Ruths tape measure mystery is part of the lore surrounding the most famous player of all-time. Juan Gonzalez and Ken Griffey, Jr. were the most widely discussed participants at Baltimore's 1993 All-Star celebration, though neither player did anything heroic in the game itself. Paul was great to work with and offered to delay shipping when I told him I would be on vacation on the original delivery date. - Bill Dickey. Ruth played during the height of American's newspaper culture, when approximately 10 New York papers gave first hand accounts of each Yankee game. George Kight says it was easy to tell how well a ball was hit at the old Metropolitan Stadium. What is the highest mountain in the world? In his first season wearing the Old English D, Big Daddy hit 51 homers. 1. When gargantuan Frank Howard hit a mighty home run off Robin Roberts in Philadelphia on September 1, 1958, the next great tape measure home run career was initiated. A careful analysis indicates, however, that accounts of 450- to 500-foot home runs in those days are almost certainly apocryphal. By his own account he hit the longest home run of his career on May 22, 1963 at Yankee Stadium. Mantle was a switch-hitter who was equally powerful from both sides of the plate. Miguel Cabrera later became known for reaching the camera perch above that. St. Petersburg, Fla. Ruth was getting ready for his penultimate season when he drilled a spring training pitch off a hotel on March 25, 1934. The ball was hit on August 16, 1935. The other great distance hitters of that period were Lou Gehrig and Hank Greenberg, but their optimum drives fell about 50 feet short of those struck by Ruth and Foxx. As I approached the area I quickly realized I was in more an industrial & commercial area then retail. There were some very big hitters in the American League, but that was unbelievable.. 4. document.write(update); While some records may be several decades old, some are recent and fresh to the memory. Giancarlo Stanton, 504 Feet (2016) Since the installment of technology, Giancarlo Stanton's home run is the longest homer ever recorded. 521, hit in his final at-bat in the majors at Fenway Park in 1960. On July 6, 1996 Carlos Delgado hit the ball OVER the right center light tower completely into orbit. It took prodigious strength to reach the upper deck at Washington's Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, but "Hondo" did it 24 times, ranging from the left-field foul pole all the way to straightaway center field. That ball is measured at 634 feet by the Guinness Book of World Records, but few really believe it went that far on the fly. He had 107 home runs in his four-season career. One other aspect of misrepresentation should be explored. As long ago as opening day 1883, there is information describing the excitement generated by Hall of Famer Roger Connor, who struck an unusually long home run at the original Polo Grounds in New York. But there are others. One of the hardest ever at the corner was a blast by Jimmie Foxx deep into left center, just to the left of the center field scoreboard. In order to fully understand and appreciate long-distance hitting, a frame of reference should be established. MSU has posted double-digit runs in two of the seven games (15 runs vs. Michigan on Feb. 17; 13 runs at USC Upstate on Feb. 24), and the Spartans have posted double-digit hits in five of the seven games, with a season-high 18 hits vs. Michigan, along with 15 hits vs. Fresno state on Feb. 19 and 15 hits at Grand Canyon on Feb. 20. That homer was officially estimated at 481 feet, one foot farther than the longest hit by a Twin at the Dome, Kent Hrbeks homer hit to straight-away right field Sept. 9, 1984. Americans, along with people everywhere, are fascinated with power. 15 15. Own This Day - https://thebaseballpage.comSeptember 10, 1960 - Mickey Mantle unloads a cannon shot clearing the RF roof in Detroit and landing in Brooks Lumb. These were not temp help that knew nothing these were professionals who knew not just everything but were truly looking out for me. I saw Jason Rooftop Thompson hit one out of Tiger Stadium over right center field off of Dick Tidrow of the Yankees. On September 26, 1997, future Hall of Famer, Mike Piazza of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit a 496-foot home run to left-center off of Colorado Rockies reliever Darren Holmes. As a kid in May 1967? Future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux was pitching for the Chicago Cubs. Included among the other