mammoth homeruns

[billny33]

Well I can tell you what was supposedly the farthest ball ever hit (however legit you may consider this, you cannot believe they perfectly measured all of Ruth's blasts if they even recorded them at all) but Mickey Mantle supposedly hit a 565 foot blast out of Washington's Griffith Stadium which as far as anyone knows is the farthest ball hit for a homerun in a major league baseball game. At least one homerun record the steroids havent eroded yet.

[billny33]

oh yeah as for the upper deck in right field at Yankee Stadium, if its real good I guess it could go about between 430-465 if you hit it way up there, that would be about more accurate in real life. I have ASB99 too, sometimes the measurements are way off but its not a bad game with Sterling and Kay at the mic

[BobCollier]

Hello again, Bill

Thanks for enlightening me! 430-465 feet sounds a bit more credible.

I picked up ASB99 in a sale for $20 (about 10 of your dollars). My 7-year old son has a GameCube as well as the N64 and, including the computer games, has about 50 games to choose from, so he's always playing different games - he keeps asking me, "Why do you keep playing that same game all the time?" Some people just don't understand. :D

Have a great day!

Bob

[J W]

I just read about this one...

Longest distance traveled by a HR ball: app. 200 miles

Story goes, Chief Zimmer hit a home run once in Boston, which after clearing the fence landed in a passing coal car. The ball stopped a while later in Fall River.

It's in the Historical Abstract, and Bill James didn't disprove it.

[Brad Harris]

Originally posted by billny33
Well I can tell you what was supposedly the farthest ball ever hit (however legit you may consider this, you cannot believe they perfectly measured all of Ruth's blasts if they even recorded them at all) but Mickey Mantle supposedly hit a 565 foot blast out of Washington's Griffith Stadium which as far as anyone knows is the farthest ball hit for a homerun in a major league baseball game. At least one homerun record the steroids havent eroded yet.

My reading on this matter would lead me to believe that it's either the Mantle homer (above) or the Josh Gibson blast that cleared Old Yankee Stadium, something no other player has done in recorded memory.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Originally posted by Chancellor
My reading on this matter would lead me to believe that it's either the Mantle homer (above) or the Josh Gibson blast that cleared Old Yankee Stadium, something no other player has done in recorded memory.

There has never been any verification that Gibson (or anyone) ever hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium. I don't recall the date but either the New York World Telegram or The New York Times covered that game. One of these news papers gave a recap and a box score the very next day and made no mention of Gibson hitting a ball out of the stadium. It would be unusual for an event like this to happen and have no mention of it in the newpaper the next day. Too bad this guy never got to play MLB because of skin color. He most likely would have enriched the history of the game.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Originally posted by billny33
Well I can tell you what was supposedly the farthest ball ever hit (however legit you may consider this, you cannot believe they perfectly measured all of Ruth's blasts if they even recorded them at all) but Mickey Mantle supposedly hit a 565 foot blast out of Washington's Griffith Stadium which as far as anyone knows is the farthest ball hit for a homerun in a major league baseball game. At least one homerun record the steroids havent eroded yet.
Unfortunately tape measure jobs by Ruth and Foxx never got that much coverage in those days. Being a MLB history nut I have poured over some newspaper archives and can give a few long ones that Foxx and Ruth hit that can be verified to be very long because of the height they were at when the left the park. Foxx and Ruth hit dozens of balls into distant points of bleachers but these are hard to give a measurment of.
Here are some that we can some what judge as being very long because we know where they left the park.
1919 Polo Grounds: Ruth hit a ball over the roof in right and the ball landed in Manhhatten Field across the street. From 1916-1919 Ruth is credited with hitting at least 12 balls that cleared the roof in right: Source, N.Y. Times
1927, August 16, Ruth hit a ball over the double decked stands and roof at Comiskey Park. There were over a dozen sports writers present at tha game and all said the ball cleared the 52 foot wide roof with room to spare. In the winter of 1926 Chicago owner Charles Comiskey added second decks in the outfield and remarked "Your not going to see any more balls knocked out of this park."
1930s. Not sure of the date but Jimmy Foxx hit a ball over the double decked roof in left field at Comiskey. Described in a recap the next day in the Chicago Tribune as "A monster shot".
1930 May 21, The Yanks play a double header at Philadelphia. On that day, Jimmy Foxx hit a ball that struck the fence in dead center, at the 468 foot marker and got a triple. Foxx then hit a home run that landed on top of the roof in left field, never done before. In the first game Ruth hit 3 home runs, one was the longest ever at Shibe Park. It was hit out of the park in right field, across North 20th street, over the roofs of the first row of houses and landed on top of the second row of houses.
1935 May 25. A tired old Babe Ruth hit number 714 at Pittsburghs Forbes Field. On that day, Ruth hit a single and 3 home runs. The last home run was hit over the roof and out of the park, never done up to that time. His legs were bad and he was very sick and after he hit that home run he went and sat in the opposing teams dugout. The pitcher that gave up that last long home run was interviewed after the game and said " I kinda felt sorry for the Babe, he looked old worn out, but I was not going to give him anything to hit. I threw my best and I have never seen a ball hit so far, so high. When he rounded third I had to tip my hat to him and I said, I've seen it all now Babe". the pitcher was Ruth's chief tormentor when he was a Chicago Cub at the famous "Called Shot" game in the 1932 WS, Guy Bush.
Sorry guys, once I get started on Ruth, it's hard to stop. Any way we will probably never know who ever hit the longest. I did see Mantle hit some a mile, then there was Frank Howard, Harmon Killebrew and Dick Allen hit some shots and then as of late Mac, Sosa and Barry.

[Coach Landon]

Does anyone know the longest home run ever hit?

[The Commissioner]

There's an excellent article on this exact topic right here at the Baseball Almanac: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/art_hr.shtml

[Catch22]

On April 17th in 1953 Mickey Mantle hit a ball off of pitcher Chuck Stobbs out of Washington's Griffith Stadium that went an estimated 565ft... This was the home run that coined the phrase "Tape measure home run"... It is also listed in the Guinness Book of Sports Records as the farthest home run hit during a regular season Major League game...

BUT!!!

Mickey most likely hit 6 other balls during games that went even longer... Like the ball he hit out of Tiger Stadium in 1960... Eye witnesses marked the point where the ball landed at 643 ft away from Home Plate... And, maybe the longest ever hit didn't end up over 100 ft away from home plate in Yankee Stadium... May 22nd 1963 in the 11th inning Mickey hit what he said was the hardest ball he'd ever hit... He was batting left handed and hit a line drive into the top of the Facade (decorative facing on the roof) in right field of Yankee Stadium... Now the Facade was 370 ft from the plate and 118 ft high... Witnesses at the game say that the ball was still climbing when it hit... It hit so hard it bounced all the way back to the infield... Using Geometery if the ball were to rise another 20 ft (in other words if it hadn't hit the roof) it would have landed an estimated 734ft away...

http://www.themick.com/10homers.html

[Zito75]

I was at a Mariners game about 7 or 8 years ago and Mc Gwire hit a Randy Johnson fastball into the upper deck, dead center field in the Kingdome. That damn thing had to have been as far as Mantle's.

[confuseddave]

how about Glenallen Hill hitting it onto the rooftop of that building across the street from Wrigley in left field. That thing must have traveled WELL over 500 feet. Some say it went at least 600 or more. I have the video on my computer and it amazes me everytime I watch it.

[Hammerin Hank]

Where did you get that video?

[confuseddave]

i think i got it from cubs.com a while back... i think it happened in 2000. i just saved it from the website. you cant do that now i dont think.. you have to pay or something... but i can share it with you guys

[abolishthedh]

In every respect I can think of, there is something wrong with the methodology in the Tale of The Tape. Mantle's 565' blast might be the accepted record, but I suspect it has been broken several times in decades past and present. There would have to be separate methods used for separate trajectories. A McGwire-esque homer might have extreme height, but it would not travel too far past the fence because it would be dropping quickly at that point. A line drive home run might easily travel just as far without making anyone's mouth gape open.

I teach high school math, and I'll be brief on this. The use of calculus and a formula for a parabola would provide a good model for a McGwire-esque homer. The use of trigonometry would be more useful for a line drive home run, although the "line" drive would still have an arc.

I'd love to know the methodology(s) used by MLB, or by individual teams in arriving at their Tale of The Tape numbers. If anyone has an idea on where this can be found, please share.

[tearforamariner]

What about Josh Gibson's homerun which left Yankee Stadium?

[Catch22]

It's hard to really judge what happened in the career of Josh Gibson... But, he is credited with the only homerun to leave Yankee stadium during a game... Nobody knows how far it went, but they say it went over 600 ft... Problem is that nobody cared to measure it and make it stick... 1) he was black 2) it was a Negro League game...

Josh and the rest of Nergo League players didn't get the media attention or the following the white guys did... Heck, just about anything he did could be concidered mythical...

[cubbieinexile]

Nowadays STATS I believe has the responsibility of measuring homeruns. What they do is cut the field and stands into grids, and each grid is a known distance away from home plate. So when a ball flies into the stands the guy who is present for STATS makes an estimate as to which grid it lands in. That is how they do it nowadays at least. Back then I have no idea.

[Whitesoxnut]

Whats the longest homerun youv ever personaly watched? Mine probably was a shot by Willie Mcovey at Wrigley sometime in the late 60s/early 70s. He put on between two 3-flats on Sheffield ave, it had to be well over 500'. I saw Dave Kingman do the same on Waveland ave. Ive seen Richie Allen hit some monsters as well in the old ball park. The thing about Dick is he could do it to any field, not just left.

For dramatics, even tho I wasnt in the stands, I'll never forget Reggie Jacksons All Star game blast to the RF roof in Tiger stadium. if I remember right that was in the early 70s.

[runningshoes]

That would have to be Cecil Fielder.

He put one into the 5th deck at Skydome.

A monster shot

[The Dude]

Sammy Sosa hitting one out of Miller park, as the windows were open and it flew through and landed on the sidewalk right before the parking.

[Bench 5]

Longest I've seen was probably Kingman's blast well onto Waveland in 1979. About 550 feet. Even a juiced up Sammy couldn't match that.

Other bombs include Tony Armas off Tom Seaver in 1984. He hit the ball into the centerfield stands at old Comiskey. The stands were 445 feet from home and the ball went about 20-25 feet into the stands.

Greg Luzinski and Ron Kittle hit some balls over the rook at Old Comiskey which was estimated at a minimum of 474 feet prior to when they moved the fences in.

[soberdennis]

Whats the longest homerun youv ever personaly watched? Mine probably was a shot by Willie Mcovey at Wrigley sometime in the late 60s/early 70s. He put on between two 3-flats on Sheffield ave, it had to be well over 500'. I saw Dave Kingman do the same on Waveland ave. Ive seen Richie Allen hit some monsters as well in the old ball park. The thing about Dick is he could do it to any field, not just left.

For dramatics, even tho I wasnt in the stands, I'll never forget Reggie Jacksons All Star game blast to the RF roof in Tiger stadium. if I remember right that was in the early 70s.
Jackson's homer was in 1971.
It hit a transformer on it's upward flight. Where it would have landed had the transformer not been there is anyone's guess.

[mac195]

I was sitting near the left field line at Fenway some evening in the late '70s when Gorman Thomas crushed a ball. The sound of it was sickening, like you knew damage was being done. It went over my head, and way, way over the top of the foul poll above the Green Monster. It didn't seem to be coming down when it dissappeared into the darkness. I have no idea how far it went.

[soberdennis]

I'm not old enough to have seen it of course. But Josh Gibson apparently hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium. No Major Leaguer has ever done that, though Mantle came close twice.Anyone know anything about Gibson's blast.

[Yankwood]

In a spring training game I saw Manny Sanguillen hit a ball to left center field which cleared the fence and landed in the back of a pickup truck heading west. Afterward, the stunned driver said he made a lumber delivery about 5 miles from the stadium whereupon he found the ball amongst the wood in the back of his truck. When Manny heard this he laid claim to the longest homerun ever hit by signing the ball for the man the following day. "5 miles and 375 ft." :D

[DoubleX]

In '96 or '97, can't remember the year, I was at Yankee Stadium when Mark McGwire took Mariano Rivera deep into the CF black seats. That was easily the biggest homerun I ever saw in person.

[digglahhh]

The Mo Vaughn shot in the rain hit the scoreboard about 3/4 of the way up at Shea.

[riverfrontier]

George Brett hitting one out of Tiger Stadium. By the way, would anybody know where I can get a listing of Tiger Stadium roof shots?

[ectobin78]

Eric Davis hitting a 100 mph fastball off of Matt Anderson (rookie year) in Tiger Stadium.

[wamby]

While visiting Toronto, I saw Jim Thome hit a HR into the Hard Rock Cafe.

[riverfrontier]

The Hard Rock in which city?;)

[Yankwood]

While visiting Toronto, I saw Jim Thome hit a HR into the Hard Rock Cafe.Have they ever measured that because I saw Jose Cruz Jr. hit the same windows out there off of David Cone? I'll never forget the funny noise it made bouncing off that window.

[rockin500]

Longest I've seen was probably Kingman's blast well onto Waveland in 1979. About 550 feet. Even a juiced up Sammy couldn't match that.

Other bombs include Tony Armas off Tom Seaver in 1984. He hit the ball into the centerfield stands at old Comiskey. The stands were 445 feet from home and the ball went about 20-25 feet into the stands.

Greg Luzinski and Ron Kittle hit some balls over the rook at Old Comiskey which was estimated at a minimum of 474 feet prior to when they moved the fences in.
that homer went down kenmore. Sammy put one about one car length in front of the kingman one (went over 520 feet). I remember watching that one live at wrigley. The place was absolutely stunned. the second longest being the one he put over the camera shed (only player to ever do so)

[Williamsburg2599]

The Mo Vaughn shot in the rain hit the scoreboard about 3/4 of the way up at Shea.
I remember that,that was an absolute shot.The farthest one I've seen live on tv is Big Papi's shot during the WBC,in person it was once again Ortiz,this time hitting one over the back wall of Fenway,right over the camera booth out there.

[mordeci]

I saw Kevin Mitchell hit one almost 450 miles, or maybe it was feet, I don't remember.

[Matthew C.]

I saw the longest ball McGwire ever hit (at least officialy). It was the one at Busch stadium that was estimated at 545 ft. against the Marlins. They put a giant band-aid over the spot where the ball hit.

Now the longest clean homerun is a different story.

[flash143817]

Hmm...I can't recall any extraordinarily long HR's that I've seen in person.


But the longest I've ever seen on TV was Adam Dunn's off of Jose Lima in 2004.

[bluezebra]

Not in person, but on TV..Saw Cubs' Glenallen Hill hit a ball onto the roof of an apartment building across Waveland from Wrigley Field. Saw him hit a batting practice pitch that hit into the upper right corner of the Diamond Vision at Dodger Stadium that put it out of commission.

In person..In 1948, saw Joe DiMaggio hit a line drive into the third deck at Old Comiskey Park that broke the back of a seat.

Bob

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I'm not old enough to have seen it of course. But Josh Gibson apparently hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium. No Major Leaguer has ever done that, though Mantle came close twice.Anyone know anything about Gibson's blast.

The only thing we know about it is it's never been confirmed. Two negro league players who were in that game said it never happened. Don't recall their names, one was on Gibson's team the other was not.

I did read some years ago that the ball hit the back wall on a bounce. Those were the words of the man himself Josh Gibson.

[west coast orange and black]

willie mccovey clanging one off an upper deck seat at candlestick park.
quite majestic.

i think that khenry14 was at that exact game.

[soberdennis]

Conseco hit a monster in the skydome one time.

[Mad Guru]

I saw Nick Delvecchio hit one in Greensboro that literally vanished into the night. Left the stadium and kept on going.

[JohnGelnarFan]

I saw the Glenallen Hill homer on tv too. It may not be the longest but it was the most impressive. I wonder if it's ever been done,other than his. I'd have loved to have been on the roof.
The longest I saw in Person was Frank Howard in RFK stadium. His upper deck shots are still marked today.






Not in person, but on TV..Saw Cubs' Glenallen Hill hit a ball onto the roof of an apartment building across Waveland from Wrigley Field. Saw him hit a batting practice pitch that hit into the upper right corner of the Diamond Vision at Dodger Stadium that put it out of commission.

In person..In 1948, saw Joe DiMaggio hit a line drive into the third deck at Old Comiskey Park that broke the back of a seat.

Bob

[Iron Jaw]

I remember watching Andy Kosco blast one out of Bear's Stadium (name changed to Mile High a little later) in Denver that must have sailed 550 feet, back in 1967.

[Say Hey]

I was at the Metrodome in Minnesota a few years back and before the game they were having a softball all star game with these regular recreational league guys. This left handed batter comes up and hits a softball off of the banners with the Twin's historical players way out in right field. I've never even seen someone hit a baseball off of those banners.

