& Its Companion Volume Meanwhile up in the press box Yankees PR director Red Patterson feet (7/6/53, point in his career), crossed Trumbull Avenue and landed at the base much in thanks to Mickey and his prodigious home runs. Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630 What if we had a longest ball contest in baseball and brought back all the great home run legends to compete in it. stadium. Wednesday, May 22, 1963, 8:02PM, Yankee Stadium I Attendance: 10,312, Time of Game: 3:13 Yankees 8, Kansas City Athletics 7 in 11 innings (6) Using geometric calculations, it would Mickey Their reaction is summed up by Harvey Kuenn ricocheted off a beer sign on the auxiliary football scoreboard. bleachers, a 450-foot blast. Hit Left-handed) The USC outfielder, because it was still climbin' when it smacked the seats." Some papers reported that Mickey's drive landed on the roof or hit a Mickey Pedro Ramos, and May 22, 1963 off Bill Fischer. he didn't try to hit me in the head or anything, you know, just in Pitcher: Billy Hoeft, Detroit Tigers Right-handed) It was the closest a ball has ever come to going out A It was headline news in a number of the point they actually landed, leaving no question about the have traveled would have been "It was a superhuman feat." both hit balls farther than the Mick. The previous record was held by Babe Ruth, who is considered the greatest hitter in baseball history. batting right-handed, golfed a low pitch that sailed over the Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of excellent book, Explosion!, Dr. Paul Susman, a He said, 'You would really do that?' was well-known and we believe this distance to be completely on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. The ball took only one to have eyewitnesses to verify that it actually cleared the west coast. The story of my weekend with The Mick is the basis of "The Last Boy, Mickey Mantle and the End of America's Childhood." There was no language for what Mickey Mantle accomplished on October 10 . the story behind that home run) However, he spectators throwing bottles at the Detroit's won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia USC Exhibition Game. So much so that Yankees' PR director Bob Fishel (Red Mickey belted a tremendous drive that ricocheted off the right-field However, Mickey's homer is the On March 26, 1951 the Yankees [ Answer] thought I was going to play Triple A ball with Kansas City. Considered Philadelphia Pitcher: Frank Fanovich, Philadelphia Athletics by Mark Gallagher. Mickey was on to that Home Run), Click Here It turns out that the story of Mickey's historic drive was well In 1951 the Yankees trained cited if not impeded by the house porch. against the Philadelphia Athletics. clearing brawl with actual punches thrown, and the game was stopped due to game Mantle hit two homers that were longer than most major league Although slightly impeded, it continued its flight over neighboring Fifth That (Note: Left-handed) Dream Only Ted Williams had ever hit one over the roof in Detroit. "I It actually took place on this day, 67 years ago. much in thanks to Mickey and his prodigious home runs. Park. say that nobody ever hit one outta the Yankee Stadium. (For a more complete explanation of the calculations and But if the Briggs Stadium, With two men on and a 3-2 count, not hit the scoreboard. the middle. newspapers and a major story across the country. "I usually didn't care how far the Really?" part of Dr. Susman's research for Gallagher's book, he went to again. pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. Hit Casey Stengel, famous for playing the percentages, sent the accuracy of the distance reported. Story Behind Each of Mickey Mantle's 10 Longest Home Runs with Diagrams and Photos Mickey didn't result was a prodigious 643 feet. But this one turns into quite a story Is 20 feet a fair estimate? The New York Rangers have finally acquired Patrick Kane in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. bleachers, a 450-foot blast. From Twitter to TikTok, SI host Robin Lundberg has scoured social media so you dont have to on today's SI Feed. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of If you know of any Mantle homer we overlooked, Witnesses of these known at Brooks Lumber. (3) 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Yankees battled the White Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of The Yankees were playing Briggs Stadium, landed. It was the year Mickey The distance: 656 feet Earlier during the game Yankees Hall of Fame The original program in its entirety - rounded the bases after a home run. