And just because he bats from the left side, doesnt mean its a good idea to strategize by putting a southpaw on the mound. "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 was a historic 565-foot homer that helped fuel the Mantle legend. He smoked his longest career home run in Arizona off of Chicago Cubs pitcher Francis Beltran. Alan Marchese holds a 1956 Sports Illustrated with Mickey Mantle on the cover. Many coaches are against hitting the ball in the air because of the perceived "easy out.". We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. The longest shot I have seen in person in Royals Stadium came in August of 1973. Yet the story of his 565-foot moonshot still lives strong. It was the first ball ever hit out of Griffith and traveled an estimated 565 feet. Jose Canseco played in the Major Leagues from 1985 to 2001, over that time span he hit 462 home runs. A Mickey Mantle homer was originally estimated to have gone 734 feet. 19-year-old Mickey Mantle had just hit the longest home run in baseball history! 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. Decades before these modern advances, historians were left to make questionable estimations or even use an actual tape measure. It did not, however, journey 540 feet as have some suggested. That consarned wind has been blowing for 100 years and nobody else ever hit one out of this ballpark like that. One thing is for sure, Mickey Mantle loved to hit the baseball hard and far, and he often did just that.Povich would also add that none of the other home run greats that preceded Mantle had ever done what he did in Griffith. The Big Donkey, as he is known, hit 270 home runs for his original club, and none longer than the deep, deep bomb he drilled off a high Jose Lima fast ball in 2004. There's a lesson for all the kids hoping to leave behind a lasting legacy: Stay humble, work hard and hit dingers. And on this day inmid-April,fewer than5,000 fans were on hand to watch the Senators battle the Yanks. Dunn finished the season with a career-high 46 long balls. So it's reasonable to assume that at least one of his homers was hit 605 feet or more from home plate. He finished his career with 256 homers and 994 RBIs while playing in 1,946 games over 16 seasons. Not bad at all, but ESPN's Home Run Tracker determined that Williams deserves even more credit. On September 17, he hits his final home run at Yankee Stadium against Los Angeles Angels' pitcher Bill Renna. Before getting benched for Homer Simpson, Darryl Strawberry tested Olympic Stadium's limits by sending a souvenir into the lights. That righteous shot, to left-center field carried an estimated 489 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.. The Yankees lose by one point on Mo Vaughn's single in the tenth. Nobody remembers a single or a double, but everyone who saw Reggie Jackson hit a shot off Dock Ellis in the 1971 All-Star game in Tiger Stadium that nearly left the ballpark remembers it. However, the actual distance in the air was probably about 510 feet according to some estimates still a mighty clout in any book. It was hit by Dustin Pedroia with two outs in the ninth inning. Pattersons number more or less became what was reported, which even Mantle doubted. April 14, 1976. Kingman hit at 13:57. 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. He led the National League in home runs on four occasions on his way to 755 career home runs. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Though this home run is impressive, it pales in comparison to the one later in this list, an absolute blast against future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Weve got you covered:http://po.st/PlaylistSI-NFLCan the Cleveland Cavaliers repeat? Washington's Griffith Stadium. Special Offer on Antivirus Software From HowStuffWorks and TotalAV Security. Koufax shelved the slider for the rest of the night. That's not to say that there weren't 500 foot home runs in history, there certainly have been, but they are rare. On April 17, 1953, Mickey Mantle's blast against the Senators was billed as the "the longest home run in the history of baseball." On this date in Philadelphia in 1972, the adventures of "Kiteman . Mickey Mantle was no stranger to long home runs. Some American League pitchers swore Mantle swung so hard he made the air dance.. There are stories of his 600-foot home runs or treating old Yankee Stadium like it was his own personal Little League field. Mr. Wengert was reportedly so traumatized by the long fly that he refuses to discuss it with reporters. Ruth, Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Willie Stargell and Adam Dunn have all hit blasts well past 500 feet in their careers. The New York Yankees travel coordinator estimated the distance of the home run to equal 565 feet. Giancarlo Stanton, MIA, 2016: 504 feet, T-8. 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. Chuck Stobbs Faces Mickey Mantle With . Two months later, the Cubs traded him to the Yankees, wherehe put together the best stint of his career. Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton marveled at Stargells homer hit against his Los Angeles Dodgers. New York Mets fans don't hold many fond memories of Mo Vaughn. There are folk tales about Mickey Mantle hitting the longest home run ever measured 565 feet. He's been an agent for over 10 years and his favorite thing to do is negotiate contracts for professional athletes. The poor sap who fed the Hall of Fame outfielder a gopher ball: Chuck Stobbs. He made the majors the next season but lasted just 156 games with the Milwaukee Brewers. 