[sturg1dj]

since Babe Ruth people have been trying to calculate homerun distance. Today we have a system that many fans think is exact, but of course is not. We have all heard of Mantle's 565 ft. HR and the one he hit that his the top of the roof at Yankee stadium and bounced back to the infield. We have also heard about many other mammoth shots. Well after reading about a homerun Lou Brock hit that landed in the bleacher in CF at the Polo Grounds, I started getting more interest in long homeruns, especially before the time people could measure.

So if you would, could you share any stories of homeruns hit that you have heard about, becuase some of these are truly amazing stories.

[Padday]

Anybody who hit a homerun to centre field in the Polo Grounds should be noted. Only four people did it after it was remodeled in 1923, they were Lou Brock (as you mentioned) Hank Aaron, Joe Addock and Luke Easter in a Negro League game.

[CanadianKid]

Babe Ruth's homerun which was hit completely out of Tiger Stadium and down a few blocks.

[sturg1dj]

heres another question, any info about who ever hit upper deck home runs to dead center at Tiger stadium? I remember going there and being amazed at the distace (which makes me even more in awe of other old stadiums)

how about dead center HR's at Yankee stadium when it was huge?

[Elvis]

how about dead center HR's at Yankee stadium when it was huge?

Any home run that goes into the black batters eye seats in the current stadium would've been a homer in the old stadium too, because those seasts are original to the old stadium. They just brought in the inner fences. More impressive would be any homers that reach the bleacher seats in left field--I've never seen that happen.

[rockin500]

well you have sosa and Kingman both hitting shots down Kenmore Drive at Wrigley Field. I was there for the Sosa kenmore shot. it was estimated at 520 feet.

[RichardLillard1]

Ruth hit one that went out of Shibe Park's right field, across the street and landed in someone's backyard. That was anywhere between 329 and 400 to get it out of the park on the right field side and judging by the photo below another 100+ to land in a back yard.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/RichardLillard1/shibeaerial.jpg

Then of course Ruth's '32 series blast out to Wrigley's CF bleachers. It was 436 to the CF wall, and it landed outside the park and hit a ticket booth.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/RichardLillard1/Wrigley1932copy.jpg

Of course Ruth also hit over the roof at Forbes Field on his last homer.



Josh Gibson apparently once hit a ball over the roof on the left field side of Yankee Stadium in the 30's. No one has ever confirmed this but it would have had to have gone around 600 feet and been around 110 feet high. Definately a titanic shot. Not to mention the year Gibson out homered the Washington Senators at Griffith by him self (they had 6 as a team that season he had 7 or 8 that were officially noted).

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/RichardLillard1/sI.jpg

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Then of course Ruth's '32 series blast out to Wrigley's CF bleachers. It was 436 to the CF wall, and it landed outside the park and hit a ticket booth.




This was the configuration of the park in the 1932 season whan Ruth hit that home run. The path of the ball.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I guess we will never know who hit the longest. I would say that there is probably not much difference in footage between the longest and the next 5 or 6 longest, how far can a ball really be hit. McGwire, Bonds, Killebrew, Mantle, Ruth, Foxx, Frank Howard, Kingman just some of the names that always come up on this subject.

Ruth one of my favorite subjects, have spent many years researching him. He hit dozens of tape measure shots. Many into distant bleachers, difficult to measure and for that matter many were not measured or even estimated till Mantle's shot at Griffith Stadium brought out the "tape measure."

Here are two of Ruth's blasts that can be at the least, an educated guess since they both cleared high roofs, out of parks so it's plain to see these were monster shots.

His last number 714 in 1935 mentioned by another poster. Cleared the roof at Forbes Field, it was high and far.

Number 37 in the 1927 season referred to as "Ruth's roof topper." This one cleared the 72-80 foot high, 52 foot wide roof at Comiskey Park and landed in a parking lot on the other side of Wentworth Avenue.

Another two that can be estimated fairly close. Twice he hit balls into the CF bleachers at Fenway over the 488 foot marker, safe to say these two had to be at least 500 feet.

At least one that I dug up in the news archives hit into the CF bleachers at Yankee Stadium at the 487 foot mark.

He never lost the home run stroke. In a long distance hitting contest with some heavy hitters, Dolph Camilli, Joe Medwick and Johnny Mize, Ruth came out on top.
This contest was held at St. Louis, Sportsmans Park. Ruth hit the longest drive, over the pavillion in right Field, over the second set of trolley car tracks on the other side of Grand Boulevard, estimated 450-470 feet. For this he won 50.00, Medwick finished second, 25.00.

Whats remarkable about this, the contest was held in 1938. The other 3 hitters in thier prime in 1938, Ruth out of baseball for 3 years, heavier and out of shape, he never lost that stroke.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Too many to list, but here are a few of Ruth's.


Number 13 on May 25, 1921 went out of Sportsmans Park - 550 feet
------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 26, 1927 - hit a ball completely out of remodeled Comiskey, over the double deck. Dr. Michael Crowe received measurements from Mr. Buck Peden of the White Sox office, and estimated it traveled no less than 474 feet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 4, 1919 against Columbia George Smith in an exhibition game against the Giants. It went over the right field fence and across a racetrack.

"Those who saw this homer were awestruck, and anyone who saw it still talks about it." - Ed Barrow

"I believe that's the longest ball I ever saw." - John McGraw

Sportswriters, including Mel Webb of the Globe measured it and said it landed 508 feet from home plate and rolled to 579 feet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number 700 at Navin Field - 480 feet
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number 714 out of Forbes in right center - bounced in street and rolled into Schenley park - over 500 feet
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1905 Giants]

Frank Howard Crushed some monsters

Cleared Left-Field bleachers in Tiger Stadium-1962

24 upperdeck home runs in Kennedy stadium

Truly the Capital Punisher

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Frank Howard Crushed some monsters

Cleared Left-Field bleachers in Tiger Stadium-1962

24 upperdeck home runs in Kennedy stadium

Truly the Capital Punisher

I was at one game when I saw Frank it one of the "quickest" home runs I ever saw. A bit to the right of the left field foul line. A rifle shot gone in a couple of seconds.

[flash143817]

Adam Dunn off of Jose Lima hit an apparent 535 foot homerun in 2004.

On this page is a link to a clip of that HR:

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cin/ballpark/longest_hr.jsp

On this picture taken from ballparksofbaseball.com, it gives an idea just how far Dunn's ball had to have traveled. It went all the way out of the stadium to dead CF, over the back wall of the stadium, and bounced on the street behind the stadium and one-hopped into the river behind the stadium.

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/nl/gab907.JPG

[plask_stirlac]

My question is how is this possible? Look at Sammy's 2002 derby, with his strength from whatever source AND BP pitches, aren't those about as far as thigns can go? He didn't get close to 600. I can see Dunn going 535, maybe Mantle going 565... but 600? Themick.com has a 734 foot shot? Please.

[sturg1dj]

My question is how is this possible? Look at Sammy's 2002 derby, with his strength from whatever source AND BP pitches, aren't those about as far as thigns can go? He didn't get close to 600. I can see Dunn going 535, maybe Mantle going 565... but 600? Themick.com has a 734 foot shot? Please.

well, no

BP pitches are in the 70-75 mph range maybe mid 80's

you get a 90-95 mph pitch and it goes a long way. Remember McGwire's supposedly 500+ ft HR vs. Randy Johnson?

and its not always about sheer strenght, its about bat speed. Ted Williams hit some bombs when he was just a skinny kid

[BaseballHistoryNut]

Anybody who hit a homerun to centre field in the Polo Grounds should be noted. Only four people did it after it was remodeled in 1923, they were Lou Brock (as you mentioned) Hank Aaron, Joe Addock and Luke Easter in a Negro League game.

I do not believe this is correct. I believe pitcher Schoolboye Rowe also did it in a preseason game.

BHN

[The Splendid Splinter]

you get a 90-95 mph pitch and it goes a long way. Remember McGwire's supposedly 500+ ft HR vs. Randy Johnson?


Now that was a mammoth HR... Upper upper deck at Kingdome... I remember that HR. Randy Johnson threw a 98 mph fastball... and when the ball left Mark's bat, it was going 108 mph... so it is possible but almost impossible...

[BaseballHistoryNut]

heres another question, any info about who ever hit upper deck home runs to dead center at Tiger stadium? I remember going there and being amazed at the distace (which makes me even more in awe of other old stadiums)

how about dead center HR's at Yankee stadium when it was huge?

Well, this one is steroid-tainted by its slugger's own admission, but....

I saw Jose Canseco hit one about halfway up the upper deck in Tiger Stadium, and it was still rising when it hit the seat. God knows how far that ball would have gone, but it had to be 470 or more when it hit that seat. Give it a giant * and all, but WOW, what a blast.

[BaseballHistoryNut]

Now that was a mammoth HR... Upper upper deck at Kingdome... I remember that HR. Randy Johnson threw a 98 mph fastball... and when the ball left Mark's bat, it was going 108 mph... so it is possible but almost impossible...

I saw that one live. Back then, if you got Bay Area MLB games, you saw all sorts of B.S. monster HR's, lol. But I didn't know at the time that it was B.S., and I sat there dumbfounded after McGwire hit that ball. I finally called a friend who's a national-class Duplicate Bridge player, therefore extremely bright, a lifelong baseball and baseball history fan, and said, "You know how you've always seen an occasional matchup between a top-notch power pitcher and power hitter, and heard an announcer wonder what would happen if the hitter got all of the pitcher's best fastball?" When he said, "Yes," I said, "The answer is that the ball will go 538 feet."

I then told him what I had seen, and exactly where in Seattle's dome that ball had gone. He stayed up late that night to see it on ESPN, and was as dumbstruck the next day as I was that night.

What a shame now to know the whole thing was a fraud.

But all those jaw-droppers of Dave Kingman's that I saw through the years were real.

BHN

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Any home run that goes into the black batters eye seats in the current stadium would've been a homer in the old stadium too, because those seasts are original to the old stadium. They just brought in the inner fences. More impressive would be any homers that reach the bleacher seats in left field--I've never seen that happen.

Depend on what we mean by the old stadium. Those may have been a home run if we are speaking of dead center after 1936.

Before 1937 that dead centerfield was no mans land. It was 487 to dead center from 1923 to 1936 then 461 in 1937. Up to that time only two balls were hit into dead center, both by Ruth.

[scribe114]

heres another question, any info about who ever hit upper deck home runs to dead center at Tiger stadium? I remember going there and being amazed at the distace (which makes me even more in awe of other old stadiums)

how about dead center HR's at Yankee stadium when it was huge?

Jimmie Foxx was the 1st to put one in the CF bleachers at Briggs Stadium in 1940 about 20 rows up. I used to have a print of the Free Press article when I was growing up, was also chronicled in Gene Macks Ballpark cartoons.

Willie Horton hit his 1st ML Homer into the upper deck in CF at Tiger Stadium off of Robin Roberts. He also hit one off the light tower in Right Center (Ala Reggie 71) as a High School sophmore in the Public School League championship game in 1959 (3 of my teachers attended that game, said it was quite the slugfest)

Once Yankee Stadium was reconfigured in 1937 Greenberg was the 1st to hit one in the CF bleachers off of Monte Pearson. Greenberg was the also the 1st player to hit one into the CF bleachers at Comiskey off of Ted Lyons.

[Stumanji]

"You know how you've always seen an occasional matchup between a top-notch power pitcher and power hitter, and heard an announcer wonder what would happen if the hitter got all of the pitcher's best fastball?" When he said, "Yes," I said, "The answer is that the ball will go 538 feet."

What a shame now to know the whole thing was a fraud.


Fraud?

If Pujols, A-Rod, Soriano, Sexson, or Dunn hit that ball, it still would have went 538 feet. It still would have hit the back-wall of the Kingdome.

Whether or not McGwire was on roids is irrelevant - it was a monster shot, and that's that.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Personally, I prefer HR distances as how far they should have traveled, level to the field. Some HR distances are calculated to where they hit in the stands - and that annoys me (especially in MVP Baseball).

I knew back in '98, when McGwire and Sosa were hitting those bombs there was a lot of discussion as to the validity of the HR distances calculated by these computer programs... Players (Chipper Jones is one) were saying there was no way some of Mac's HRs were coming in under 550-600 ft.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

heres another question, any info about who ever hit upper deck home runs to dead center at Tiger stadium? I remember going there and being amazed at the distace (which makes me even more in awe of other old stadiums)

how about dead center HR's at Yankee stadium when it was huge?

I don't think there was an upper deck in Detroit in 1927 but it was a long poke to dead center at that time 455 feet. On Sunday July 10, 1927 Ruth hit home runs number 28 and 29. Both sailed into the centerfield bleachers. The N.Y.Times notes that the second HR was hit higher and further.

September 7, 1927 Ruth hit 3 home runs in a doubleheader at Fenway Park.

His first cleared the high wall in left center only a few yards from dead center which was 488 feet at that time.
His second, in the very next inning was described as a long high drive to right field.
His third was hit into the very middle of the centerfield bleachers at the 488 foot marker.

Yankee Stadium, center field was 487 feet in 1927.
I did find at least two home runs that Ruth hit into the bleachers at that time, both in the 1920s. Imagine hitting a ball almost 500 feet and not getting a home run.
It happened in 1927, August 4. Ruth drove a ball to dead center in N.Y. over the head of Heinie Manush. The ball hit the top of the railing and bounced back ito the playing field, only a double.

After doing years of research on Babe Ruth I don't think there is any doubt he hit as many or more drives in the neighborhood of 500 feet that any player ever did. His were easier to estimate because the parks were so much bigger than and we know the distance at the point they cleared walls or fences.

[BaseballHistoryNut]

I couldn't disagree more. What if he'd shot it out of a cannon while nobody was looking?

Mark McGwire was always a terrific HR hitter. I should know--I watched his entire Bay Area career on TV. But his HR%, the lynchpin to his HOF argument, grew as exponentially larger as did his circus strongman freak's body, in his final few years. It is dead obvious what he was up to, and unlike in a criminal jury trial--where jurors are specifically instructed by the judge that they must not hold the defendant's invocation of his right to remain silent against him--this ain't a criminal trial, we ain't the government, and we can do as much of that as we like.

No, he's not as flagrant as Bonds, but he did it for a lot longer than Bonds. And he sure as hell wasn't hitting multiple HR's of over 480 FT in the same game before he, like numerous others, discovered the wonders of PED's.

THAT doesn't make a difference??? You're entitled to your opinion, but just like the Canseco rocket I saw still rising when it smashed an empty seat half-way up the upper deck in dead center in Tiger Stadium, at least 470 FT from home at that time, headed for at least 530 FT and probably more, I must look back at any of McGwire's other moon blasts and wince now. And frankly, it hurts me a lot... no, not like finding out Clemens cheated, but about 1/2 that much.

I don't feel pangs of pain where Canseco's concerned, because he turned into a rage-o-holic, wife-attacker and a lot of other things I professionally and personally loathe. Big Mac was the epitome of class on the field, which you don't see much anymore. But take 200 HR's off of his career total--which would take a ton of walks off, too, as well as a ton of his OBP and slugging %--and he'd have no prayer at the Hall.

If I sound glib or happy about all of this, I'm not. I LOVED the guy, just like I'd always loved Kingman. And he was the one thing I'd never expected to see: the one-dimensional slugger who was MUCH better than Kingman. He hit them even more frequently than Kong, who was #5 on the career HR/AB list upon his retirement; he scared pitchers much worse; and, like Kong, he annihilated the ball so badly when he got one that other pitchers were really disheartened.

BHN

[Elvis]

Depend on what we mean by the old stadium. Those may have been a home run if we are speaking of dead center after 1936.

Before 1937 that dead centerfield was no mans land. It was 487 to dead center from 1923 to 1936 then 461 in 1937. Up to that time only two balls were hit into dead center, both by Ruth.

Yes, I meant the 1937-present bleachers.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Yes, I meant the 1937-present bleachers.

Got that, just to make sure. There may be some posters unaware that the dimensions were longer pre 1937.

[Elvis]

http://www.ballparktour.com/Yankee_Stadium_1925_Dia.gif

Ca. 1925 dimensions

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Speaking of long balls, I would have loved to sat in on this one. May 21,1930, Shibe Park Philadelphia and the two heavyweights on the same field at the same time, Jimmie Foxx and Babe Ruth.
Most of the action took place in the first game. Foxx hit on of the longest triples striking the fence in dead center at the 468 foot marker. Should have been an inside the park home run but the runner on first held up thinking the ball may have been caught.

Foxx then hit a monster shot over the roof in left center into a distant parking lot.

In that first game Ruth hit 3 home runs, the second clearing the rooftops of the first row of houses across the street and into the a backyard of the second row of houses.

Mounted police were called in to keep order before and during the game. In between innings a number of fans tried to climb the wall to gain entry.

[sopclod]

Around 1999 or 2000 Glenallen Hill hit a home run that hit the roof of the apartment building across waveland ave at wrigley field. I believe he is the only player to have ever hit the roof.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Around 1999 or 2000 Glenallen Hill hit a home run that hit the roof of the apartment building across waveland ave at wrigley field. I believe he is the only player to have ever hit the roof.

