Table of Content
Prior to his performance, the last player to hit four home runs in a game was Scooter Gennett of the Cincinnati Reds on June 6, 2017. Other notable players who have achieved the feat include Hall of Famers Lou Gehrig and Mike Schmidt, as well as Ken Griffey Jr. Why hit just one ball 490-plus feet when you can do it more than once?
The definition of a frozen rope Jim Thome’s dinger on July 3, 1999, is one to remember. In the second game of a doubleheader, Thomas took a 3-1 pitch and sent it towering to left-center and it didn’t stay in the stadium long. After bouncing once on the concourse, it fell onto the street as a souvenir that holds a place in MLB history. If MLB makes changes to the baseballs and rules are adjusted that favors hitters more, maybe Stanton tops this mark in 2022. One thing is for certain, Stanton is fully capable of adding another historic milestone to the list of the longest home runs ever.
In June 1987, this Minor League slugger hit one to the moon
If you go off non-StatCast data, though, it’s not even the longest home run in minor league history . While Dave Kingman’s home run hit was impressive by any standard, the exact distance that he reached is heavily debated. The hit was estimated to be around 573 feet and the New York Times originally reported it as a 630-foot hit. However, when it was measured based on the available landmarks, the distance was more accurately stated to be approximately 530 feet.
It was not until Babe Ruth came upon the scene that we can find confirmed accounts of batted balls that can favorably compare with any hit during subsequent generations. It may be appropriate to cite another example of this same optical illusion. The enigmatic Dick Allen was also one of baseball's greatest long-distance hitters. On July 6, 1974, he powered a torrid drive that crashed against the roof facade in deep left-center field at Tiger Stadium. This memorable blow was knocked down at a linear distance of approximately 415 feet and an altitude of 85 feet. Almost all of the players on the field, and everyone in the home-plate area, including the press box, swore that the ball was still ascending when it hit the roof.
Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins outfielder – 504 feet, Coors Field
Reggie Jackson is the only other player to hit a fair ball completely out of the stadium, hitting it off of Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher Dave McNally during the 1971 World Series. The remaining seven home runs out of Yankee Stadium have been achieved in batting practice. Some of the other players to reach this milestone include Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. , and Jim Thome. Each of these players has impressive career home run totals and are considered some of the best hitters in MLB history. Yes, there have been several instances of someone hitting two grand slams in a single inning. The first happened in 1999 when Pittsburgh Pirates’ infielder Aramis Ramirez hit two grand slams in the team’s 22-1 victory over the Houston Astros.
Here are the longest home runs in the Home Run Derby, during the StatCast era, away from Coors Field. Unsurprisingly, some of the farthest home runs ever hit in the Home Run Derby happened in 2021 thanks to the effects of playing in Colorado. In 1987, Joey Meyer of the Triple-A Denver Zephyrs launched a moonshot into the second deck of Mile High Stadium. City of Denver engineer Jerry Tennyson was able to verify the distance of the home run at 582 feet. We all know batting average isn’t a good indicator of offensive production anymore (that 136 wRC+ says plenty). But still, it’s interesting to see that number drop so much from the .306 mark he produced in 254 plate appearance the year prior.
15 8. Mark McGwire - 523 Feet
The same home runs that had once been described as 500 footers were now being scientifically calculated in the 450-foot range. "That one's in Milwaukee!" Cubs broadcaster Lou Boudreau summed up the titanic blast pretty well. There have been tens of thousands of home runs hit at Wrigley Field. The first was hit by 5-foot-8, 170-pound Art Wilson in 1914 for the Chicago Whales. The 2022 All-Star made his second appearance on this list with his 504-foot bomb at Coors Field off Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Keynan Middleton. This effectively made Coors Field the place where all the longest-hit home runs this year occurred.
Ryan McMahon hasn’t yet put together an above-average year on offense since debuting for the Rockies in 2017. One thing he’s done consistently, though, is hit some absolute tanks at the friendly confines of Coors Field. Between 2017 and 2019, Tommy Pham put together three consecutive strong seasons as a St. Louis Cardinal and Tampa Bay Ray.
Glenallen Hill, Chicago Cubs outfielder – 500+ feet, Wrigley Field
Modern baseball includes countless tools for measuring exit velocity, launch angle and projected distance on home runs. However, for much of MLB history, there wasn’t even an exact way to determine the length of tape-measure home runs. Schwarber added two more homers that traveled 450-plus feet this season. One was 467 feet on September 10th and the other was a 451-foot dinger on August 25th. I’ll always enjoy watching how much Soler likes to admire his work, too.
Today, we'll take a look at the longest hit home runs of the season and see if there is a common denominator between the moonshots. Interestingly, the hardest baseball hit in 2021 didn’t even leave the infield. New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton lined a ball off the bat at 122.2 mph this season, but it went directly into the second baseman’s glove and was turned into a double play. Stanton is the best power hitter in MLB today, there’s no question about it.
Trevor Story‘s mammoth 505-foot homer was part of an incredibly powerful three-homer night. At this point in his career, the 37 homers and 108 RBI are both single-season career-high marks for the middle infielder. Holliday's homer came off the bat at 113.8 mph, his hardest-hit homer of the Statcast era. Sanó has constantly been among the league leaders in exit velocity, and 2021 was no different. His 93.4 mph average was among the top three percent in the league, while 12 of his 30 dingers traveled 110.0-plus mph.
There’s no doubt who hit the farthest home run in MLB All-Star Game history. The ESPN Home Run Tracker listed it at 539 feet, one of the longest homers hit in the recorded era. The college star stepped to the plate with his team trailing 6-4 in the 7th inning, drilling an unbelievable blast that was measured at 513 feet. While it’s possible Oklahoma State gave a favorable measurement, the 513-foot homer would easily be the farthest home run in 2022 at any level of baseball. Sure, he has the advantage of playing with increased elevation at Coors Field, but what C.J.
It is estimated to be the ball that is now displayed at Fenway Park, where it remains today as part of the Red Sox heritage. Amid a red-hot stretch, Urshela teed off against Baltimore's Gabriel Ynoa, destroying a solo blast into the left-field bleachers. The homer came off Urshela's bat at 111.4 mph and marked his seventh home run in six games.
When the ball left Bonds’ bat, it almost immediately cleared the outfield fence and headed toward the waters of McCovey Cove beyond the stadium. Several fan boats were in place to serve as an unofficial out of bounds marker and provided an exact distance measurement to determine how far the home run went. It’s got a good chance to be the longest home run of the year, as well.
Babe Ruth
Also, for those keeping track… yes, each of the five longest home runs of 2022 all came at Coors Field. Three came from left-handed hitters and two came for the same right-handed hitter. The event did happen more than 34 years ago, so it's hard to fault Tennyson for not remembering exactly how he got the number 582.
The size of the strike zone also contributed to pitches being thrown with more precise accuracy than today’s biggest flamethrowers. As such, it can be said that in Babe Ruth’s day, pitchers threw at slightly lower velocities than they do today, with much greater accuracy and control. Pitchers also threw much fewer heaters than they do today, relying primarily on curves, sliders, and other breaking pitches.
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