great exaggerations in the history of tape measure home runs are Dave Nicholson's Comiskey Park rooftopper on May 6, 1964, and Dave Kingman's Wrigley Field blast on April 14, 1976. Whether it skips across the top of the railing into the first row of bleachers, or completely passes out of the stadium, the batter is award four bases - no more, no less. Quick shipping as well. Bobby Allison called me from the dugout and said, How can you measure that at 435 feet? Dick Allen, too, played in both leagues, thereby providing himself the advantage of leaving his signature on more ballparks than those who only played in one league. Its estimated that the Babes blast traveled at least 575 feet in the air. The blast had an exit velocity of 111.6 to right-center field. On June 3, 2001, Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez hit a 491-foot blast to left field off of Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Chris Carpenter. When Kingman launched his wind-aided blow in Chicago, The New York Times somehow concluded that it had flown 630 feet. J.P. Arencibia, Sept. 7, 2015 (464 feet)Sadly, there is no video archive of this launch by the then-Rays catcher off Tigers starter Randy Wolf. Since this home run was the only one that ever cleared those bleachers during decades of major league and Negro League competition, it is genuinely deserving of recognition. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. By his own account he hit the longest home run of his career on May 22, 1963 at Yankee Stadium. Martinez last season -- a ball that traveled 466 feet and ended up on top of the camera well in center field. Bob Cerv's Hrs were from both KC Blues and A's. His longest measured at 528' was when' he was with the A's. Mantle's to extreme right field in the cluster was on the porch roof of a house and 43 feet above the playing field in BP. Martinez, July 21, 2015 (467 feet)This is the standard by which all Comerica Park homers are measured these days. Where was Babe Ruths longest home run? update=copyright.getFullYear(); The ball struck the facade on the right-field roof approximately 370 feet from home plate and 115 feet above field level. The ball kept carrying as JaCoby Jones ran towards the wall, eventually clearing both rows of shrubs in straightaway center before bouncing back onto the field. Ted Williams, June 9, 1946. 5. That's not a little guy right there, and he was always known for great length on home runsbecause he liked hitting them that way and frequently . In returning the discussion to Babe Ruth, it can be said that he defies rational analysis. This feat was accomplished at a time before home runs were hit with enough frequency to be considered a regular part of the game. Thirty-one years in newspapers, 20 with the Pioneer Press. 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No one had hit one that far before. Accounts from that gray afternoon put Hills rooftop homer at 490 feet; Hill told the Chicago Tribune to move that up to 700 feet. While unconfirmed by the Tigers, it might've been . With the guidance of our scientific brethren, we know that once a batted ball has reached its highest point and lost most of its velocity, it falls in a rapidly declining trajectory. Jose Canseco hit a home run to center field lower deck. The massive slugger connected with a hanging breaking ball from Ivan Nova and crushed it, sending it nearly onto the concourse beyond center field. Honorable mentionsWe could go on all day, of course; dinger lore is wide and vast, and for the ones above we focused on more recent homers with ample video footage. Only six batters hit as many as 20 homers that year. Mantle is generally credited with the longest home run of all time, a clout that left Tiger Stadium on Sept. 10, 1960, and landed in a lumberyard across the street. On July 7, 2021, Texas Rangers Joey Gallo hit a 462-foot home run off of Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize. This home run was hit at Tiger Stadium in Detroit on September 10, 1960. Kight always stopped what he was doing when Killebrew was at the plate, but even he didnt guess where this one would wind up. 565-foot home run at Washington's Griffith Stadium on April 17, 1953 considered to be . The exact date is unknown. By looking back, we can confirm the preoccupation with long-distance hitting in the early stages of baseball history. Order Tracking (Shoutout as well to Bonds skyscraper in Game 2 of the 2002 World Series -- aka the one the camera basically lost track of.). On