I was lucky to see that one, on TV. I think he is the only one, that ball was hit very high and far.

[GiambiJuice]

Around 1999 or 2000 Glenallen Hill hit a home run that hit the roof of the apartment building across waveland ave at wrigley field. I believe he is the only player to have ever hit the roof.

Does anyone know where I can find a video clip of that homer?

[baseball9114]

Many of the homeruns to be considered at 600+ ft (if not all of them) have been falsely estimated by news reporters or people reporting to get a ball after it had landed and bounced two or three times. The biggest overestimation is Mickey Mantle's homerun off of the facade which was not rising when it hit, it was really on its way down, but it seemed to be rising because of an optical illusion. It was not recorded at 734 feet, but commonly estimated at 620 feet. Also, if he had the strength to hit it rising into the facade at the best trojectory, he would also have had the strength to hit it 100 feet over at a pop up. If he never hit one out in his entire career, but had the strength to hit it 100 feet above it, then surely he would have cleared it. It would literally require superhuman strength to pound the s*** out of the ball and hit it over 700 feet.

[FindAGap12]

500 feet is just about the human limit of hitting a baseball. Anything more than that is either exaggerated or had conditions to help it. For instance, in the book The Physics of Baseball by Robert Adair, Adair concludes that Mantle hit his supposed 565 foot HR with a 20 MPH wind behind him. He calculates that if the wind had been blowing in his face at 20 mph, the ball would not have even been a home run, it would have traveled about 400 feet...

There is an article regarding this subject floating around somewhere....500 feet is roughly the human limit...like a 100 MPH fastball. BTW, Bob Feller claimed that he threw 106 MPH!) Anything over this is most certainly exaggerated.

If they weren't able to measure runners with watches, people would swear that Jesse Owens was faster than anyone today. He wasn't. Babe Ruth did not hit 700 foot home runs, just like Jesse Owens did not run 100 yards in 8 seconds flat. But if we didn't have stopwatches, people would be claiming such a thing.

[stigg22]

Guys I have played baseball all my life....and I just have a quik story about a softball game I was in..first of all the fence was 375 in left field....this was slow pitch...we had a guy on our team hit a slow pitch softball off of the lights which were 22 feet behind the fence ......not only did he hit it off the TOP of the lightpole but the ball was still going up!!!! This is no Lie...there was no wind the light poles stood probablly 40 to 50 feet high I would imagine...I read alot about people saying that Mantle couldnt possibly have done that....well I disagree and this is why...Yeah I know that we were using aluminum bats but we also didnt have someone throwing in the 90's to us either it was 10 mph at the most...and this guy wasnt overly huge probably 6 ft 200 pounds at the most.its all in the stroke and if he did have the wind behind him it is very possible.the only reason why Mcguire and Sosa hit all the bombs they did is 1 because they juiced 2 because MLB juiced the baseball...yeah its true think about it....baseball needed a spark and they used the HR to do it and completely cheated men out of records that shouldnt have been broken. If you go back and look at all the homeruns in those years it would completely wreck any other era in baseball hands down....anyway I believe it is very possible to hit a 700 ft bomb providing everything is in place....

[Ubiquitous]

So this guy hit a rocket that traveled 400 feet, only got about 40 feet off the ground and was still rising?

That isn't even possible.

Quick show. Draw a triangle. One side 4 inches, the other side 40 inches. 1 inch = 10 feet. Notice how absurd extreme the diaganol line is? The ball would only be about 10 feet off the ground when it got past the infield.

The star equals the distance to the mound. The two lines represent 40 feet off the ground and 50 feet off the ground.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

It's hard to really judge what happened in the career of Josh Gibson... But, he is credited with the only homerun to leave Yankee stadium during a game... Nobody knows how far it went, but they say it went over 600 ft... Problem is that nobody cared to measure it and make it stick... 1) he was black 2) it was a Negro League game...

Josh and the rest of Nergo League players didn't get the media attention or the following the white guys did... Heck, just about anything he did could be concidered mythical...

Here is a statement some words on that home run. May not be word for word but it is quite accurate, appeared in a book on black baseball that I saw in the public library a few years ago.

The ball was hit very hard, driven a long way. Took one bounce and then struck the back wall.

According to that description it seems the ball did not leave the stadium. I would have to take the words of the man who made the statement as being a more accurate description of that home run. Spoken by Josh Gibson himself.

[FindAGap12]

anyway I believe it is very possible to hit a 700 ft bomb providing everything is in place....

You mean a 300 MPH wind behind the batter?

700 feet is like 120 MPH fastball...Humans are not capable of the feat.

And stop spreading old wive's tales about balls rising as the pass over the fence.

[gator92]

I completely agree.

For those of you who don't, ask yourself this question: if Mantle, or Ruth, or any other guys like that were actually capable of hitting a 600 foot home run, why did they never hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium to RF, where the edge of the roof is only about 360 feet from home plate and a bit over 100 feet high?

Attached is a hypothetical 600 foot home run to RF at Yankee Stadium, with the spot where Mantle hit the facade also shown. Ask yourself, if Ruth could hit a 600 foot homer in seemingly every other ballpark, amateur and pro, in North America, how come he never hit one like that in the park he played 850+ games in? He played a lot of games in Fenway, and never hit one further than Ted Williams' Red Seat homer, which only went about 527 feet by my reckoning... I guess 600 foot homers only happen in small fields where the ball disappears over the grandstand and lands where no one can see it - strange, isn't it?

http://www.hittrackeronline.com/Ruth_600_small.jpg

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I completely agree.

For those of you who don't, ask yourself this question: if Mantle, or Ruth, or any other guys like that were actually capable of hitting a 600 foot home run, why did they never hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium to RF, where the edge of the roof is only about 360 feet from home plate and a bit over 100 feet high?
http://www.hittrackeronline.com/Ruth_600_small.jpg

First let me say there may be a bit of exaggeration, that number 600 gets tossed around with no real proof. I don't think the number 500+ maybe even 550 is not impossible.

But to answer your question even if Ruth, Mantle or any other hitter could hit a ball 600 feet at Yankee Stadium the fact that they could not hit one out would not disprove a 600 foot drive.

The ball would have to be hit down the line and be a high drive. How do we know how far some of Ruth's longest drives went to deep right center and dead center. He hit at least two home runs to CF at Yankee Stadium and that was 480+ feet to the fence so 500+ feet was probably the distance.

Again not saying Ruth, Mantle or any other hitter ever hit one 600 feet but the fact that no one hit one in that area down the line and over the roof proves nothing.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I completely agree.

He played a lot of games in Fenway, and never hit one further than Ted Williams' Red Seat homer, which only went about 527 feet by my reckoning... I guess 600 foot homers only happen in small fields where the ball disappears over the grandstand and lands where no one can see it - strange, isn't it?

http://www.hittrackeronline.com/Ruth_600_small.jpg


Played a lot of games at Fenway. Williams played over 1100 games at Fenway. Ruth as a Red Sox and than as a Yankee (11 game a season) played a little over 500 games at Fenway.

For the record as of 1996 the most home runs hit in a season by a visiting player was Babe Ruth. He hit 8 in 1927.

For the record as of 1996 the most career home runs hit by a visiting player was a tie. Both Mantle and Ruth hit 38 career home runs at Fenway. the next 6 in line were all right handed hitters.

The park Fenway, was deeper when Ruth was playing.

[gator92]

First let me say there may be a bit of exaggeration, that number 600 gets tossed around with no real proof. I don't think the number 500+ maybe even 550 is not impossible.

500 is definitely possible, and 550 is feasible with a very strong following wind (or in Coors Field) - no argument there.


But to answer your question even if Ruth, Mantle or any other hitter could hit a ball 600 feet at Yankee Stadium the fact that they could not hit one out would not disprove a 600 foot drive.

Between the two of them they played probably 1,500 games in YS, and took batting practice before practically every one of them. If they could hit even one ball anything close to 550, anywhere, they would definitely have hit at least one and probably several balls nearly 550 at Yankee Stadium, to right field, at the requisite angle, at some point during their respective careers.


The ball would have to be hit down the line and be a high drive. How do we know how far some of Ruth's longest drives went to deep right center and dead center. He hit at least two home runs to CF at Yankee Stadium and that was 480+ feet to the fence so 500+ feet was probably the distance.

It wouldn't have to be that close to the line. One of Mantle's two well-known "facade" homers struck very close to the left end of the facade, in more or less straight-away right field, not more than 370 feet horizontally from home plate. In those days, as today, right field at YS does not rapidly drop away as you go towards CF - straight-away RF is and was very short.

[gator92]

The park Fenway, was deeper when Ruth was playing.

The fence was, but the grandstand wasn't. None of the balls we're talking about were anywhere near the fence :)

[SHOELESSJOE3]

It wouldn't have to be that close to the line. One of Mantle's two well-known "facade" homers struck very close to the left end of the facade, in more or less straight-away right field, not more than 370 feet horizontally from home plate. In those days, as today, right field at YS does not rapidly drop away as you go towards CF - straight-away RF is and was very short.
I didn't mean right down the line in RF. What I was saying was that even if some one did hit one 600 feet which I doubt, they would have to just "happen" to hit that drive to RF for it to have the possiblity to clear the roof.. The fact that Ruth or Mantle never hit one out of Yankee Stadium does not mean that they never hit one 550-600 feet. How can we ever know if some of the deep drives these two hit to the deepest part of RCF or CF would have been hit out of the park. I would doubt even that because the drive would also have to be hit high enough to clear the roof but who can say what the actual distance was.



Closing, I could understand some shooting down 600 foot drives I myself doubt that, but again the fact that no one ever hit one out at Yankee Stadium does not disprove that, what about long drives hit to other parts of the field on the right side.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

He played a lot of games in Fenway, and never hit one further than Ted Williams' Red Seat homer, which only went about 527 feet by my reckoning... I guess 600 foot homers only happen in small fields where the ball disappears over the grandstand and lands where no one can see it - strange, isn't it?

http://www.hittrackeronline.com/Ruth_600_small.jpg

I can't debate who hit the longest between these two greats, Ruth or Williams, I am aware of 520 HR hit by Ted.

With that said there were a number of long balls hit by Ruth at Fenway with no measurements taken.

This is just one (1927) season only at Fenway with some game reports, recaps from the news archives. Ruth home runs, Fenway 1927.

June 23, 1927. Home runs #23 and 24. Ruth hit two in this game. One over the wall in deep LCF. The other described as a " venomous blow" into the open space between RF and RCF bleachers.The first was long but the second was longer leaving the park and striking a garage wall with some young boys chasing it down.

Sept.6, 1927 a double header. Home runs # 45-46-47. Two home runs in the first game. The first clearing the high fence in LCF only a few yards from dead CF. The second described as a high drive to deep RCF. In the second game a high drive that landed in the center of the CF bleachers.

Sept. 7, 1927 the very next day. Home runs #48 and 49. Two home runs in this game a total of 5 home runs in 3 games over a two day period.the first descibed as a high drive to LCF far beyond the clock. The second to dead center. Those are some long drives and in a tough park for leftys. Also some very long ones to LCF that he hit, impressive for a lefty and the home runs to CF, 488 feet to the fence at that time.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Again not saying Ruth, Mantle or any other hitter ever hit one 600 feet

As you know, one of Babe longest was his final blast at Forbes. Going over a 75 foot high roof (no overhang) just to the left of the 375 mark in right center.

[gator92]

As you know, one of Babe longest was his final blast at Forbes. Going over a 75 foot high roof (no overhang) just to the left of the 375 mark in right center.
On July 2, 2006, Carlos Guillen of the Tigers hit a home run over the right field grandstand at PNC Park (coincidentally also in Pittsburgh) that cleared the stadium at 374 feet horizontal distance from home plate, at a height of 75 feet above field level (so, almost exactly the spot you refer to for Ruth). Here is the profile of Guillen's homer, which left the bat at 116.4 mph according to Hit Tracker (discard the decimal if you're picky about significant figures)
http://www.hittrackeronline.com/Guillen_July2_2006_small.jpg

To go through that point and reach 600 feet, the ball would have had to leave the bat at more than 160 mph. Notice that because of the wind resistance, the ball is dropping at a larger angle than the one at which it left the bat. That's why those homers that clear the stadium walls never go as far as we might think. It's just not possible to accurately estimate these things, you have to take a reliable observation and analyze it with a robust model... this is one of the Ruth blasts that we have a fairly reliable location on where it left the stadium, so we can make a decent guess at its distance (which would be a bit more than 456 feet, if it cleared the wall with any room to spare). Lots of others we just don't know, and unfortunately can't rely on the observers on the other side of the wall (at least those who stand 700 feet from home and say "this is where it landed)...

[Sultan_1895-1948]

On July 2, 2006, Carlos Guillen of the Tigers hit a home run over the right field grandstand at PNC Park (coincidentally also in Pittsburgh) that cleared the stadium at 374 feet horizontal distance from home plate, at a height of 75 feet above field level (so, almost exactly the spot you refer to for Ruth).

There's absolutely no way they could tell the ball was at 75 feet above field level at the 374 marker. With the Ruth homer, we have the roof's height and we know the ball cleared it (who knows if there was room to spare).

[SHOELESSJOE3]

On July 2, 2006, Carlos Guillen of the Tigers hit a home run over the right field grandstand at PNC Park (coincidentally also in Pittsburgh) that cleared the stadium at 374 feet horizontal distance from home plate, at a height of 75 feet above field level (so, almost exactly the spot you refer to for Ruth). Here is the profile of Guillen's homer, which left the bat at 116.4 mph according to Hit Tracker (discard the decimal if you're picky about significant figures)
http://www.hittrackeronline.com/Guillen_July2_2006_small.jpg

To go through that point and reach 600 feet, the ball would have had to leave the bat at more than 160 mph. Notice that because of the wind resistance, the ball is dropping at a larger angle than the one at which it left the bat. That's why those homers that clear the stadium walls never go as far as we might think. It's just not possible to accurately estimate these things, you have to take a reliable observation and analyze it with a robust model... this is one of the Ruth blasts that we have a fairly reliable location on where it left the stadium, so we can make a decent guess at its distance (which would be a bit more than 456 feet, if it cleared the wall with any room to spare). Lots of others we just don't know, and unfortunately can't rely on the observers on the other side of the wall (at least those who stand 700 feet from home and say "this is where it landed)...

This is true, that is why in one of my posts I gave a number of home runs that that Ruth hit into the bleachers in center field at Fenway and Yankee Stadium because they would be easier to appproximate. Why easier, because we know that both centerfield distances were 480+ feet so it's not a stretch to assume they had to be in the neighborhood of 500+ feet. It's more difficult to judge home run distances at least to CF in todays parks because the distances are shorter. If a ball clears a wall in CF today at 400 to 420 it's more difficult to assume a 500 footer. Not to say it's not done just harder to say how many more feet it was after that 400 or 420 feet especially when it is a seated area with the seated portion higher than ground level.

I know they claim to have the technology to get some accurate distances but I don't believe it to be accurate in all cases. Again, simple formula in those balls Ruth hit to CF, 480+ feet in order to clear a barrier they had to be 500 footers.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

On July 2, 2006, Carlos Guillen of the Tigers hit a home run over the right field grandstand at PNC Park (coincidentally also in Pittsburgh) that cleared the stadium at 374 feet horizontal distance from home plate, at a height of 75 feet above field level (so, almost exactly the spot you refer to for Ruth). Here is the profile of Guillen's homer, which left the bat at 116.4 mph according to Hit Tracker (discard the decimal if you're picky about significant figures)
http://www.hittrackeronline.com/Guillen_July2_2006_small.jpg



I take you at your word so may I ask what source gave the height as 75 feet, was that calculated. I looked at some pics of PNC park and at the 374 mark there appears to be a grandstand with about 20 rows of seats but not very high. Another factor would have to be the distance from the wall, plus those seats to the back wall at PNC compared to the width of the roof at Forbes Field.

I can't say with certainty whether those rows of seats is longer or shorter than the roof at Forbes but it would be a factor to be considered.

[gator92]

I take you at your word so may I ask what source gave the height as 75 feet, was that calculated. I looked at some pics of PNC park and at the 374 mark there appears to be a grandstand with about 20 rows of seats but not very high. Another factor would have to be the distance from the wall, plus those seats to the back wall at PNC compared to the width of the roof at Forbes Field.

I can't say with certainty whether those rows of seats is longer or shorter than the roof at Forbes but it would be a factor to be considered.

The 75 feet was my own calculation. For that particular homer, I caught the HD feed of Sportscenter on my DVR, and watched the ball frame by frame as it cleared the back of the grandstand (which is where it is 374, that is not the distance to the fence at the point where Guillen's homer became a homer.) Here's the path the Guillen homer took:

http://www.hittrackeronline.com/parks/pncpark_rings_2006_2697.jpg

Prior to the season, I spent about 15-20 hours a week from September, 2005 through April 2, 2006 creating scale models of every stadium in MLB (and I am not exaggerating, if you need confirmation I'll have my wife create an account here and tell you herself :p The RF grandstand at PNC was located horizontally using a high-res overhead image from Google Earth, which I then had to correct for the error due to the non-vertical angle of the satellite above the park (which you can see is the case because the foul poles/screens show as lines instead of a tiny rectangle). Once I've got the horizontal in place, I obtain some hi-res digital photos of the grandstand, from as low an angle as possible, and calibrate the vertical heights using the known wall height, and some trigonometry to adjust for the different distances from the camera.