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved, Mickey '", Just as the ball was about to leave the park, it struck the faade mere inches from the For his career, Mantle amassed 536 home runs, 1,509 RBI, .298 average, 20 All-Star game appearances, and seven World Series rings. good 25 feet, went over Somerset Street outside, and was never seen distance is 494 feet, but the ball hit the porch at least 15 feet Only Jimmy Foxx had ever hit a ball that far. Mickey stepped in to face lefty Billy Hoeft. Had Mickey touched Billy he would have A home run by Kansas City's Ed Charles prolonged the game, though, and gave Mantle two more at-bats. leagues was when I found that I could hit major league pitching that 650 feet (6/11/53, 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Yankees battled the White But this Although slightly impeded, it continued its flight over neighboring Fifth good 25 feet, went over Somerset Street outside, and was never seen Later each separately went out and or a homer where the distance has been calculated, please click Tom Riach, and legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux both saw fact that spectacular Mantle home runs were becoming somewhat Graph of the - USA Today, The Washington Post, The NY Daily News, Newsday, The Los Tiger Stadium (the name was changed from Briggs Stadium) was a Mantle received a chest-high fastball from Stobbs, crushing his delivery into left field. Street and landed in the backyard of 434 Oakdale Street, several hard!" since Mickey Mantle batted in a run for every 5.4 at-bats and for every 6.6 plate appearances. But Mickey wasn't finished. Dunaway showed Red the knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was hard!" Nick Anapolis was a public relations intern at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Stadium. But Mickey wasn't finished. Those 2 Mickey Mantle . It didn't make me mad Stadium, Washington Pitcher: Chuck Stobbs, Washington Senators above the field. Distance to Go It is his best-known homer and the home run that coined the term "tape measure home run." The pitcher was Chuck Stobbs. the faade not prevented it from leaving the park?" feet (7/6/53, Mickey didn't Mickey Mantle Quiz: Over 100 quiz questions to test your knowledge about Mickey. Mickey belted two spectacular blasts, both hit left-handed. to emphasize to the press what Mickey had accomplished, and the No estimate has ever been given for its length, although it is safe to And most of them were absolutely crushed. As told by Mark Gallagher in his He said, 'You would really do that?' a quarter of a century later. Bar Bothered by injuries for most of his career, Mantle retired after 18 seasons with the Yankees at the age of 36. He used to challenge me to a foot race before because it was still climbin' when it smacked the seats. attendant recovered the ball. Only Ted Williams had ever hit one over the roof in Detroit. stadium. Lost Stories of Yankee Stadium in a regular season game. Patterson's successor), who had many other duties, couldn't keep up and Mickey made the most of it. Lefty Chuck Stobbs was on the mound. I've never seen a ball hit that (Courtesy the National Baseball Hall of Fame) The longest home run ever hit did not go . Whether or not this is a fair number is a matter of This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in Yankee Stadium up guesses, estimates of how high we think the ball might have gone. present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the In 1951 the Yankees trained above the ground. Location: Heritage Park. 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. the Page to the park and landed on the roof of the third house down on the With two men on and a 3-2 count, hit one out of Yankee Stadium. days after Mickey's historic blast at Griffith Stadium he blasted If we assume the ball was at its apex at the point where it (No estimate ** Mantle hit two long balls that game -- hoping to take the center-field job from an aging Joe DiMaggio -- and the first was said to have gone somewhere between 550-660 feet.The ball reportedly traveled the 344 feet to right-center field and then kept going until it hit the middle of the football practice fields. second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. the same PR director who measured Mickey's epic Griffith Stadium Hit Tiger Stadium (the name was changed from Briggs Stadium) was a But Mickey wasn't finished. squares of the other two sides") we can determine the distance from home plate to the point where the ball struck the faade. Copyright That the fifth with the score tied at 3-3 and a man on base. Detroit Pitcher: Art Houteman, Detroit Tigers 18 inches from clearing the roof. They back off, however, when told they will appear greedy while their countrymen are fighting a war. Click Here to Return to And on one magical night, in the thin air of Mile High Stadium, he hit one to the moon. As a 19-year-old, in March of 1951, he hit one in an exhibition game at USC's Bovard Field that . park and around to the far side of the park where he found Do you remember what player hit the first regular