July 6, 1974, he powered a torrid drive that crashed against the roof facade in deep left-center field at Tiger Stadium. A suitable example can be identified in Ruth's classic Comiskey Park rooftopper on August 16, 1927. Windy days at Wrigley are the best. Enjoy the dingers. The sign's headlinereads The Longest Home Run in Competitive Baseball History.. If Bo Jackson had not been forced into early retirement, he might have challenged Fielder for modern supremacy. Shipping Service Did the Babes longest homer really challenge 600 feet? Allen may have hit some of his sport's longest home runs, but neither he nor anyone else ever hit a baseball nearly that far. Detroit Tigers pitchers and catchers went through drills and a bullpen session during Spring Training Tuesday, February 14, 2023. Brubaker. We look at the farthest home runs hit in MLB history, with videos of some of the longest home runs ever hit. Most of those blasts, too, were prodigious, so the Tigers took a chance and signed Fielder. The 2021 Home Run Derby begins at 7:00 p.m. Guinness also clarifies that Mickey Mantle's home run measured at 643 feet (approximately 196 meters) is the longest home run measured "mathematically after the fact." This home run was hit at Tiger Stadium in Detroit on September 10, 1960. Few people like the response given because, unlike other baseball stats, it is the farthest thing from perfect as illustrated by this superb article called Long Distance Home Runs written by William J. Jenkinson. This memorable blow was knocked down at a linear distance of approximately 415 feet and an altitude of 85 feet. Such a batted ball would require literally superhuman velocity, which would render the batsman capable of authoring 700 foot home runs. Fifteen writers from New York, Chicago, and other places emphatically stated that Ruth's fifth-inning drive cleared the 52-foot-wide grandstand roof by a considerable margin. Before, if you had power, you could hit the ball, said Oliva, who hit 220 home runs in 15 seasons. I put the location into google maps off I went. Check the home run lengths of all seventy Mark McGwire blasts and all sixty-six Sammy Sosa's shots in the fabulous feats section. Top 10 Tigers homers of the decade. Advertisement That puts it up there with legendary home runs from the likes of Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle. Buffalo Bisons pitcher Mike Murphy threw a 2-2 slider that Meyer crushed 582 feet into the thin Colorado air. Probably well over 600 feet in total. Not since Hank Greenberg in the 1940s, had Tiger fans seen a power hitter like Cecil Fielder. 12/9 Tennessee. Killebrew was a big man, as were Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson and Dave Kingman, all known for their power. Customer Service Back in 21, Navin Field did not yet have the upper deck in center field that would later be a haven for diehard fans. Also ranking among the elite during that decade were Greg Luzinski, Dave Kingman, and George Foster. His slender physique belied his subtle strength and natural ability to generate bat speed. Giancarlo Stanton hit the longest home run ever made in Coors Field to date when he played against the Rockies in 2016. Arizona Diamondbacks first-baseman Richie Sexson hit a 503-foot home run to center field on April 26, 2004. Moving into the eighties, Mike Schmidt, Jim Rice, and Darryl Strawberry set the pace at a time when modern technology permitted us to better understand the limitations of the flight of a batted ball. It should be noted that those regular references over the years to 500- and 600-foot home runs were born out of scientific ignorance, misinformation, or even deliberate exaggeration. 4. Reggie Jackson's 1971 All-Star Game shot at Tiger Stadium would have travelled more than. By his own admission, during his 18-year career at Yankee Stadium, which included thousands of swing variables, he hit several balls to right field in an optimum manner. Jason Thompson. On August 10, 2004, Cincinnati Reds left fielder Adam Dunn hit a 535-foot home run to center field off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jose Lima. A table displaying leaders in Statcast metrics such as Sweet Spot % (SwSp%), Barrels, Exit Velocity (EV), Batted Ball Distance (DST), Projected Home Run Distance (HR-DST), Launch Angle (LA) and Batted Ball Events (BBE) . So Kight, who was working as the Twins chief usher on June 3, 1967, instantly knew Harmon Killebrew had hit the sweet spot when Kight looked up from counting the turnstile numbers.