Knowing the vertical height of the last row of the RF grandstand, I made an on-screen measurement of how far the ball was above the grandstand, and calibrated that with the height of several rows of seats to get to 75 feet above field level. I will readily admit that the 75 foot number is probably plus or minus a couple feet - this sort of homer is the toughest to get that exactly right. But, when I ran the analysis, the analyzed landing point (blue dot) was pretty much right on the actual landing point from the video, which is a sign that the 75 must be very close to correct.

Once other point of difference with Guillen's homer, there was a 13 mph wind out to LF (so essentially no help to Guillen). Ruth almost certainly had some other wind speed and direction acting on his ball - which could be unearthed, I sometimes get some help from a guy who knows how to use the ProQuest service from SABR (which I've never been able to make work).

By the way, nothing I say here should be construed as me saying Ruth and Mantle were not perhaps the two greatest in terms of long-distance homers (as well as damned fine ballplayers, with Ruth being the best ever, I think) - I wouldn't dream of trying to defend that position. I just think the old homers were not very carefully observed, and it seems that people were willing to guess when they couldn't truly say something accurate. Also, I think to some people back then, "how far it went" included the bounce & roll, but it's hard to know when that point of view was operative...

[Sultan_1895-1948]

That final Forbes homer cleared the 75 foot roof vertically and horizontally, and landed on the roof of a house, bounced onto another roof of another house, and landed in lot, where a boy picked it up. The measurement was exactly 600 feet from the first house it hit, to home plate. No doubt there is a margin of error in there, but a safe guesstimate would be 550 or so. Who knows how much wind was blowing at the time. All we know is Bush said, "I never saw a ball hit so hard before or since."

He had another homer at the Tampa Fairgrounds off Columbia George Smith of the Giants, that was measured at 579, but that was after a few bounces and some roll. Ross Youngs was the outfielder who chased after that ball showed the measurers the exact spot where he found the ball. No way to know how far it carried. Some said over 500 and some said over 600. That homer was supposedly the final straw that caused Barrow to play Ruth somewhere other than pitcher. He had seen enough.

gator, the work you're doing is fascinating and I respect it. The people back then measured as soon as possible with the best available resources. That's all we can ask of them. Its pretty easy to write off random claims like the Fairgrounds ball carrying over 600 feet (unless a tornado carried it that far), but when the vast majority give a ballpark that mirros the measurement, gotta think there's something there. Having said that, I do believe there is a human limit to how far a ball can be hit in a natural environment.

Do you remember this years Derby at PNC, when they said how far it was to the water? Is it 450?

[gator92]

There's absolutely no way they could tell the ball was at 75 feet above field level at the 374 marker. With the Ruth homer, we have the roof's height and we know the ball cleared it (who knows if there was room to spare).

See my note to Shoeless Joe on how I got to the height for Guillen. The ball cleared the top of the RF grandstand by about 30 feet. With a big HDTV, you can practically see the stitches on the ball (now there's an exaggeration for you!)

I'm in the Portland, OR area as well, if you'd like to get a first hand look at Hit Tracker, drop me a line at my site (the link is in my sig)

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Getting back to Babe Ruth can't say for sure but I think the longest ball that he ever hit that cleared a grandstand or roof could have been trhe ball he hit out of the renovated Comiskey Park, that was in August of 1927. Over the winter of 1926-1927 a roof was added over the double deck and Charles Comiskey made the comment " I'd like to see someone hit one out of here now."

I think that shot was longer than the one at Forbes Field. Don't know how high the roof was in Chicago but I believe I have that info some where at home.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Getting back to Babe Ruth can't say for sure but I think the longest ball that he ever hit that cleared a grandstand or roof could have been trhe ball he hit out of the renovated Comiskey Park, that was in August of 1927. Over the winter of 1926-1927 a roof was added over the double deck and Charles Comiskey made the comment " I'd like to see someone hit one out of here now."

I think that shot was longer than the one at Forbes Field. Don't know how high the roof was in Chicago but I believe I have that info some where at home.

Back home and here is what I came up with.
What Bill Jenkinson calls Ruth's "rooftopper" on August 16, 1927 at Comiskey Park. According to a number of writers at the game the ball cleared the newly added roof over the RF double decked grandstand. More than a dozen writers at the game said the ball cleared the 52 foot roof with room to spare, landing on the south side of Wentworth Avenue now called the Dan Ryan Expressway.
At that time it was 365 down the lines.

I also found some long shots by Jimmie Foxx. One that landed on top of the roof in LF at Comiskey. At least 3 that he parked on the roof in left field at Shibe park at that time 334 down the line in LF. Foxx also hit a long ball that missed being a home run by inches and came up with a triple when the runner in front of him hesitated between second and third base. I point out this triple because it struck the top of the fence at Shibe 468 feet, today thats an ESPN highlight tape measure home run.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Nice work Joe.

Here's a few other Ruth ones.

1919

May 20 - First grand slam of the year (as you know, he set the record that year with four) came in St. Louis. The ball landed on Grand Avenue in right center, which was said to be the second longest ever hit there. The first longest, was courtesy of guess who, three years earlier.

May 30 - At Shibe Park, Babe starts the first game of a double header and pitches to a 10-6 win, despite giving up 12 hits including a HR to Tilly Walker. In this first game he had a double and two singles in five AB, but hit the longest foul (or fair) home run anyone had ever seen. It went to right field...going over the fence and across the street, landing on top of a 20th St. building, and finally touching down on Lehigh Avenue.

July 21 - Carl Mays was still away from the team. Ruth was forced to make a pitching start at Detroit. Through four innings he pitched well. In the third he walked Veach on a questionable call by umpire Dineen, and Ruth and Veach then exchanged some words, nearly resulting in a fight. Babe came from that heated argument to strike-out Heilmann, but his shortstop made two very costly errors. Down 6-1 in the ninth inning, he hit a solo HR over the rightfield wall and onto Trumball Ave. It was the longest homerun ever seen in Detroit.

July 29 - At home against Detroit, Babe had already doubled twice in the game. He came to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and sent a Dutch Leonard offering into the centerfield bleachers at Fenway.

August 14 - Ruth goes 3 for 4 with a HR and two singles. His homer came in the seventh and cleared the right-field wall at Comiskey easily, landing in a nearby soccer field.

August 16 - Still at Comiskey, Ruth hits another one easily out of Comiskey to right, going even further than the one the day before. The Boston Post - "Babe took his full swing, which has any swing beaten since the famous Casey fanned, but big Babe didn't fan. He hit the ball a way up and way out."

Sept 24 - Homer 28 broke Williamson's record, and according to accounts, was the longest ever hit at the Polo Grounds, clearing a distant section of the roof. As typical of Ruth, it came in dramatic fashion, in the ninth inning with the Sox down 1-0. It tied the score, but the Sox eventually lost the game in the 13th inning. Boston Globe the next day: "Babe Crashes Most Sensational Ever Hit at Polo Grounds. The ball cleared the roof and landed in Manhattan Field among a group of Native Americans playing lacrosse."

Sept 27 - This homer off Rip Jordan in the third inning at Washington, cleared the 45 foot wall in right field by a good 20 feet. It not only extended his new record by one HR, but it gave him a couple other things. He met his goal of homering in every park in the AL during the year, and it gave him the distinction of having hit the longest HR in every park as well.

1921

May 25 - Homer number thirteen was hit in St. Louis and was the longest ever hit there. Its estimated distance was 550 feet.

August 17 - Babe smashes a home run completely out of Comiskey Park.

August 19 - Babe crushes another home run completely out of Comiskey Park.

Sep 9 - Home run number fifty-four against the Athletics at Shibe Park. It was the longest home run ever seen in Shibe.


If you still have access to ProQuest, could you look up Sep. 20, 1919. It was a double header at Fenway against the White Sox. In the first game he hit a homer to left off Lefty Williams, and in the second game he apparently had a homer but the umpire (Billy Evans) ruled it a double for some reason. See if you can dig up any info on that, k?

[SHOELESSJOE3]

If you still have access to ProQuest, could you look up Sep. 20, 1919. It was a double header at Fenway against the White Sox. In the first game he hit a homer to left off Lefty Williams, and in the second game he apparently had a homer but the umpire (Billy Evans) ruled it a double for some reason. See if you can dig up any info on that, k?

Here is what I could find on that doubleheader.
Is there any questioning the belief that this guy was the greatest showman, the greatest performer. He always gives the crowd what they want, what they came to see.

What a coincidence, he puts on one of his greatest shows of that season on Babe Ruth day at Fenway given by the Kights of Columbus. The Knights present gifts to the Babe as he stood at home plate with his wife.

From the Boston Globe

In that first game he pitched 6 innings and with the score tied 3-3 he was relieved and moved to left field. In the 9th inning with the score still tied 3-3 Ruth hit a high drive over the scoreboard in deep left center field and that ended the game, Bosox 4 Chisox 3, Williams turned in disgust and threw his mitt into left field. The crowd roared until they stopped from sheer exaustion, paused and than began to roar once more.

Briefly, the second game tied at 4 when Ruth hit what many believed to be a home run. Umpire Evans did not see it that way, claimed that the ball struck the ground first, then struck the fence and then went into the bleachers. What made it difficult was the fact that there were spectators on the field in a roped off section, harder for Evans to get a clear view. Anyway, Ruth got double and scored what turned out to be the winning run 5-4 Boston.

More impressive was the fact the ball he hit was hit a long way for a left hander, over that high scoreboard in left centerfield and across the street... and off of Lefty Williams who was known to be tough on left handed hitters

After the game Ruth donated the bat to a group of news boys to be auctioned off to benefit a news boy who was killed in the service in France.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

More impressive was the fact the ball he hit was hit a long way for a left hander, over that high scoreboard in left centerfield and across the street... and off of Lefty Williams who was known to be tough on left handed hitters

After the game Ruth donated the bat to a group of news boys to be auctioned off to benefit a news boy who was killed in the service in France.

Thanks for looking that up. Looks like that goes on the list. Up to six homers taken away by bogus events now.

In between games of that double header, after that homer of course, Buck Weaver came over the chat with some Boston players and said, "that was the most unbelievable poke I ever saw." People may not realize how impressive that is today, since we've been splattered and hammered with middle infielders going opposite field even when they don't get the fat part on it....but in '19, for a lefty hitter to hit a lefty pitcher that far to left field...was unheard of.

Your last little comment made me think of a good trivia question for ya. Try to get it without looking it up. When he hit his 50th homer (in another double header I believe) in '20, he donated the bat to someone/something. What was the organization and what was their cause? Don't :lookitup :D

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Your last little comment made me think of a good trivia question for ya. Try to get it without looking it up. When he hit his 50th homer (in another double header I believe) in '20, he donated the bat to someone/something. What was the organization and what was their cause? Don't :lookitup :D

You got me with that one Randy, I don't know. It was quite common for Babe to give away a bat that would benefit a cause or a charitable organization.

So I don't know the answer and I did look at some game recaps that dealt with his home runs from 48 to 53 and found no mention of Babe contributing a bat. That does not mean that it did not take place when you say, it may not have been mentioned in those write ups.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

It most certainly took place. He donated the bat to the Near East Fund. Their cause...starving Armenians in Turkey.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

It most certainly took place. He donated the bat to the Near East Fund. Their cause...starving Armenians in Turkey.

Got ya. It may have been an article separate from the game recap if it was on a day in the days that I checked. At Proquest I usually just bring up the game recap and some times the whole page.

[elmer]

Does anyone know the longest home run ever hit?
try these address' and scroll down also a long foul ball
http://www.desertexposure.com/200504/200504_baseball_history.html

and
http://www.efqreview.com/NewFiles/v18n1/numbersgame.html

and
http://forums.nyyfans.com/showthread.php?t=47077

and
http://citizensvoice.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17490550&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id=595727&rfi=6
or
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:t9rL-9Z_ZJ4J:citizensvoice.com/site/news.cfm%3Fnewsid%3D17490550%26BRD%3D2259%26PAG%3D 461%26dept_id%3D595727%26rfi%3D6+wilkes+barre+Babe +Ruth+Bill+Jenkinson+home+run&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&lr=lang_en&client=safari
outfielder Roy Carlyle hit one of the longest home runs in professional baseball history on July 4, 1929. The ball traveled over two rooftops and into the gutter of a house 618 feet away from home plate. The PCL also delighted fans with a host of
Who hit the longest home run in the history of professional baseball in the San Francisco Bay Area? The first five names that likely came to your mind were Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Reggie Jackson and Willie McCovey. The name Roy Carlyle of the Oakland Oaks probably wouldn't have ranked high on your list, but with the immortal Buzz Arlett waiting his turn on-deck, Carlyle's 618-foot Fourth of July blast in 1929 off of the San Francisco Missions' Ernie Nevers (yes, the old football star) probably traveled farther than any "splash down". Carlyle looks like an ordinary-sized chap in his picture, and presumably, he accomplished this without the assistance of andro.
Roy Carlyle Signed Check. Carlyle had a distinguished career in both the Major Leagues and the Pacific Coast League. His career in the Major Leagues was short but he played for 3 teams including the 1926 Yankees and compiled a .318 lifetime batting average. His most notable acheivment came in 1929 while playing for the Oakland Oaks when he hit the longest home run in baseball history-618 feet. This home run is well documented. Carlyle's brother Cleo is one of the all time PCL greats. Roy Carlyle died in 1956. Comes with Certificate of Authenticity. Ex/Mt $45
http://ch22.majestic-choices.com/baseballcapcrownhigh.html

[elmer]

Art Johnson, a Holden resident who pitched for the Boston Braves from 1940 to 1942 and was another head table guest, said he was scouted by the Braves as a 15-year-old in high school in his native Winchester and was asked to pitch batting practice at Braves Field in 1935. Ruth was winding up his career with the Braves that year. “Babe hit one off me over the Jury Box in right field. It was the longest home run I ever saw.”
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061210/NEWS/612100517/0/FRONTPAGE

[The Kid]

I belevie Jimmie Foxx's 600-700 foot homer in spring training of 1939 was the longest ever.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Art Johnson, a Holden resident who pitched for the Boston Braves from 1940 to 1942 and was another head table guest, said he was scouted by the Braves as a 15-year-old in high school in his native Winchester and was asked to pitch batting practice at Braves Field in 1935. Ruth was winding up his career with the Braves that year. “Babe hit one off me over the Jury Box in right field. It was the longest home run I ever saw.”
http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061210/NEWS/612100517/0/FRONTPAGE

Nice article on the Babe it's like he never went away. Thanks for rhe post.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Here is info on one of Ruth's longest ever hit at Yankee Stadium some where around 470 feet+ and believe it or not it did not reach the bleachers it was an (IPH) inside the park home run, he had to run this one out. Home run number 40 on August 25, 1924. I split this one up, the header in this post and the write up in the next post.

The heading.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

The written article, the body.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

That flag pole is just a bit to the left of dead center. This is the longest distance marked off at the stadium 490+ feet. I should note that in some years after this Ruth did hit at least two home runs into the CF bleachers, had to be at least 500 feet to clear the fence at 487 feet.

Here is the view from behind the flag pole which looks to be about 20 or 25 feet from the bleachers. That long IPH.

[elmer]

that same article estimated 485' for this hit on Aug. 25, 1924

Elmer

[thekid9]

Not one mention of Teddy Ballgame's 501 hr at Fenway. They painted a seat red because of it... not the longest ever but certainly memorable. He nailed a sleeping Yankee fan in the head.

I saw David Ortiz nail the ball of the top of CF wall in Comerica during BP. The stadium heard the ball "whack" the wall, amazing.

[The Kid]

I belive PNC park would be the best place to measure a homer cause the ball hits the waters of the Alligany and doesn't role anywhere.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

that same article estimated 485' for this hit on Aug. 25, 1924

Elmer

I did read that in that article. From what I can see or judge from the best view, looking from behind the flag pole, (post #47) it appears the ball on the fly looks to be 15 feet or so from the wall that was marked of at 487 dead center and 490 just to the left of dead center. The ball was actually hit to the left of dead center. The flag pole is to the left of dead center.

I just tried to attach a pic of the view from home to the flag pole but it would not upload, I'll try again later.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Trying that upload again, view from home to the flag pole. Here we go.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Home opener April 18, 1923. Here is a good view where you can see the flag pole distance from the warning track and the distance flag pole to bleachers.

[elmer]

xxxxxxxxxxx

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I have been all over the internet
searching for ballpark pictures many times.
Are the photos you post from your personal collection
because i see few of These anywhere else.
I have perhaps 500 photos of old parks saved.

Elmer

They are my personal collection, at least they are mine now. Got them from the internet and from books at the public library. I also purchased every book dealing with parks that came out in the last 20 years.

