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. He doesn't just hit pitchers, he takes away their dignity.. July 3, 1999, the Cleveland Indians star sent a ball screaming an estimated 511 feet. I was sufficiently impressed. We were are all taught to "keep our shoulders level.". The actual distance was 480 feet 10 inches, which is one of the great tragedies of sports history. Many coaches are against hitting the ball in the air because of the perceived "easy out.". And as of that moment, nobody ever had. 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 . On September 17, he hits his final home run at Yankee Stadium against Los Angeles Angels' pitcher Bill Renna. 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. May 22, 2014. So take any urban legends about someone's 600-foot homer with a grain of salt. 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. 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. 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. He's been an agent for over 10 years and his favorite thing to do is negotiate contracts for professional athletes. TheBoston Globe's Bob Ryan, viaMLB.com's Mike Bertha, marveled at the power display. He was truly the Royals' daddy in those years. There's the 565-footer at Griffith Stadium or the prodigious blasts off the tops of the old Yankee Stadium facade. That righteous shot, to left-center field carried an estimated 489 feet. Not knowing where the ball landed on April 4, 1988, the Mets outfielder stopped at second before receiving clearance to finish rounding the bases. amzn_assoc_search_bar = "true"; 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. But not so fast. A significant factor is that Mantle had 1,733 walks and 1,710 strikeouts. 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 shot came in the top of the first. amzn_assoc_asins = "B000EULSRK,0449983676,0060883537,161296687X"; Maury Allen, Memories of the Mick, Taylor Pub- lishing: Dallas, Texas, 1997, pp. New York Mets fans don't hold many fond memories of Mo Vaughn. He narrowly missed a home run in his first at bat, slamming a ball off the top of the right-center wall for a standup triple. September 10, 1918 - Players on both sides of the World Series threaten to strike unless they are guaranteed $2,500 to the winners and $1,000 each for the losers. When Adam Dunn strides to the plate, it is usually a 50-50 proposition. Then Mantle came to the plate. A Mickey Mantle homer was originally estimated to have gone 734 feet. As reported by the New York Times' Joseph Durso, physics professorBob Moore said the ball would have carried 525 feet if not for hitting the lights. That wouldnt have been out of a lot of parks., Jake Taylor to Ricky Vaughn in Major League. 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. But Mickey wasn't finished. Notice where Canseco holds the barrel as the pitch is being thrown. 1. Mickey Mantle holding the ball he hit out of Griffith Park, April 17, 1953. Thinking "swing down" will create a bat path that will chop through the plane of the pitch and slice the bottom half of the ball resulting in.A POP UP! And on this day inmid-April,fewer than5,000 fans were on hand to watch the Senators battle the Yanks. Many say the longest home run hit against Kansas City came off the bat of Royal killer Jim Thome in July of 1999. Smarter,Every,Day,Science,Physics,Destin,Sandlin,Education,Math,Smarter Every Day,experiment,nature,demonstration,slow,motion,slow motion,education,math,science . amzn_assoc_region = "US"; ESPN's Home Run. In his second plate appearance, facing the Seattle Mariners Glenn Abbott, Hurdle turned on a pitch and deposited the ball in the upper fountains in right-center field. ESPN's Home Run Tracker tells a different story, calculating the final distance of Piazza's slam at 515 feet. No Wind, Declares Judge, Helped Mantle Homer, New York Times, Tuesday, April 21, 1953, Sports, p. 34. 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. I would have believed 1,484 feet.". Decades before these modern advances, historians were left to make questionable estimations or even use an actual tape measure. Slate's John Pastiercalculated a similar distance of roughly 479 feet. It was commemorated with a card in the Topps 1961 baseball set. Mantle finished his career with 13 walkoff home runs. Mickey Mantle Blasts 480 Foot Homer in St. Louis, Washington Post, April 30, 1953, Sports, p. 25. 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! amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; AP photo. Washington's Griffith Stadium. When researchers delve into an older home run for a more accurate telling, they typically spoil everyone's party by deflating an embellished tale. 1:24. Soler Power blasted two home runs into the upper deck of Target Field that summer. "I don't think anyone could ever be comfortable getting a statue, I mean that respectfully," Thome said during the unveiling ceremony, per Cleveland.com's Joey Morona. Man, that ball got out of here in a hurry! In 565 feet, Mickey Mantle (1953). 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's foolish to take hearsay as concrete evidence, but it's also difficult to believe the man who hit 714 home runs during the dead-ball era wasn't capable of abnormal results. 565 ft may be where the ball stopped rolling, which is certainly possible, but home runs are typically measured by where they land. Mickey Mantle 1967 - 500th Home Run as aired on WPIX-TV, 5/14/1967 YanksAtShea 6.23K subscribers Subscribe 12K 2.4M views 10 years ago YanksAtShea is very proud to present on its 45th. In case you're wondering, the minimum distance for a ball to be legal at the time was 60 feet, 6 inches. Babe Ruth and Josh Gibson built their legacy by hitting home runs. Ive witnessed hundreds of long balls. Others claim the longest jack was hit by the Angels Mike Trout in June of 2014 off Jason Vargas. All home runs give the batter a trip around the bases, but why merely hit the ball over the fence when you can send it into orbit? However, sluggers in this list make 400 feet seem like childs play as all of them have hit the ball at least 503 feet. It was hit on August 14, 1953, at Milwaukee County Stadium. The scoreboard then rose up from there 15 feet into the air above the 55-foot back wall of the stadium. Before getting benched for Homer Simpson, Darryl Strawberry tested Olympic Stadium's limits by sending a souvenir into the lights. 