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. 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. He hits them a long way.". The slugger will either strike out or mash a hanging curve ball into the bleachers. Longest Home Run Ever Hit, Baseball Almanac .com. Sports Illustrated's Ted Keith takes a look back into archives at the longest home runs in Mickey Mantle's career and the debate at which one should be in the record books. Jack Doyle, Mantles Griffith Shot, April 1953, Only Mickey Mantle, it turns out, would hit one clear out of the park over the faraway left-center field bleachers. The late Ed Browalski of the Polish Daily News and veteran. After Giancarlo Stanton decimated a baseball during the World Baseball Classic, MLB Network informed viewers that the hulking outfielder torpedoed the ball 424 feet at an exit velocity of 117.3 miles per hour. The place:Washington's Griffith Stadium. The ball. He was 38 years old in his 16th season, but he still went yard 28 times over 450 plate appearances and earned a .567 slugging percentage. July 3, 1999, the Cleveland Indians star sent a ball screaming an estimated 511 feet. One of his greatest moments, however, came in a game that didnt mean anything. And as of that moment, nobody ever had. But Lemon gives up four runs without recording an out before being replaced by Joe Pepitone. But even though the ball was moved back after Mantle's homer, it hasn't been touched up since then, so we can assume that it remains a faithful representation of how far the game was played back in 1953. "The ball assumed what can only be called a majestic arc and landed on the left-field roof in Tiger Stadium," Ryan wrote. 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. He hits balls that just keep carrying. This particular home run came off of a pitch by Senators right hander Chuck Stobbs in Washington D.C. in April, 1953. The first came on June 15 off Jake Odorizzi and traveled an estimated 462 feet. Determining the longest homer ever in MLB history is an exercise in myth-busting. The distance: 656 feet to the point where it first landed! When Mickey Mantle cleared the left-center-field bleachers at Clark Griffith Stadium in Washington on April . Ive witnessed hundreds of long balls. He was about to become a national hero. The new system pinpointed a 115.8-mph exit velocity with a launch angle of 18.3 degrees. Modern baseball includes countless tools for measuring exit velocity, launch angle and projected distance on home runs. In the bottom of the 3rdinning, Jackson crushed an outside fastball that eventually rang off of a transformer at the top of the 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. Although there aremultiple talesof Babe Ruth's hitting his mythical home run beyond 600 feet, no accurate measuring tools existed during his playing days. Strawberry hit another dinger during New York's Opening Day victory and matched his previous season's career high with 39 homers that year. The Dunn homer is at 6:20 in the video. Hard to say how far this ball would have traveled. The poor sap who fed the Hall of Fame outfielder a gopher ball: Chuck Stobbs. Off-field problems derailed his path to superstardom, but his Montreal moonshot serves as a reminder of his off-the-charts power. The majestic shot actually hit the scoreboard above the centerfield fence. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Dave Kingman hit one entirely out of Wrigley Field onApril 14, 1976. Ted Williams introduced this concept in his book "The Science of Hitting" published in 1971. This list includes icons, Hall and Famers and rakers who wielded unquestionably elite power. "I don't think anyone could ever be comfortable getting a statue, I mean that respectfully," Thome said during the unveiling ceremony, per. Theres considerable debate about who hit the longest home run in Royals/Kauffman Stadium history. Other witnesses said had the faade not provided homerus interruptus, the ball might have traveled upwards of 700 feet. As a 19-year-old, in March of 1951, he hit one in an exhibition game at USC's Bovard Field that carried an estimated 650 feet. May 22, 2014. Ball hit by Mickey Mantle on April 17, 1953 at Griffith Stadium to set a new distance record for home runs. ESPN's Home Run Tracker tells a different story, calculating the final distance of Piazza's slam at 515 feet. If we take a closer look at the swing of Jose Canseco, we can begin to understand why he was able to hit a baseball 540ft. Maybe Mantle didn't quite hit it 565 feetWilliam Jenkinson suggested 510 feet as a better approximation. The exact distance, however, remains disputed. The fastest exit speed velocity in the MLB over the last decade is 122 MPH. Mantle Clouts Record 562- Ft Home Run; Ball Goes Out of Park; Yanks Win 7-3, New York Daily News, April 18, 1953. amzn_assoc_linkid = "2133531abc20bf49c266f610b6f2270d"; Bob Moore said the ball would have carried 525 feet if not for hitting the lights. Ronald Acua Jr., ATL, 2020: 495 feet. He crushed it. Estimates have the blast traveling at least 600 feet. Royals Rumblings - News for March 1, 2023. Mickeys Historic Homer On Trial!,Mickey Mantle.com. Instead, let's look back to September 14, 1991, when the Detroit Tigers slugger pounded a ball beyondMilwaukee County Stadium's bleachers. It was his second home run of the game, and it still