I would say I picked up as many or more from books than I did from the internet. Some of the books at the library are reference only and are not loaned out. What I do is scan them from these books at the library and take them home add them to what I scanned from my own books. So I would say again most are from books that I scan and then save them on a disc.

I don't have as many as you do but I would estimate around 300. A number are of the same parks but from different locations of the park. Examples, Wrigley looking down third base line, Wrigley looking down first base line, Wrigley view from the bleachers and of course the overhead shot.

Big interest to me, love those pics of the older parks.

[elmer]

xxxxxxxxxxxx

[SHOELESSJOE3]

If there is any photo you can think of you need that i have - I can send email
here is a site that I took some old maps of polo grounds and manhatten field

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mindspring.com/~fredfep/football%2520pics/mfpg%2797sm.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mindspring.com/~luckyshow/football/mf.htm&h=310&w=420&sz=120&tbnid=1eCtxMCn0RsJ:&tbnh=90&tbnw=122&hl=en&start=159&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpolo%2Bgrounds%2B%26start%3D140%26svn um%3D30%26hl%3Den%26lr%3Dlang_en%26client%3Dsafari %26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN


Elmer

Sure thing Elmer, I'll keep that in mind. Checking out that site you included in your post.

[CarmelPitcher]

i hit a 950 ft shot in my N64 game with ken griffey jr :crazy lol

[Bill Burgess]

Getting harder to find cool topics we haven't milked/mined before. How about who had the set of the longest HRs on record? Not officially, of course. Just your opinions. I'm talking about consistency of longest HRs. Who had the best set of the deepest, distance shots?

At least give your Top 5, with 5 Honorable Mentions, or your Top 10. Top 3?

[Bill Burgess]

I'll go first.

My Top 10 for Longest Shots Ever:

1. Babe Ruth
2. Mickey Mantle
3. Mark McGwire
4. Jimmy Foxx
5. Harmon Killebrew
6. Willie McCovey
7. Frank Howard
8. Willie Stargell
9. Ken Griffey
10. Barry Bonds

[GiambiJuice]

I'm only listing people I've actually witnessed

1. Mark McGwire
2. Adam Dunn
3. Ryan Howard
4. Barry Bonds
5. Travis Hafner
6. Cecil Fielder
7. Frank Thomas
8. Jose Canseco
9. Tony Clark
10. Carlos Delgado
11. Manny Ramirez
12. Andres Gallaraga
13. David Ortiz
14. Albert Belle
15. Jason Giambi

[Brian McKenna]

Living in Baltimore, I'm cognizant of Harmon Killebrew's numerous long blasts against the Orioles.

I don't think anyone after 1990 has truely awed anyone; it's too common, almost mundane. The Home Run Derby (official and unofficial) has dulled the senses.

Hard to top Ruth, Foxx and Greenberg for spectacularly raising the bar and bringing a new facet to the game.

Not sure how far Gehrig actually hit the ball but I'm sure his rocket-like arcs and bullet speed wowed quite a few.

[The Kid]

I go with Ruth, Mantle and Foxx.

[anjo25]

Babe Ruth
Mickey Mantle
Mark McGwire
Jimmyie Foxx
Barry Bonds
Willie Stargell
Willie McCovey
Frank Howard
Harmon Killebrew
Frank Thomas

Not in that order, though...by the way, where's dave Kingman?

[Bill Burgess]

by the way, where's dave Kingman?
At his home, maybe? Enjoying the good life? :) :laugh

[KCGHOST]

I went with Ruth, Mantle, McGwire, Frank Howard, and Willie McCovey. never saw Ruth play, but it is an article of faith with him.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I would bet that if this whole board had access to proquest the site where you could read actual game recaps, the day after the games were played, no faulty memory dimmed by time, no exaggeration, no adding on over the years, just the actual game account the way it happened at that very time, almost all would be sold on the fact that Babe Ruth hit more tape measure jobs per home run than any other hitter.

I guess it's obvious by now that in my mind there is no one hitter that compared to Ruth as a slugger and long distance hitter but in this case I show no bias only what I saw in those game accounts, great numbers of monster shots in all the parks.

In my own time, Mantle, Killebrew, Bonds, McGwire. Frank Howard who hit some of the longest homers in the shortest time, in seconds that is, line drive home runs like no one else I've ever seen. I saw Frank hit some line drives that you would think could never clear the fence, low like a bullet. I think had Frank had more of an uppercut swing he could have hit some of the longest in my time.

[Myankee4life]

Mantle, Ruth, Foxx, Mcgwire, Bonds

[csh19792001]

I would bet that if this whole board had access to proquest the site where you could read actual game recaps, the day after the games were played, no faulty memory dimmed by time, no exaggeration, no adding on over the years, just the actual game account the way it happened at that very time, almost all would be sold on the fact that Babe Ruth hit more tape measure jobs per home run than any other hitter.


From what I've read, I'm inclined to go with either Babe or Mickey.

And I agree, this would be a great undertaking/research project

[SHOELESSJOE3]

From what I've read, I'm inclined to go with either Babe or Mickey.

And I agree, this would be a great undertaking/research project
That it was, not only the Babe but lots of great articles dealing with the game and the players. What I liked about Proquest was accounts just as they took place from the N.Y.Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post and Boston Globe every page in the newspaper going back to the early 1900s and some even earlier, right on your screen.

Sad to say, Proquest ended it's service to SABR members just last week. I phoned them and was willing to pay for that service but was told it will not be available to the average Joe, only institutions and some business organizations.

[csh19792001]

That it was, not only the Babe but lots of great articles dealing with the game and the players. What I liked about Proquest was accounts just as they took place from the N.Y.Times, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post and Boston Globe every page in the newspaper going back to the early 1900s and some even earlier, right on your screen.

Sad to say, Proquest ended it's service to SABR members just last week. I phoned them and was willing to pay for that service but was told it will not be available to the average Joe, only institutions and some business organizations.

I'm well aware, Joe. :( Check your local library, and see if you can access ProQuest online through them. I'm planning on it.

[Bill Burgess]

Sad to say, Proquest ended it's service to SABR members just last week. I phoned them and was willing to pay for that service but was told it will not be available to the average Joe, only institutions and some business organizations.
I think it is quite possible that the Buffalo Public Library carries some version of Proquest.

Also, another idea is that if you ever visit a major city in your travels, like NYC or Chicago, you may be eligible to apply for a city library card and get Proquest that way. Call up the NYC library and see if they have any programs like that. Maybe you can appy by mail.

Just trying to be creative.

Bill

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I'm well aware, Joe. :( Check your local library, and see if you can access ProQuest online through them. I'm planning on it.

Yep, at this very moment I'm on line with my public library checking that out. I think it may be available through my library but with not as many newspapers and not going as far back as I was allowed with the Proquest available through SABR.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I think it is quite possible that the Buffalo Public Library carries some version of Proquest.

Also, another idea is that if you ever visit a major city in your travels, like NYC or Chicago, you may be eligible to apply for a city library card and get Proquest that way. Call up the NYC library and see if they have any programs like that. Maybe you can appy by mail.
Just trying to be creative.

Bill


Something to work on Bill, I'll give it a try.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

A short story about Harmon killebrew. My cousin was a hugh Reggie Jackson fan. We got to talking about home runs and how I thought no one was as consistent as killebrew. This was in the late 1960s and the season was around half over. We made a bet, for the season I took Harmon he took Reggie. On the day we bet, if I recall Reggie had a fair lead, he at about 26 or 27 and Killebrew at about 18 or 19. The very next day Reggie hits 3 in one game and my cous starts riding me, he thinks he's in.

The Killer comes through, beats out Reggie with around 48 or 49 home runs with Reggie only a couple behind and I believe Frank Howard also beat out Reggie.

[elmer]

Xxxxxxxxxx

[Honus Wagner Rules]

The problem with trying to determine the distance of any HR, spececially for players of yesteryear is that there is no standardized procedure to do so. I'm sure many will claim that so-and-so hit a 600+ foot HR. But I'd like to see some hard evidence before I just accept any number.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

From what I've read, I'm inclined to go with either Babe or Mickey.

And I agree, this would be a great undertaking/research project

Have you read through the "Power Incarnate" chapter, yet? Interesting things in there about Mickey and his power.

There is nobody that can touch Ruth when it comes to sheer distance. According to Jenkinson he hit 47 homers that went 500+ feet, the furthest of which was on July 18, 1921... 575 feet to dead center, out of Navin and just on the other side of the street. So it cleared the fence, the bleachers, the stadium barrier, the sidewalk, the intersection and then touched down.

[elmer]

Xxxxxxxxxx

[Bill Burgess]

Have you read through the "Power Incarnate" chapter, yet? Interesting things in there about Mickey and his power.

There is nobody that can touch Ruth when it comes to sheer distance. According to Jenkinson he hit 47 homers that went 500+ feet, the furthest of which was on July 18, 1921... 575 feet to dead center, out of Navin and just on the other side of the street. So it cleared the fence, the bleachers, the stadium barrier, the sidewalk, the intersection and then touched down.
Too bad they lacked accurate measuring tools for Babe's 1919 spring training monster shot against the NY Giants in Tampa, Florida. That is the shot that I'd really like to know the accurate distance, on the fly. Sports writer Fred Lieb claimed he measured it at 619 feet. Claimed it just reached the horse race track. The record, as far as I'm concerned.

[TRfromBR]

Too bad they lacked accurate measuring tools for Babe's 1919 spring training monster shot against the NY Giants in Tampa, Florida. That is the shot that I'd really like to know the accurate distance, on the fly. Sports writer Fred Lieb claimed he measured it at 619 feet. Claimed it just reached the horse race track. The record, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm should be going to the field (at University of Tampa) on Monday, Bill. I should have a digital camera with me, so I'll try to get some visual evidence. According to local St. Petersburg folklore, Ruth also hit a couple Ruthian shots out of old Al Lang Field [where he played alot of Spring Ball] that approached the legendary Tampa and Wilkes-Barre homers.

Below is Old Al Lang where he jacked one out and into the side of a hotel that's out of view; another landed by the Old Fountain of Youth, also out of site. (In the background is the incredible Vinoy Hotel, one of the Babe's better known stomping grounds.)

[Bill Burgess]

Randy also read about that shot and here is his write-up of it, in the BR Thread somewhere.

http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.php?p=629757&postcount=88

[elmer]

Xxxxxxxxxx

[Bill Burgess]

per NY Times "Sports of the Times" 1949 via Bill Jenkinson. "One laborer marked the spot where the ball landed with a pile of stones. Four reputable baseball writers - the late Burt Whitman, George (Monitor) Daley, Mel Webb and Bill Macbeth - measured it with a steel tape. The distance was.......

2.23.1925 edition of the NY World gives the same measurement.

as found on page 30 of Mr. Jenkinson's book
Thanks for 'clearing that up'? Is it a secret?

[elmer]

Ruth hit a long home run in San Jose.

[elmer]

I'm should be going to the field (at University of Tampa) on Monday, Bill. I should have a digital camera with me, so I'll try to get some visual evidence. According to local St. Petersburg folklore, Ruth also hit a couple Ruthian shots out of old Al Lang Field [where he played alot of Spring Ball] that approached the legendary Tampa and Wilkes-Barre homers.

Below is Old Al Lang where he jacked one out and into the side of a hotel that's out of view; another landed by the Old Fountain of Youth, also out of site. (In the background is the incredible Vinoy Hotel, one of the Babe's better known stomping grounds.)

The Al Lang photo is an early version of where Ruth played, Ruth stated homeplate used to be in the parking lot behind the photo's GS (bleachers). This field is part of a park called Waterfront Park. Ruth's ascertion is correct, homeplate was more than 300' behind the new one.
Hitting the Hotel with a fairball at newer Al Lang was impossible as
the building was completely in foul territory.

[TRfromBR]

The Al Lang photo is an early version of where Ruth played, Ruth stated homeplate used to be in the parking lot behind the photo's GS (bleachers). This field is part of a park called Waterfront Park. Ruth's ascertion is correct, homeplate was more than 300' behind the new one.
Hitting the Hotel with a fairball at newer Al Lang was impossible as
the building was completely in foul territory.

Thank you for that good info. I just got back from St. Pete, where I did some research on this. I ran into a couple of problems. First, all of Al Lang (now in what they call Progress Energy Park) was restricted due to the Grand Prix race this weekend. Secondly, the old hotel (name unknown to me) has been torn down for many decades, and the Fountain of Youth relocated, with no aerial photos readily accessible at the City's historical library. Despite this, I can confirm that your account is correct - the field was reoriented, making any measurement today extremely difficult. This is especially without an aerial shot covering all the essential spots, and without specific field dimensions.

I know when I was a kid I was told from credible people (but not live witnesses) that the word around St. Pete was that Ruth hit one out of Al Lang that "would have gone about 630 feet." I'm sure this must have been in reference to the Al Lang shot against the hotel, as they would have certainly differentiated that homer from the one in Tampa. But I don't know of any official measurement. It was folklore among the old time fans - perhaps unproven, but definitely accepted by devoted local fans. I haven't read all the literature on Ruth, so I don't know what experts accept concerning that hit. Old locals thought it would have gone longer than even the Tampa shot. It would not surprise me, because Ruth played much more at Al Lang, and it was his most powerful homer there.

I didn't get to Tampa as hoped, because I heard it's quite an ordeal to figure out what happened there. So, I'm gonna research that hit in more detail before fumbling around there.

Thanks for all your input. That really helps me.

[elmer]

This will help some--
select by City -- St. Petersburg, Select 1923, select map #6, #35, & #46(don't bother with 1918, the park is not defined). You have to play with it a while to understand how to use it, it is a little confusing if you haven't done it before.

for the map where the park is you will have to print it out a size larger than
the other two to make it fit properly. Don't know why. If you print it out to fit on 8X11 paper it needs to be sized at 12 percent.

http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/digital/collections/sanborn/query/index.html
The figure you mentioned for the home run is very close to what I got but is there
any date or documentation in a newspaper??????

[TRfromBR]

This will help some--
select by City -- St. Petersburg, Select 1923, select map #6, #35, & #46(don't bother with 1918, the park is not defined). You have to play with it a while to understand how to use it, it is a little confusing if you haven't done it before.

for the map where the park is you will have to print it out a size larger than
the other two to make it fit properly. Don't know why. If you print it out to fit on 8X11 paper it needs to be sized at 12 percent.

http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/digital/collections/sanborn/query/index.html
The figure you mentioned for the home run is very close to what I got but is there
any date or documentation in a newspaper??????

Your maps help tremendously! From studying the old ball bark area maps and the table of contents, it appears the hotel Ruth must have hit was the [long gone] West Coast Hotel, in map sector no. 46. I'm searching, without luck so far, for some historical photos or postcards of the hotel. It evidently was one of St. Pete's more popular pre-WW1 hotels.

When I was in college, I worked a couple of summers surveying in St. Pete. And my uncle was the top surveyor in the city for many years. He knew the town inside-out. So, I learned some pretty good working knowledge of the area in question. But, at this point, I can't say where exactly [in sector 46] the West Coast Hotel was located. I need to get its exact address and some old historical info from the Central Library Historical Collection (on 9th Avenue North) and possibly from the City Engineering Department. I'll plan a trip back to St. Pete in late May for that purpose. In the meantime, I'll keep working over the net.

Thanks again, that Sanborn Insurance Map is great stuff. The grandstand facing south explains why Ruth would have hit that hotel along 1st Street South. It would also verify that any shot to the Old Fountain of Youth (in the park to the south of the right -center field fence) was indeed a historic drive.

[elmer]

West Coast inn is on right-center of 46 map next to first st. s.

[BoSox Rule]

The longest I've seen are from Wily Mo Pena, Manny Ramirez, and Adam Dunn that I really recall.

[elmer]

xxxxxxxxxx

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Ruth's wind aided home run that traveled somewhere between
560' for sure and possibly as much as 601' in Detroit per Bill Jenkinson's book. Another at the Polo Grounds estimated at 560'.

Ralph Kiner hit one 560' that a witness said struck the Pipes of Pan Statue
in Shenley Park beyond Forbes Field's LF wall.

Mickey Mantle's Last facade home run which he stated was the hardest he ever hit a ball.
He hit one at Shibe park that went over the roof at the 400 foot mark, landing on a row house across the street that was a minimum of 527' from home plate.

McGwire's two longest, 545' and 537', have been demonstrated to be much less. Hit tracker claims 512' for another of his homers.

Frank Howard hit one measured at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City at 516'. His home run that glanced off the roof in Detroit would
probably have flown around 530'.

Reggie Jackson is said to have hit the Scoreboard in Met Stadium 71' up, 521' from home.

A witness states A Jimmie Foxx home run landed "100' feet up Lambert Street." which ran perpendicularly to Shibe Park in left. It began 450' from home plate. Another at Sportsman's Park hit a house 535' from home plate beyond deep Left center.

Bob Cerv had one measured in Kansas City in '57 that was 527'

Longest ever with bounce and roll was by Ralph Kiner in Lubbock Texas but not in a major league game. It was over 900 wind aided feet.

