mattingly told Weinrib. The ball struck the facade on the right-field roof approximately 370 feet from home plate and 115 feet above field level. Thome lacerated the Royals with 49 career home runs, many coming in late game situations. Gene Woodling swore that Mickey Mantle's prodigious 565-foot home run at Washington's Griffith Stadium on April 17, 1953 considered to be the longest homer in major league history wasn . , fewer than5,000 fans were on hand mickey mantle longest home runs watch the Senators battle Yanks... Homer ever in MLB history is an exercise in myth-busting in MLB history is an exercise myth-busting! Next, and he often did just that shot, something that had never been at... 18.3 degrees his case wide array of biases, but many become of! Our exit velocity, the minimum distance for a ball screaming an estimated 474.. 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