stands as one of the greatest disasters in baseball history. On a ball that sped 124 mph off the bat, ESPN's Home Run Tracker estimated a distance of 539 feet if unhindered. Eye tests lead to a wide array of biases, but the video evidence helps his case. Jose Canseco's upper-deck blast helped the Oakland Athletics defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1989 American League Championship Series. Not bad at all, but. The ball struck the facade on the right-field roof approximately 370 feet from home plate and 115 feet above field level. Who hit the longest home run ever and how far did they estimate it to have Travelled? . (Courtesy the National Baseball Hall of Fame) The longest home run ever hit. Adam Dunn played in the Major Leagues from 2001 to 2014, over that time span he hit 462 home runs. Meyer made his big league debut the following season with the Milwaukee Brewers. In the 1989 American League Championship Series, Canseco ripped an inside pitch from Torontos Mike Flanagan about 10 rows into the upper deck at the Sky Dome(now the Rogers Center). Joe Dimaggio Hails Mantle, Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1953, p. C-1. The Oakland Athletics outfielder stepped up to the plate against Pittsburgh Pirates hurler Dock Ellis, who according to Baseball-Reference.com entered the Midsummer Classic sporting a 2.11 ERA. The barrel his tipped forward, this mechanic can be seen by the top. 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. Babe Ruth and Josh Gibson built their legacy by hitting home runs. With apologies to those whose over-reported shots were downgraded or removed, bumping up a career .344/.482/.634 legend feels warranted. It was mid-April 1953. Hurdle, drafted in 1975, made quick work of the Royals minor league system. Randall Swearingen, A Great Teammate: The Legend of Mickey Mantle, Sports Publishing LLC, 2007, 232 pp. 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. This one traveled 493 feet (147 m) but it was not measured so there is no confirmation that it went out of Fenway. Gambling problem? Youll never hit a bigger home run in your life! In fact, the announcer's calls of each of those home runs, Thompson, Mazeroski and Aaron are classic moments in baseball history. Pitching for the Senators that day was Chuck Stobbs, a southpaw. AZ, CO, CT, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, (select parishes), MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WV, WY, CA-ONT only.Eligibility restrictions apply. 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. Mickey Mantle was no stranger to long home runs. Coach Turner, pondering Jim Bridewesers assertion of Mantles abilities, responded simply naw, it wasnt possible. But experts say the flight of the ball observed by fans that day was an optical illusion and that the ball Mantle hit was already on its way down when it hit the roof, though still a singular accomplishment and memorable home run. And, the fact that this bomb came in the post-season makes it even more impressive. Mantle is holding the home run ball he hit out of Washington, D.C.s Griffith Stadium, estimated to have gone a distance of some 562 feet. A 575-foot dinger at Navin Field in Detroit isn't the most interesting of the tales, but it'd top this list. The front of the card featured an aerial view of cavernous Griffith Stadium in Washington and showed the purported flight of the ball. The ball landed in a huddle of USC football players practicing on a field behind Bovard. There should be no doubt about the authentication of these conclusions. 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 could just have easily struck out, given his penchant for swinging freely, but the gamble paid off in a big way. In modern stadiums, we can only estimate where the ball would have landed. The shot came in the top of the first. Skeptics will certainly be forgiven for doubting that distance, but others will prefer to simply believe. How many home runs has Ted Williams hit at Fenway Park? OnJuly 3, 1999, the Cleveland Indians star sent a ball screaming an estimated 511 feet. Young Mickey Mantle at spring training, 1954. 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. In those days, the plazas behind the left and right field seats housed a circular concrete building of restrooms and a concession stand. But why argue over semantics when we can watch some of MLB's best sluggers sock a few dingers? Everyone else does too. In 1921 alone, which wasRuth'sbest tape measure season, he hit at least one 500 foot home run in all eight American League cities. For Royal fans, George Brett provided plenty of home run drama, most of it against the Yankees. One big advantage of being a slugger for the Colorado Rockies are the friendly confines and thin air of Coors Field. 1956 would be a record-breaking season: the golden summer fans would remember forever . It has yet to be topped in today's modern game. Comments to: jdoyle@pophistorydig.com. But none of them came close to breaking the record he set in 1953. 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. Want to know whats up with Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Tom Brady and more? He doesn't just hit pitchers, he takes away their dignity.. Griffith Stadium at the time had a reputation as a baseball park unfriendly to home run hitters, withits distant fences. 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. 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