Jesus! Wind aided or tornado aided, lol.

Jenkinson states that no other player besides Ruth ever hit a ball at least 550' in a major league game. That Navin one, estimated at 575' was indeed wind aided. Pretty funny that just ten days earlier Heilmann hit what was considered the longest ever at Navin...one that Jenkinson estimates at 512'. Then along comes Ruth.

[elmer]

Jesus! Wind aided or tornado aided, lol.
Jenkinson states that no other player besides Ruth ever hit a ball at least 550' in a major league game. That Navin one, estimated at 575' was indeed wind aided. Pretty funny that just ten days earlier Heilmann hit what was considered the longest ever at Navin...one that Jenkinson estimates at 512'. Then along comes Ruth.



Mr. Jenkinson gets his information from legitmate, mostly reliable sources as we all try to do. I could be wrong but do not believe it was Mr. Jenkinson's estimate. the garage it hit is long gone. Actually the measurement is stated to be in more than one source, 515'. I have not seen the source that states 512', but don't doubt its existence.

The Heilmann home run is documented in a number of news accounts as is the Ruth home run.

The A. G. Spalding Baseball Guide was a very respected source of baseball information. It, also carries an account of the measurement of Heilmann's home run in the 1922 publication. It can be found on the "How far do Home Runs Go" BF thread. This is a quote from Mr. Spalding. "You may truthfully say that Ruth's hit surpassed Heilmann's by at least 75 feet".
As Mr. Jenkinson has stated, most long home runs have reasonably helpful wind behind them, such as Ruth's and William's Fenway home runs. Another would be the one Frank Howard hit at Forbes that was initially reported to be 550' then 560'. Both numbers are dubious, (from a single witness who says he measured it after seeing it land as he drove into Shenley Park. the way he tells his story leaves room for doubt), but it was very likely a legitimate 500+foot homer without any assistance from the wind.

The orientation of most ballparks favors the batter and the majority of the time a favorable wind is blowing, whatever its strength.

On opening day in '56 Mantle hit 2 over the CF wall at Griffith. Using several news accounts one stating that the first home run landed on a particular house and actually printed its address and the resident's name, another account stating this home run went "Just left" of the 408' corner. Drawing a line from home plate past left of this corner does indicate the ball landed on the house in question. Using two separate insurance maps made by different sources and an aerial photo, the line drawn indicates a landing spot on the front of the house 520' to 525' from home plate. This landing point is roughly 22'-25' to the roof of the row house. The homer was aided, within 20 degrees, by a normal 10 mph breeze which Robert Adair states would aid a home run a bit over 29 feet. The distance of approximately 535-537 feet if unimpeded by the house may at first seem rediculous until the wind is factored in, then the truth is realized. It however takes nothing away from tha actual distance the ball traveled. It is still a fact.
If Mr. Adair's physics are accurate and Ruth's home run were aided by a 20 mile per hour wind, it would have traveled 59 feet farther than unaided. Aided it is reduced from the several times stated 560' in news accounts to 501'. If the home run did actually travel 601', as subsequent accounts may indicate, it then becomes a Ruthian 542'. There are experts who say a ball can travel farther unaided.

Mickey's '63 facade home run was aided by an 8 mph breeze that followed it at 168 degrees.

Additionally this account was found in the Sporting News of September 15, 1921 stating the home run traveled 585 feet.

[Crackerjackcollector]

How many people have hit a home run over 600 ft.
i can think of mickey mantle, roger connor, babe ruth and josh gibson.
are there any more or did i make a mistake in the list.
thanks
Sean!

[RuthMayBond]

Possibly Dave Kingman

[Brian McKenna]

If you wait around here long enough, someone will claim Gibson hit one over 1,200 feet.

[TRfromBR]

How many people have hit a home run over 600 ft.
i can think of mickey mantle, roger connor, babe ruth and josh gibson.
are there any more or did i make a mistake in the list.
thanks
Sean!

I'm not aware of any evidence that Roger Conner ever hit a ball that far. To hit those mini-medicine balls that distance in his day would be quite a feat, indeed. I can't imagine it was possible.

[TRfromBR]

If you wait around here long enough, someone will claim Gibson hit one over 1,200 feet.

That's just Joshing.

[Bigrcube]

If you wait around here long enough, someone will claim Gibson hit one over 1,200 feet.

Isn't there a story that Josh Gibson hit the only fair ball completely out of Yankee Stadium?
A HR no doubt.
Not sure if it's fact or fiction or just old baseball lore?!

[RuthMayBond]

I'm not aware of any evidence that Roger Conner ever hit a ball that far. To hit those mini-medicine balls that distance in his day would be quite a feat, indeed. I can't imagine it was possible.Maybe he's thinking Harry Heilmann?

[Mikie]

There is not a single accepted (i.e., documented) case of a 600-foot home run. Ever. Mantle's 565-footer against the Senators in 1963 is considered the longest that is backed up by reliable data.

Dr. Robert Adair's The Physics of Baseball makes a compelling case for it being physically impossible for a human being to hit a pitched baseball 600 feet, even with maximum ball and bat velocities, optimal launch angle and ball spin, optimal air properties, etc.

[TRfromBR]

There is not a single accepted (i.e., documented) case of a 600-foot home run. Ever. Mantle's 565-footer against the Senators in 1963 is considered the longest that is backed up by reliable data.

Dr. Robert Adair's The Physics of Baseball makes a compelling case for it being physically impossible for a human being to hit a pitched baseball 600 feet, even with maximum ball and bat velocities, optimal launch angle and ball spin, optimal air properties, etc.

Are there any specific exceptions to Dr.Adair's maximum distance theory - related to environmental factors, for instance. Are there any conflicting studies or theories to his proposition of a 600 ft. maximum distance? Or any evidence at all of hits being hit further? Does his theory apply to all leagues, eras, and equipment?

Thanks.

[Bigrcube]

There is not a single accepted (i.e., documented) case of a 600-foot home run. Ever. Mantle's 565-footer against the Senators in 1963 is considered the longest that is backed up by reliable data.


Ahem.....correction.....that was 1953, not '63.
I know it was just a typo.

This 1953 shot was the first official "Tape Measure" HR of all time.
Some say the Yankees invented the Tape Measure HR to promote Mantle?

He also hit one in an exhibition spring training game out in Calif while playing
USC at Bovard Field in March 1951 when he was a rookie.

See: http://www.themick.com/10homers.html

[RuthMayBond]

See: http://www.themick.com/10homers.htmlCOMPUTER ESTIMATE on the "734 foot" HR. At least it's something that's verifiable :laugh

[TRfromBR]

Ahem.....correction.....that was 1953, not '63.
I know it was just a typo.

This 1953 shot was the first official "Tape Measure" HR of all time.
Some say the Yankees invented the Tape Measure HR to promote Mantle?

He also hit one in an exhibition spring training game out in Calif while playing
USC at Bovard Field in March 1951 when he was a rookie.

See: http://www.themick.com/10homers.html

The evidence provided seems to indicate a ball can, and has, been hit beyond 600'. As incredibly powerful a hitter as Mantle was, I believe Ruth was even more so. He's hit more tape measure shots than even the great Mickey Mantle. Though shots near and over 600' have been rare, I believe there is compelling evidence to believe that there have been at least a few.

[Ubiquitous]

From Adair:

Warmer air is lighter, so the same ball struck at 80 degrees will fly five feet longer than a ball hit when it's 70. In addition, a ball heated to 80 degrees will be in the air longer than one with a temperature of 70 degrees, which could explain the derivation of a hot hitter.

The wind will be a factor. The Pirates did a wind study of the ballpark site that showed the prevailing winds blow from left to right at 10 to 15 mph. With an average tailwind of 10 mph, you can add about 30 to 35 feet in distance. If it's blowing in, forget it.

A baseball is hardly an aerodynamic model, which is why artillery shells don't look like cannonballs anymore. But if a slugger can generate roughly 10,000 pounds of force from his bat and impart underspin during the 1/1,000th of a second the wood is on the baseball, the stitches act like dimples on a golf ball. They allow the ball to sail. A baseball that travels 400 feet would go only 300 feet without the stitching, Dr. Adair said.

At any rate, home runs seem to go longer over time. Any number of Web sites will list tape measure shots of more than 600 or 700 feet. But Dr. Adair, a man bound by the scientific method, chuckles at what he calls a "long history of lies."






Also here is this page for the math (http://www.stevetheump.com/HR_physics.htm)

[Ubiquitous]

distances for curveball vs. fastball (http://biomechanics.bio.uci.edu/_html/nh_biomech/curveball/curve.htm)
the real math for it all (http://webusers.npl.uiuc.edu/~a-nathan/pob/AJP-Nov03.pdf)

[Ubiquitous]

Okay, then how far can someone actually hit a baseball?

Robert Adair: Without a wind, it’s pretty difficult to hit a ball over 500 feet. [If] somebody tells me Josh Gibson hit a ball 600 feet, or something like that, I just plain, simply don’t believe it.

There is a ball hit by Mickey Mantle that’s really well measured, so we know exactly where it hit. It’s usually called 560 feet, but that’s after it bounced and rolled across the street. But that hit about 510 feet. If you look at the Weather Bureau, there was about a 25 mile an hour wind blowing out.


In his book which I don't have on me he has the chapter "How far can a ball be hit?" and that is the chapter that pretty much everybody uses to prove that 600 foot homers do not exist.

[TRfromBR]

Thanks for that excellent information, Ubi. I've read it and find it very educational. Acknowledging Dr. Adair's superb work, did he actually perform any investigative research and land surveys on any historic home runs - for instance, on Ruth's shot in Tampa in April of 1919, which indicate the possibility of distances beyond the maximum he claims. That homer, the longest ever to that date, travelled at very least 550', without significant wind, and with a very low angle trajectory. It was witnessed by many, many thousands of [stunned] people, and was measured immediately by multiple relieable parties. It's documentation is tremendous.

Even John McGraw, no fan of Ruth, and whose Giants Ruth was playing that day commented on the phenomenal distance of that shot. Ruth never called it his longest, but did comment how it impressed him so because it "never went higher than 30 ft." This extremely low height may not be perfectly accurate, but it's consistent with all the many records from that day.

Possibly, Ruth's ability to swing a 54 ounce bat with such speed amplified his distances beyond anyone before or since.

[TRfromBR]

I just returned from my University's library, where I re-read all pertinent parts of all three editions of Professor Adair's "Physics of Baseball." He does a splendid job, and seems like a really fine person. Most interestingly of all to me is his admission that he "would'nt bet the farm' a baseball couldn't be or hasn't been hit farther than 600', only that such a distance would require exceptional conditions.

Dr. Adair found that both increased heat and humidity can greatly boost the distance of a batted ball. And, of course, favorable wind and altitude are obvious boosts, also. Pitch speed, bat speed, bat size, trajectory, backspin on hit ball, and nature of ball, are all key factors, too.

Of most interest, perhaps, is that the professor exempted Babe Ruth from his analysis to a large extent, because of not only the tremendous bat size he used, but also his entirely unique way of batting. He pointed out that Ruth used to sometimes "run" into the ball, sometimes using a two step approach, which, especially combined with all his other qualities as a power hitter, resulted in unsurpassed power.

So, the professor does a superb job in explaining why few people can ever hit over 600, but, as he said, "he wouldn't bet the farm" that others, and especially Ruth, didn't do it. Bill Jenkinson's extensive work in this area, though more from a historical research perspective, dovetails well with Dr. Adair's conclusions.

As any good scientist would, he did not rule out such feats entirely. And, indeed, in the case of Ruth expressed its possibility.

This all lends credence, then, to evidenced reports of home runs by Ruth both approaching and exceeding 600', especially when "free swinging in hot, humid climates [and high altitudes.]

I believe he may have done it on approximately 3 or 4 measurable occasions. But, I don't regard that distance as sacrosanct in any way whatsoever, and will keep examining all evidence available on the subject, revising my beliefs accordingly.

[Ubiquitous]

Yes Jenkinson talks about a blast of Babes that went almost 650 feet. He starts off by talking about how he has personally researched ever reported blast of Babes that was said to have been over 600 feet. Ever single one he proved false except for the one on October 12, 1926 in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Unfortunately all we know from Jenkinson is that the wind was blowing out to right at 5 mph. We don't know the temp, the humidity, or how Babe hit the ball other then it was a rising line drive.

Wilkes-Barre is 593 to 660 feet above sea-level and though I cannot find the exact weather details for Wilke-Barre I do know that it was not a hot day in the area though it proably was humid.

[Ubiquitous]

I found this little tidbit in a Jenkinson interview from a week ago:

"I think we can fairly conclude that this ball traveled well over 600 feet. There's no question about where the ball landed. There are several accounts that say the ball landed on the far side of the running track. It's just a question of whether or not the running track and home plate are in the same location. I think we are going to find that the running track was moved back from where it was in 1926"

[Ubiquitous]

Which does bring up an interesting point. If the track has been moved back and the 80 some year old guy is basing his opinion on where the ball landed based on the proximity of where the track was then old guys marker is not going to be accurate. When Bill went to PA to measure it out he found the distance to the spot to be just shy of 650 feet. So if the track was moved back to this spot then we know beyond a doubt that it didn't travel 650 feet. So now we just have to find how much the track and diamond was moved.

[Old Sweater]

Theory trivia..........lol

No matter how much research you do it depends on assumption and isn't going to change ones opinion of what they believe. Myself, I believe both the Mick and the Babe had 600 ft HR's no matter what math equations the Einsteins throw on them.

-----------------------------------


http://www.themick.com/10homers.html#Home%20Run%20#1



The first blast, hit right-handed, was a high drive that easily cleared the leftfield wall. It crossed the street running parallel to the park and landed on the roof of the third house down on the street that runs perpendicular into the street outside Bovard Field. No estimate has ever been given for its length, although it is safe to say it was easily over 500 feet, and may have approached 600 feet. A tremendous blast by any standards.

But Mickey wasn't finished. His second homer came left-handed. Mickey rocketed the ball over the right-centerfield wall, across the adjacent football field, finally landing on the far sideline and hopping over the fence bordering the field. The distance: 656 feet to the point where it first landed! 19-year-old Mickey Mantle had just hit the longest home run in baseball history! In a single game Mantle hit two homers that were longer than most major league players hit in a career.

The distance of the second homer is well documented. The USC outfielder, Tom Riach, and legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux both saw the exact spot where the ball landed. Later each separately went out and pointed to the spot. They were two feet apart. Said Dedeaux, "It was a superhuman feat."

[TRfromBR]

Theory trivia..........lol

No matter how much research you do it depends on assumption and isn't going to change ones opinion of what they believe. Myself, I believe both the Mick and the Babe had 600 ft HR's no matter what math equations the Einsteins throw on them.

-----------------------------------


http://www.themick.com/10homers.html#Home%20Run%20#1



The first blast, hit right-handed, was a high drive that easily cleared the leftfield wall. It crossed the street running parallel to the park and landed on the roof of the third house down on the street that runs perpendicular into the street outside Bovard Field. No estimate has ever been given for its length, although it is safe to say it was easily over 500 feet, and may have approached 600 feet. A tremendous blast by any standards.

But Mickey wasn't finished. His second homer came left-handed. Mickey rocketed the ball over the right-centerfield wall, across the adjacent football field, finally landing on the far sideline and hopping over the fence bordering the field. The distance: 656 feet to the point where it first landed! 19-year-old Mickey Mantle had just hit the longest home run in baseball history! In a single game Mantle hit two homers that were longer than most major league players hit in a career.

The distance of the second homer is well documented. The USC outfielder, Tom Riach, and legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux both saw the exact spot where the ball landed. Later each separately went out and pointed to the spot. They were two feet apart. Said Dedeaux, "It was a superhuman feat."

As historical research proceeds, there seems to be reason to believe that reports of homers in the high 500's have occured. It looks like Ruth and Mantle may have been the only ones to hit that far in the Big Leagues. Ruth appears to have hit even farther in some of his many barnstorming, exhibition, and spring training performances, not to mention batting practice. In the latter venues particularly he was free swinging with all his might, leading to phenomenal distances. With scientific authorities acknowledging it's possible to hit beyond 600', and historical research providing powerful supporting evidence of contemporaneous accounts, I think it's best to keep studying, testing and measuring. Not to close the door on either possibility.

[Bigrcube]

How many people have hit a home run over 600 ft.
i can think of mickey mantle, roger connor, babe ruth and josh gibson.
are there any more or did i make a mistake in the list.
thanks
Sean!

All I know for sure is that ALL of those *Tape Measure* monster shot HRs
would have gone FURTHER, had they not hit something on the way
that stopped them DEAD in their tracks?! RIGHT?!

Example: The BIG UNIT throws one @ 100 mph coming in, and BIG MAC hits
one going out @ 105 mph++. Stopped when it hit something, like the seats
in the upper deck. Else-ways it would still be going, and going, and going.....

[TRfromBR]

Maybe he's thinking Harry Heilmann?