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. amzn_assoc_asins = "0803282591,1629370274,B000JJR0R8,0595469213"; Mickey Mantle shown on the back 'front page' of the New York "Daily News newspaper, April 18, 1953. Dwight Eisen- hower was president, the Korean War was in its third year, and a young baseball player named Mickey Mantle was hitting some monster home run shots for the New York Yankees. "He is an icon and mentor to three generations of customers from all corners of Oklahoma and surrounding states . Mantle, a switch-hitter, batted right against Stobbs. Mantle gets his batting title back from Carl Yastrzemski with a.356 average. The front of the card featured an aerial view of cavernous Griffith Stadium in Washington and showed the purported flight of the ball. pic.twitter.com/qHVzzjGRA4. That much is known. Most home runs in that park land in the first ten rows of the lower deck. "You play the game as a kid, you progress through high school, you get drafted, you go through the minor leagues. amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; As you see in the clip above, Longoria drops his shoulder a significant amount just to hit a ball that is at the top of the strike zone. Koufax shelved the slider for the rest of the night. Alan Marchese holds a 1956 Sports Illustrated with Mickey Mantle on the cover. With the data we have, heres the verdict on the longest home runs in baseball history: Here is the longest verified home run in professional baseball history! "The ball assumed what can only be called a majestic arc and landed on the left-field roof in Tiger Stadium," Ryan wrote. Without a closer look from ESPN at this Adam Dunn dinger, the lofty 535-foot approximation receives the benefit of the doubt. In those days, the plazas behind the left and right field seats housed a circular concrete building of restrooms and a concession stand. Amazingly, many of those records remain unequaled, which is to say that, is a true athletic anachronism. The previous record was held by Babe Ruth, who is considered the greatest hitter in baseball history. These days, there is a new tool that should make this an easier debate moving forward. He also, however, said the team's PR director literally derived that number by using a tape measure, originating the term to describe huge homers now measured through more scientific methods. In virtually every other field of endeavor in which physical performance can be measured, there are no Ruthian equivalents. The following year, his five postseason home runs led the Pirates to a World Series championship. The radio call of Carters home run by Tom Cheek was a classic, touch em all Joe! Giancarlo Stanton, MIA, 2016: 504 feet, T-8. Mick said the hardest ball he ever hit came off the Kansas City Athletics Bill Fischer in May of 1963, a shot that nearly left Yankee Stadium, knocked out of its orbit when it hit the top of the right field faade. Jorge Soler has stroked some epic home runs in his Royal career. Many think the longest home run in Stadium history came off the bat of one Vincent Edward Jackson. DETROIT -- A Mickey Mantle buff claims a 1960 home run belted out of Tiger Stadium by the former New York Yankees star is the longest ever measured -- 643 feet, .0069 inches. Jose Canseco's upper-deck blast helped the Oakland Athletics defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1989 American League Championship Series. Yet the story of his 565-foot moonshot still lives strong. This is a great example of getting the barrel on plane with the pitch. Odds & lines subject to change. Thome had a sweet, sweet home run swing. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. 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. 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. Besides Dunn, only Mickey Mantle and Mark McGwire appear twice on this list, proving Dunn swings a mean bat. Player profile Power hitting. The majestic shot actually hit the scoreboard above the centerfield fence. 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. In September 2008, Dunn crushed a fastball from Colorado lefty Glendon Rusch that hit the Jumbotron at Chase Field. Despite the scarcity of film on. Although the blast was touted at 529 feet,ESPN arrivedat 468 feet. The longest home runs still needed a little bit more oomph. Mickey Mantle, in any case, was fully capable of hitting the ball a very long distance. Notice where Canseco holds the barrel as the pitch is being thrown. In an epic drama spiced with improbable plot twists, New York Yankees stars Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris dueled in 1961 to break Babe Ruth 's Major League Baseball season record for home runs . He hit for a career .266 batting average and earned 4 silver slugger awards. June 9, 1946, for a dinger deemed to have traveled 502 feet. . June 3, 1987, which reportedly went a staggering. Sitting in the first row behind home plate, I had a great view of the ball's flight. Canseco later admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. By holding the barrel forward, the bat must untip and then turn around the hands and into the baseball. Want to know whats up with Russell Wilson, Cam Newton, Tom Brady and more? 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. Gambling problem? Joe Dimaggio Hails Mantle, Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1953, p. C-1. With two outs in the ninth, Bob Lemon comes on to relieve Johnny Allen with the score 4-4. In this case, however, initial estimates appeared to have sold Ted Williams short. 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. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. "It looks like beer's coming down.". Although it came nowhere close to 734 feet, ESPN determined an impressive true distance of 503 feet. Mcgwire later admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. Baseballs best sluggers have embraced that philosophy and raised the bar for what it means to mash, crush and blast. Share this article with everyone you know. Determining the longest homer ever in MLB history is an exercise in myth-busting. Other baseball stories hereinclude: Babe Ruth Days, 1947-48, Ruth At Oriole Park,1930s-2009,Baseball 1929 &Jimmie Foxx, and The $2.8 Milliion Baseball Card. The fastest exit speed velocity in the MLB over the last decade is 122 MPH. Pattersons number more or less became what was reported, which even Mantle doubted. Louis Effrat, Towering Drive by Yank Slugger Features 7-3 Defeat of Senators; Mantles 565-foot Homer at Capital Surpassed Only by Mighty Ruth Wallops, New York Times, Saturday, April 18, 1953, p. 12. This cannon shot to straightaway center carried an estimated 474 feet. 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. 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