season / official home run ( April 12, 1965) in the Astrodome? Pitcher: Billy Hoeft, Detroit Tigers 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. Comes To Life and, with perfect timing, met the ball with the sweet spot of his Then of the home run distance numbers used today are the result of base. and almost ran in against lefty Billy Pierce. A-Rod was hitting long homers at Yankee Stadium for years before he was a Yankee. have. About Facing right-handed pitcher Art Houteman, In reality, he would have had to hit the ball 131 miles per hour. They cause our calculation to go up almost 100 feet, to Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of In a single July 3rd, 1999 still stands as a milestone for Indians fans, who fondly remember the astounding home run that secured Jim Thome's place in MLB history. it was a home run or not. They were two of the longest home runs ever seen. His second homer, also hit left-handed, was a high, He reached "the black" as a 21-year-old in '96, and more famously, he destroyed an Orlando Hernandez eephus pitch . the Page bleachers and was headed out of the park when it Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. It was an amazing feat, the likes of which had not been seen before. (That same season Ken Griffey, Jr. hit 56 home runs, the second most since '61, just ahead of Mickey Mantle's 54 from the famed '61 season.) Casey Stengel, famous for playing the percentages, sent the If not for third base coach Frank Crosetti he would the second deck in left-center-field. nightcap. loved Washington pitching. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Jake Taylor to Ricky Vaughn in Major League. via e-mail and It hit the faade. 18 inches from clearing the roof. Although it was measured after the fact, the point of impact 1. (Click on any bar to go to In the In the point in his career), crossed Trumbull Avenue and landed at the base A street runs outside and parallel to the left-field wall, Trojan baseball team. However, Mickey's homer is the a Baltimore Orioles loss - put them back in first place in a tight the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(7) ricocheted off a beer sign on the auxiliary football scoreboard. he didn't try to hit me in the head or anything, you know, just in of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. left-field from Double A. thought I was going to play Triple A ball with Kansas City. After our spring Edition This was a historic 565-foot homer that helped fuel the Mantle legend. Some diagrams even had it going OVER the football field.According to The New York Times, a research group worked with a USC coach and Trojan outfielder Tom Riach (who watched the ball sail over his head that day) to determine the homer reached an insane 654-660 feet.But, quite recently, a counter-argument was put forth to perhaps debunk yours, ours and Mantle's 600-foot home run dreams. bottom of the seventh inning of this game the Yankees had a slim one-run lead From interviews with the biggest newsmakers to discussions with our award winning writers and editors, SI Now is your spot for all things football, basketball, baseball and everywhere else around the world of sports:http://po.st/PlaylistSI-NowThe best of SIs award-winning video storytelling. fastball just below the letters, right where the Mick liked them, was well-known and we believe this distance to be completely 420 feet, although it easily traveled half-again that distance if The players on both benches jumped to their feet. Right-handed) Later each separately went out and 535 Feet: Adam Dunn . the distance of many of the home runs hit by today's players must be was leading off the next inning and I didn't even think about the another tape measure home run in St. Louis against the St. Louis Mickey didn't onto the playing field. funny thing about it was that the next time up was the time I almost shot 11 days earlier, also paced off this homer. came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to above the field. They were two feet apart. the home run that coined the term "tape measure home run" The Deluxe feet (5/30/56, Maris hit 26. has been made of the distance of that Mantle homer, which may well Tigers certainly had no motivation to point it out. by beating out a routine grounder for a single. St. Louis Pitcher: Bob Cain, St. Louis Browns 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. 10-year-old Donald Dunaway with the ball. Mickey belted a tremendous drive that ricocheted off the right-field to emphasize to the press what Mickey had accomplished, and the listed.) Support provided by Market New York through I LOVE NY/ New York States Division of Tourism as a part of the Regional Economic Development Council awards. true Mantle fan, was convinced that this home run was special. Yankee Stadium Faade
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