Maybe, RMayB. As I'll bet you know, Heilmann slammed a moon shot out of Navin Field on July 8, 1921. It was the longest ever hit in Detroit, traveling over [four fence panels left of] center field fence and landing 512 feet from home plate. It was one of the greatest homers ever hit. Let me see if I can access the Burton Historical Collection on-line and attach a copy of old Navin Field (Tiger Stadium.) You & Bill will surely have better info on this than I. I just know it's phenomenal for any man to hit such a distance, especially for 1921. And he not only could slug 'em, he hit for high average, too. In the elite 400 Hundred Club, if memory serves.

[elmer]

Longest ever may be the home run Babe hit in Detroit. on July 18, 1921 in Detroit over the CF fence into the intersection of Cherry and Trumbull. Initially given as 560', later report comparing it to another home run Ruth had hit stated. 601'.

[ipitch]

This was posted in an old thread...

"Here is a quote from Dr. Adair's book, The Physics of Baseball, page 100.

Stories of colossal clouts, of ball hit tremendous distances, constitute a part of the apocraphya of baseball. The stories of the longest blows (carries of 550 to 600 are usually reported) always place the ball's landing in some poorly surveyed location, i.e., the street outside the stadium, so that "estimate" might be best translated as "uninformed wild guess".

The rest of his chapter on Batting the Ball describes the reasons why it is virtually impossible to hit a ball measurably past 500 feet. Interestingly, he cites Dan Valenti's book "Clout" that is a book about famous home runs (I haven't read it). From descriptions in that book Adair concluded that the Mantle Griffith Park 506 foot home run is the longest home run that can reliably be estimated. Also of interest is his comment that on that particular home run the wind was blowing out at 20 mph with gusts of 41 mph. If it had been a windless day, Adair estimated that the home run could have been only 430 feet."

[SHOELESSJOE3]

This was posted in an old thread...

"Here is a quote from Dr. Adair's book, The Physics of Baseball, page 100.

Stories of colossal clouts, of ball hit tremendous distances, constitute a part of the apocraphya of baseball. The stories of the longest blows (carries of 550 to 600 are usually reported) always place the ball's landing in some poorly surveyed location, i.e., the street outside the stadium, so that "estimate" might be best translated as "uninformed wild guess".

The rest of his chapter on Batting the Ball describes the reasons why it is virtually impossible to hit a ball measurably past 500 feet. Interestingly, he cites Dan Valenti's book "Clout" that is a book about famous home runs (I haven't read it). From descriptions in that book Adair concluded that the Mantle Griffith Park 506 foot home run is the longest home run that can reliably be estimated. Also of interest is his comment that on that particular home run the wind was blowing out at 20 mph with gusts of 41 mph. If it had been a windless day, Adair estimated that the home run could have been only 430 feet."

There are some that are easier to determine, not exact but fairly close. Babe Ruth hit at least two home runs to center field at Yankee Stadium The fence was marked off at 487 feet. Assuming that is an accurate number that 487 it's reasonable to believe that the ball was around 500 feet to clear the fence. I think it's more difficult today to get a close number simply because there are no distances like that 487 at N.Y. and 488 at Fenway also where Ruth parked a few. Now a ball may clear a 405-420 wall and land in a seated area and it's more dificult (not impossible) to know where it may have landed.

[plask_stirlac]

Didn't Reggie Abercrombie hit a 500 ft bomb? Then I bet better players have gone up to 550.

600 is really the max, though, my gut tells me, unless bounces out of a freakin' stadium count. The HR derby hasn't seen that many over 500.

Ha, 200 miles. Good story!

[elmer]

Also of interest is his comment that on that particular home run the wind was blowing out at 20 mph with gusts of 41 mph. If it had been a windless day, Adair estimated that the home run could have been only 430 feet."

In June 1982 Baseball Digest Published an article on long home runs from which the following is taken.
"The question is whether or not the wind helped the blast? Red Patterson, who measured the drive, revealed to the author that the wind was minimal, Patterson who also has measured two of Willie Stargell's 500-foot blasts out of Dodger Stadium, stated Mantle's 565-foot drive remains the longest ball he has ever seen in 36 years of being in baseball. Other Yankees who witnessed this 1953 home run agreed with Patterson that the wind was negligible. People could argue that Yankee teammates' allegiance to Mickey might have biased their objectivity. Yet, the same view that the wind was not blowing came from other impartial witnesses to that blast, Federal Judge James R. Kirkland, a Washington fan, stated unequivocally that the wind was not blowing. Jim Honochick, an umpire at the 1953 game, revealed to the author that there was no wind; Honochick also stated that after viewing baseball sluggers from 1949 to 1973, that Mantle's blast remains the longest ball he has ever seen.
Eddie Yost, who witnessed both Mantle's 1953 blast and Frank Howard's 560-foot drive at Pittsburgh, in 1959, rated Mickey's homer as being the longer of the two. Finally, Les Peden, who was the Washington catcher at the 1953 game, confirmed that there was no wind. Peden stated, "The ball was hit like a Jack Nicklaus golf drive. It hit a national beer sign head on and veered off on a right angle as it left the park. Peden estimated the ball could have traveled another 75 to 100 feet had it not been impeded by the scoreboard."

[TRfromBR]

This was posted in an old thread...

"Here is a quote from Dr. Adair's book, The Physics of Baseball, page 100.

Stories of colossal clouts, of ball hit tremendous distances, constitute a part of the apocraphya of baseball. The stories of the longest blows (carries of 550 to 600 are usually reported) always place the ball's landing in some poorly surveyed location, i.e., the street outside the stadium, so that "estimate" might be best translated as "uninformed wild guess".

The rest of his chapter on Batting the Ball describes the reasons why it is virtually impossible to hit a ball measurably past 500 feet. Interestingly, he cites Dan Valenti's book "Clout" that is a book about famous home runs (I haven't read it). From descriptions in that book Adair concluded that the Mantle Griffith Park 506 foot home run is the longest home run that can reliably be estimated. Also of interest is his comment that on that particular home run the wind was blowing out at 20 mph with gusts of 41 mph. If it had been a windless day, Adair estimated that the home run could have been only 430 feet."

Ruth hit many balls over 500 ft. Aware of this, Professor Adair has specifically acknowledged that the limitations presented in his book do not apply to "a young Babe Ruth", because of Ruth's unique power and swing. For this same reason, Adair refused to rule out, in the case of the Babe, hits of 600 ft.

[Calif_Eagle]

Dave Kingman hit a famous shot at Wrigley Field in 1976. Supposedly hit a house beyond the structures right behind the bleachers on the fly. At the time, I recall media accounts that suggested this might be the longest HR ever hit. Also... there are at least 2 minor league HR that might be of interest to the BBF community. See the feature "Cracked Bats" at http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com. Gil Carter & Ed Kurpeil hit mammoth blasts, there is an account of each there. Another shot from memory was Frank Howard hitting a ball out of Tiger Stadium into the construction trenches for I-75 which was being built at the time.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

One thing is sure, we will really never know who hit the longest. There is no way to know and most important no way to prove it. I tend to go back in time to try and research some of the longer drives from way back because most of the accounts come from recent years. This is a great discussion with some interesting accounts the long ball and it's history has always been of great interest.

I would also think whether it was Mac, Ruth, Bonds, Mantle, Killebrew, Foxx or some other I failed to mention it most likely is not that much longer than the second or third longest.

[elmer]

Another shot from memory was Frank Howard hitting a ball out of Tiger Stadium into the construction trenches for I-75 which was being built at the time.

That description can be deceiving. The West Fischer Freeway just outside
the park in Left is a minimum of 560' from home plate near the line. The construction included the area closer to the stadium as well.
Howard said it could be his longest. It glanced off the roof adding some to the landing point outside the stadium. All the home runs hit over the left field roof in Detroit bounced on the roof according to various accounts.

[ipitch]

Ruth hit many balls over 500 ft. Aware of this, Professor Adair has specifically acknowledged that the limitations presented in his book do not apply to "a young Babe Ruth", because of Ruth's unique power and swing. For this same reason, Adair refused to rule out, in the case of the Babe, hits of 600 ft.

To me it seems highly unlikely that a player who played in the 1920s could hit the ball further than the steroid monsters of the last ~15 years. If Babe Ruth really hit the ball 600 feet (which I don't believe), then I believe that McGwire/Canseco/Sosa/Bonds/etc. could've hit the ball 650 feet in the 1920s (with their 1990s bodies).

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Ruth hit many balls over 500 ft. Aware of this, Professor Adair has specifically acknowledged that the limitations presented in his book do not apply to "a young Babe Ruth", because of Ruth's unique power and swing. For this same reason, Adair refused to rule out, in the case of the Babe, hits of 600 ft.

I have read this book and I have a copy at home. On what page did Adair say this? Even if he did say this it means nothing really. Adair is a physicist and I doubt he would ever claim that the laws of physics do not apply to Babe Ruth.

[Captain Cold Nose]

I have read this book and I have a copy at home. On what page did Adair say this? Even if he did say this it means nothing really. Adair is a physicist and I doubt he would ever claim that the laws of physics do not apply to Babe Ruth.

Ruth could also fly like a bird and was able to spit against the wind without repercussions.

[TRfromBR]

To me it seems highly unlikely that a player who played in the 1920s could hit the ball further than the steroid monsters of the last ~15 years. If Babe Ruth really hit the ball 600 feet (which I don't believe), then I believe that McGwire/Canseco/Sosa/Bonds/etc. could've hit the ball 650 feet in the 1920s (with their 1990s bodies).

Believe what you want, but the facts are indisputable that Ruth hit further, and more consistently further, than all of those guys, who's bodies you think are superior.

[TRfromBR]

I have read this book and I have a copy at home. On what page did Adair say this? Even if he did say this it means nothing really. Adair is a physicist and I doubt he would ever claim that the laws of physics do not apply to Babe Ruth.

I could get the exact page for you, Honus. Before I make that effort, which requires my travelling to a university library, are you sure it's not in the copy you have. To help me refer you to the correct page, please let me know what edition you have at home.

BTW, HWR, I did not say or imply there was any claim by Adair, exempting Ruth from the "laws of physics". He simply was making it clear that Ruth swang with far more power than any other person he had ever investigated - so much so that normal distance limitations did not apply to him. He said he "wouldn't bet the farm" that babe Ruth didn't hit 600 feet. Evidence supports his position that Ruth was a special case - a guy who could hit further than all before him or since.

In this regard, what exact data, factors, and laws of physics do you believe limit the distance a baseball can be hit. And what distance do you believe that is?

[TRfromBR]

Ruth could also fly like a bird and was able to spit against the wind without repercussions.

I would think, Captain, that his would be beyond even the most optimistic expectorations.

But, you might want to consider that Ruth hit a late dead ball era home run over 550 feet, on April 4, 1919, against the New York Giants.

[bigtrain]

I think not enough attention is being paid to the equipment used. The weight of the bat and the composition of the baseball are also contributing factors.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Believe what you want, but the facts are indisputable that Ruth hit further, and more consistently further, than all of those guys, who's bodies you think are superior.The facts are indisputable but the underlying causes are for this are not clearly understood. There may be several reasons that allowed Ruth to hit balls further than modern players but that doesn't mean this this happened because Ruth was stronger or he had a unique swing. The kind of bats that Ruth used and the ball he hit may have contributed to this. I do not know. One of these days I will make the time to study this in-depth.

[TRfromBR]

The facts are indisputable but the underlying causes are for this are not clearly understood. There may be several reasons that allowed Ruth to hit balls further than modern players but that doesn't mean this this happened because Ruth was stronger or he had a unique swing. The kind of bats that Ruth used and the ball he hit may have contributed to this. I do not know. One of these days I will make the time to study this in-depth.

I think that Ruth's ability to swing such large bats, with such good bat speed, may indeed be one factor separating him from the 99.9% of mankind who could not. But, I think there's more to it than his bat(s) and bat speed*. I think he was the perfect storm of physical, psychological, and physiological characteristics. I don't think it was that he was stronger, in the broadest sense of the word, but he was obviously far more powerful as a hitter. I think his unique swing was a significant factor, however.

With your education and skills in mechanical engineering, you'd be an excellent person to study the conundrum of Ruth's unparalled power.

* Based on science and subsequent data, many believe he would have hit even further with a lighter bat and consequent higher bat speed. One thing that's reasonably certain, though, balls were not as lively as they are today.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I could get the exact page for you, Honus. Before I make that effort, which requires my travelling to a university library, are you sure it's not in the copy you have. To help me refer you to the correct page, please let me know what edition you have at home.
I'll have to dig out the book myself since I have in storage. My copy is a paperback copy. If you could give me the chapter I could find it. The book on HR distances is not very long.



BTW, HWR, I did not say or imply there was any claim by Adair, exempting Ruth from the "laws of physics". He simply was making it clear that Ruth swang with far more power than any other person he had ever investigated - so much so that normal distance limitations did not apply to him. He said he "wouldn't bet the farm" that babe Ruth didn't hit 600 feet. Evidence supports his position that Ruth was a special case - a guy who could hit further than all before him or since.
Adair also said that a 545 ft HR (from memory) is the maximum distance a ball would travel under "normal" conditions. Ruth wasn't the only player to have hit tape measure HRs. There are many stories of Josh Gibson hitting some monster shots as well.


In this regard, what exact data, factors, and laws of physics do you believe limit the distance a baseball can be hit. And what distance do you believe that is?
There are limits to human strength and how fast a hitter can swing a bat. We do know the weights of Ruth's bats but we don't really have much information on the balls he hit against. The distance a ball traveled is basically a function of the kinetic energy imparted on the ball by the bat and the angle of initial trajectory of the ball from the horizontal plane. So if Ruth could swing a heavy bat with the same speed a modern player swings a lighter bat then yes the ball would go further. I suspect many modern players could swing a much heavier bat but have been coached since early in their pro careers to use a light bat. This could be somewhat analogous to the design change of the javelin in track and field. In 1984 the javelin was redesigned to reduce the distance. Are javelin throwers of today inferior to the pre-1984 javelin throwers. One of these days I'm going to do a thorough research project to get to he bottom of this.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Adair also said that a 545 ft HR (from memory) is the maximum distance a ball would travel under "normal" conditions. Ruth wasn't the only player to have hit tape measure HRs. There are many stories of Josh Gibson hitting some monster shots as well.



I certainly respect Adair but I don't see how he could set a finite number that 545 ft or what ever he stated. I'm not speaking of Ruth but of any of those that have hit tape measure home runs. Lets think this one over, why not 557 feet or 575 feet, why a specific number and even though not an expert how does he actually prove his statement by actual experiment, bat and ball.

I'm thinking it gets very thin when we speak of 540+ feet home runs hit and I think his figure is close but ti give a finite number, I'm not buying.

[ipitch]

Believe what you want, but the facts are indisputable that Ruth hit further, and more consistently further, than all of those guys, who's bodies you think are superior.

It's a fact that those guys didn't get to hit 1920s baseballs in the same ballparks off of the same pitchers in the same conditions, which was my point. 1920s records in other sports that are easier to compare (weightlifting/running/swimming) have been obliterated by today's athletes.

[elmer]

Adair also said that a 545 ft HR (from memory) is the maximum distance a ball would travel under "normal" conditions. Ruth wasn't the only player to have hit tape measure HRs. There are many stories of Josh Gibson hitting some monster shots as well.


Sep. 17, 1958
Mickey Mantle hit a home run over the right field roof at Briggs Stadium 6 feet fair.
It strikes the Yellow Cab Co. building near the very top. (according to one account 35' above the ground, a second account states 30' above the ground.
The measurement is 474' and inches from home plate across the cab building across Trumbull St.
The wind during the game alternated straight down the right field line and some 27 degrees from it in foul ground. The wind during the hours the home run was hit was blowing from 15-27 mph during the game. In one hour the high and low reading was 20-27 mph. Tiger stadium though well sheltered from wind is not completely invulnerable to it and some wind surely entered when the homer was hit. As the ball reached a point high enough to be affectied by the stronger wind perhaps 300 feet from home plate and 175 feet from the point it struck the building it would lose some where between 33 and 48 feet for the total flight depending on the wind outside the park.
Using Adair's methods.
How far would this home run go with no wind against it?

Jimmie Foxx hit one to the 20th row of Yankee Stadium's Left Field upper deck to a point 20 feet from the end of the last section next to the bullpen
460' from home plate 97' above the playing field.
Using Adair's methods.
How far would this home run go?

[TRfromBR]

It's a fact that those guys didn't get to hit 1920s baseballs in the same ballparks off of the same pitchers in the same conditions, which was my point. 1920s records in other sports that are easier to compare (weightlifting/running/swimming) have been obliterated by today's athletes.

Why do you think each of your examples - Bonds, Conseco, McGwire & Sosa -could hit a ball so much further than Babe Ruth, under identical conditions? Would they also achieve the same batting average as Ruth? If you think so, what's your evidence & reasoning?

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I certainly respect Adair but I don't see how he could set a finite number that 545 ft or what ever he stated. I'm not speaking of Ruth but of any of those that have hit tape measure home runs. Lets think this one over, why not 557 feet or 575 feet, why a specific number and even though not an expert how does he actually prove his statement by actual experiment, bat and ball.

I'm thinking it gets very thin when we speak of 540+ feet home runs hit and I think his figure is close but ti give a finite number, I'm not buying.

I'll have to dig put his book. I seem to remember that he had a methodology that he used to arrive at arrived at 545'. This is just an estimate of course. And he did say "normal conditions" which he states as being "baseball fields in Old New York" I seem to remember.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Let me see according to Adair there is a fixed number a finite number of feet that a batted ball will travel

This is not a probable situation, unlikely it could ever happen, two hitters hitting a ball exactly on the the same part of the bat, same swing a bit of an uppercut, all conditions the same temperature lets say no wind, same humidity in short the same exact conditions.

The first hitter hits a ball that reaches Adair's figure, lets just use 545 feet he states a batted ball will travel no further then that number, give or take a few feet, he says it just can't be done.

The second batter is bigger, stronger than the first batter, makes contact exactly the same part of the bat. Are we now supposed to believe despite the second batter being bigger, stronger and with greater bat speed his drive will not travel a greater distance.

I understand I'm asking the impossible, that we assume the contact is made at the same point of the bat, but it's theory.

Whats the answer the second hit ball will just wilt, despite the stronger hitter greater bat speed. according to Adair they both travel the same distance. Not buying.

You know everything thats supposed to happen based on lab tests, wind tunnels and slide rules doesn't always happen under real conditions.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I'll have to dig put his book. I seem to remember that he had a methodology that he used to arrive at arrived at 545'. This is just an estimate of course. And he did say "normal conditions" which he states as being "baseball fields in Old New York" I seem to remember.

Not a problem with that normal conditions Honus, understood. Also I understand it's an estimate, not holding him to what ever number he gives. But I'm led to believe if one was to tell him a ball could possibly be hit 30 or 50 feet more than he says possible he won't accept that.

[TRfromBR]

Let me see according to Adair there is a fixed number a finite number of feet that a batted ball will travel

This is not a probable situation, unlikely it could ever happen, two hitters hitting a ball exactly on the the same part of the bat, same swing a bit of an uppercut, all conditions the same temperature lets say no wind, same humidity in short the same exact conditions.

The first hitter hits a ball that reaches Adair's figure, lets just use 545 feet he states a batted ball will travel no further then that number, give or take a few feet, he says it just can't be done.

The second batter is bigger, stronger than the first batter, makes contact exactly the same part of the bat. Are we now supposed to believe despite the second batter being bigger, stronger and with greater bat speed his drive will not travel a greater distance.

I understand I'm asking the impossible, that we assume the contact is made at the same point of the bat, but it's theory.

Whats the answer the second hit ball will just wilt, despite the stronger hitter greater bat speed. according to Adair they both travel the same distance. Not buying.

You know everything thats supposed to happen based on lab tests, wind tunnels and slide rules doesn't always happen under real conditions.

I agree, Shoeless Joe. I believe the only true factors that might limit the distance a ball can be hit are the impact limitations of the bat and ball being used. The human body certainly has limits, but, in the case at hand, I don't believe they applicable. Without having Adair's book available to me at this moment, I think his [correct] point is that, for every foot a ball travels off a bat, it becomes increasingly difficult to travel farther. I imagine the force of gravity is the determinant factor in such a scientific conclusion.

But, in actuality, other than a bat shattering or a ball exploding, it all really comes down to what kind of power a batter generates. In Ruth's case, he clearly generated more power than other batters. How he did this is the real question. I strongly believe that he had a phenominally unique combination of physical, psychological and physiological qualities that elevated him above all other power hitters.

[elmer]

a heavier bat generates a few more feet, distance depending on how much heavier.
What Adair does not address is that a longer bat can also add distance.

Paul Hahn and his son Paul Hahn Jr. trick shot golfers who give exhibitions employ an extra long driver. Paul Sr. drove the ball 400 yards back around
1960 with his long driver.

[elmer]

Frank Howard hit a home run to center field that was measured - 516'.
Mantle hit a respectable home run near Frank's in '55 that traveled 505'.
the best was a Bob Cerv homer in '57 that was measured at 527'

NY Times blog for long homers:

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/20/whats-the-longest-home-run-youve-ever-seen/

[hellborn]

I think that Ruth's ability to swing such large bats, with such good bat speed, may indeed be one factor separating him from the 99.9% of mankind who could not. But, I think there's more to it than his bat(s) and bat speed*. I think he was the perfect storm of physical, psychological, and physiological characteristics. I don't think it was that he was stronger, in the broadest sense of the word, but he was obviously far more powerful as a hitter. I think his unique swing was a significant factor, however.

...

Ruth's swing probably has more in common with a modern top slow pitch hitter's swing than the typical modern major leaguer's. The immense stride, the low hands, the extra rotation in going from pointing his body slightly towards the catcher to fully deployed hips...the Babe was able to take a full body effort swing that is just not at all typical for a baseball environment. The idea that the man was able to use a swing like this against fast and highly variable baseball pitching is mind boggling.
The one thing he didn't do was to use the "Canadian Shuffle", as I've heard it called...the few steps into the ball that are very common in 16" Chicago softball, and that are seen in regular SP at times (not sure if it's legal in all associations). But, Ted Williams did use it to homer off Rip Sewell's eephus pitch. He used a swing that was not typical for baseball to get some extra power into a slow trick pitch.

[TRfromBR]

Ruth's swing probably has more in common with a modern top slow pitch hitter's swing than the typical modern major leaguer's. The immense stride, the low hands, the extra rotation in going from pointing his body slightly towards the catcher to fully deployed hips...the Babe was able to take a full body effort swing that is just not at all typical for a baseball environment. The idea that the man was able to use a swing like this against fast and highly variable baseball pitching is mind boggling.
The one thing he didn't do was to use the "Canadian Shuffle", as I've heard it called...the few steps into the ball that are very common in 16" Chicago softball, and that are seen in regular SP at times (not sure if it's legal in all associations). But, Ted Williams did use it to homer off Rip Sewell's eephus pitch. He used a swing that was not typical for baseball to get some extra power into a slow trick pitch.

I haven't seen enough of Ruth's early swing to provide any supporting opinion, Hellborn, but your analysis is excellent and certainly seems to comport with evidence that is available. I'm particularly intrigued by your statements concerning the "Canadian Shuffle". Robert Adair did strongly imply that "the young Babe Ruth" might have taken a couple of steps forward on his longer clouts, but cited no evidence in that regard. I've never seen any photos, or anecdotal accounts, supporting such an implication. Do you know if it's been positively dispelled?

Regarding Ruth's ability to successfully employ his uniquely powerful swing - especially with bats up to 52 ozs. - is indeed "mind boggling". Few could ever swing the larger bats he used, nevermind with such power, high average and effectiveness.

[ipitch]

Why do you think each of your examples - Bonds, Conseco, McGwire & Sosa -could hit a ball so much further than Babe Ruth, under identical conditions? Would they also achieve the same batting average as Ruth? If you think so, what's your evidence & reasoning?

I think that they could hit the ball further than Ruth under identical conditions because athletes are getting bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic all the time, so it's inconceivable to me that these huge guys who live in weight rooms and are on steroids(?) couldn't hit a ball further than a guy that played ~80 years ago. I also don't think that anyone from the 1920s could run faster than Ichiro, make amazing catches like Jim Edmonds, or pitch faster than Joel Zumaya. I've seen quite a few 1970s games (NBA, NHL, MLB) lately on TV and even the athleticism of athletes just 30 years ago pales in comparison to today.

I think that anyone who played in the 1990s would have had a much higher batting average if they had played in the 1920s instead, but I don't think that those 4 guys would have hit for a higher average than Ruth (except for Bonds, perhaps).

[sturg1dj]

I haven't seen enough of Ruth's early swing to provide any supporting opinion, Hellborn, but your analysis is excellent and certainly seems to comport with evidence that is available. I'm particularly intrigued by your statements concerning the "Canadian Shuffle". Robert Adair did strongly imply that "the young Babe Ruth" might have taken a couple of steps forward on his longer clouts, but cited no evidence in that regard. I've never seen any photos, or anecdotal accounts, supporting such an implication. Do you know if it's been positively dispelled?

Regarding Ruth's ability to successfully employ his uniquely powerful swing - especially with bats up to 52 ozs. - is indeed "mind boggling". Few could ever swing the larger bats he used, nevermind with such power, high average and effectiveness.

i think there is some video on Ken Burns' Baseball where Ruth did take some steps and I was blown away...how could you do that?

[SHOELESSJOE3]

i think there is some video on Ken Burns' Baseball where Ruth did take some steps and I was blown away...how could you do that?

That one is overplayed. On thing to be considered here most of the footage we see of Ruth is played over and over again. I have dozens of his swings and that may have taken place one or a few times that I've seen. It's shown so many times, repeated so many times, that same footage that one would believe it was common, it was not.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I think that they could hit the ball further than Ruth under identical conditions because athletes are getting bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic all the time, so it's inconceivable to me that these huge guys who live in weight rooms and are on steroids(?) couldn't hit a ball further than a guy that played ~80 years ago. I also don't think that anyone from the 1920s could run faster than Ichiro, make amazing catches like Jim Edmonds, or pitch faster than Joel Zumaya. I've seen quite a few 1970s games (NBA, NHL, MLB) lately on TV and even the athleticism of athletes just 30 years ago pales in comparison to today.
I think that anyone who played in the 1990s would have had a much higher batting average if they had played in the 1920s instead, but I don't think that those 4 guys would have hit for a higher average than Ruth (except for Bonds, perhaps).

Are you forgetting we're not talking about all around athletics when the issue is long ball hitting. We're talking about a quick burst of energy, swinging a bat, it's over in about a second. Ruth was big and strong with great wrists and great reflexes. Bigger than some of the more powerful sluggers of the 1950s-1960s almost 20 pounds heavier than Mantle, Harmon Killebrew and others.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

I haven't seen enough of Ruth's early swing to provide any supporting opinion, Hellborn, but your analysis is excellent and certainly seems to comport with evidence that is available. I'm particularly intrigued by your statements concerning the "Canadian Shuffle". Robert Adair did strongly imply that "the young Babe Ruth" might have taken a couple of steps forward on his longer clouts, but cited no evidence in that regard. I've never seen any photos, or anecdotal accounts, supporting such an implication. Do you know if it's been positively dispelled?

Regarding Ruth's ability to successfully employ his uniquely powerful swing - especially with bats up to 52 ozs. - is indeed "mind boggling". Few could ever swing the larger bats he used, nevermind with such power, high average and effectiveness.

Thats because there is no evidence. I covered this in a previous post. Most of the footage we see of Ruth's swing is that small number shown time and time again giving the impression that it took place more times than it actually did.

On the bats those 50 ozs. or over were short lived. Most of his career it was bats in the area of 44 ozs.

[TRfromBR]

I think that they could hit the ball further than Ruth under identical conditions because athletes are getting bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic all the time, so it's inconceivable to me that these huge guys who live in weight rooms and are on steroids(?) couldn't hit a ball further than a guy that played ~80 years ago. I also don't think that anyone from the 1920s could run faster than Ichiro, make amazing catches like Jim Edmonds, or pitch faster than Joel Zumaya. I've seen quite a few 1970s games (NBA, NHL, MLB) lately on TV and even the athleticism of athletes just 30 years ago pales in comparison to today.

I think that anyone who played in the 1990s would have had a much higher batting average if they had played in the 1920s instead, but I don't think that those 4 guys would have hit for a higher average than Ruth (except for Bonds, perhaps).

Ichiro faster than Thorpe, Mantle and Bell? I seriously doubt it. I'm a fan of Ichiro's excellent play, but that belongs in the same file as Sammy Sosa, et al, hitting farther than Mr. Ruth. Even with today's all-time home run derby of juiced balls, more resilient bats, and small strike zones, neither Sammy nor any of your other candidates have come close to Ruth's [non-wind-aided] distances. McGwire had a four-year, hyper-juiced stretch of four years where he hit about a dozen over 500', Conseco hit a few that distance, Sammy has hit none, and Bonds has hit none.

With respect to fielding, give Speaker, DiMaggio & Mays today's miniature parks, infinitely superior gloves, playing surfaces, warning tracks, and padded walls, and they dramatically outperform today's players.

[ipitch]

Ichiro faster than Thorpe, Mantle and Bell? I seriously doubt it.


Although technology certainly plays a part, the fastest modern track runners are certainly faster than the fastest track runners of the 1920s. So it's only logical that it would be the same for baseball players. It doesn't make sense that they'd get SLOWER over time. Jesse Owens ran the 100m in 10.2. Today, the record is 9.74. Once again, I admit that technology plays a part, but .46 seconds difference is quite a difference.

Isn't this pretty good evidence that athletes of today are faster than the athletes of the 20s?...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_record_progression_100_metres_men
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_record_progression_for_the_mile_run
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_world_best_progression



Even with today's all-time home run derby of juiced balls, more resilient bats, and small strike zones, neither Sammy nor any of your other candidates have come close to Ruth's [non-wind-aided] distances. McGwire had a four-year, hyper-juiced stretch of four years where he hit about a dozen over 500', Conseco hit a few that distance, Sammy has hit none, and Bonds has hit none.


Like I said, those guys didn't get to hit in the 1920s.

[TRfromBR]

Although technology certainly plays a part, the fastest modern track runners are certainly faster than the fastest track runners of the 1920s. So it's only logical that it would be the same for baseball players. It doesn't make sense that they'd get SLOWER over time. Jesse Owens ran the 100m in 10.2. Today, the record is 9.74. Once again, I admit that technology plays a part, but .46 seconds difference is quite a difference.

Isn't this pretty good evidence that athletes of today are faster than the athletes of the 20s?...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_record_progression_100_metres_men
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_record_progression_for_the_mile_run
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_world_best_progression



Like I said, those guys didn't get to hit in the 1920s.

Thorpe, Mantle & Bell were all faster than Ichiro. And, no, .46 seconds is not a significant difference, considering all the advantages held by today's sprinters. I'm sure Owens and Peacock would be right with, or ahead of, today's sprinters. And, I'm sure there's no one around today that could out run Jim Thorpe, Cool Papa Bell, or Mickey Mantle on a baseball field. In fact, I know of no world class sprinters in Baseball today, like there were in Baseball's days of old. ... But, back to the topic of this thread ...

Like I said, if those four sluggers of yours can't hit farther than Ruth - with the juiced balls, small sweet strike zones, and high tech bats they have now -there's no way they could out distance him in his day of deader balls, mammoth strike zones, and low tech bats. There have been guys through the years that could come much closer than the ones you name. Certainly, Bonds & Sosa are not even in the running. Canseco hardly so. And, McGwire only so for about four highly-juiced years - whereas, Ruth hit over 500' for an amazing span of eighteen years.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

In Ruth's case, he clearly generated more power than other batters. How he did this is the real question. I strongly believe that he had a phenominally unique combination of physical, psychological and physiological qualities that elevated him above all other power hitters.

Don't understand why some can't believe that a hitter that lived so long ago, played so long ago could be the equal and more than equal to todays long distance hitters. We're speaking of a hitter who hit some of the longest drives ever not just in regular season but the World Series hitting against some of the best pitchers in the NL. Hitting in black exhibition games, home runs described by some black players as .. hit into the next county. Black star Buck O'Neal commented on a home run that Ruth hit off of Satchel Paige. Buck says one of the longest drives he had ever seen and how the game was held up while a youngster retrieved the ball and delivered the ball to Paige who asked Ruth to sign the ball for him. They ended with a hand shake and the game went on.

When will the non believers absorb all the comments from all these ballplayers, what they had to say about Ruth. We're not dealing with the average or even super slugger, he was beyond that.

Your not alone with the words in your post. A comment from Dr. william Keane from the 1920s, it's not all size it's the complete package.

[ipitch]

Thorpe, Mantle & Bell were all faster than Ichiro.


:laugh: Who can argue with that evidence! Maybe you just forgot to post it.



And, no, .46 seconds is not a significant difference, considering all the advantages held by today's sprinters.

.46 is an ETERNITY in the 100m, advantages or not. Jesse Owens' 10.2 time in the 100m has been obliterated by HIGH SCHOOLERS.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/hssports/track/stories/MYSA031407.03C.TFHparson.graphic.34fe5ca.html
Mark McNeil, Sam Houston, 1980: 10.0 seconds
J-Mee Samuels, Winston-Salem, N.C., 2005: 10.08 sec

[ipitch]

SHOELESSJOE3,

There's no doubt that Ruth was a man amongst boys in his time. Comparing him to other players of the 1920s is as easy as pie. Comparing him to modern players is many times harder, if not impossible. That Dr. William Keane never got to compare Ruth to modern players.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

SHOELESSJOE3,

There's no doubt that Ruth was a man amongst boys in his time. Comparing him to other players of the 1920s is as easy as pie. Comparing him to modern players is many times harder, if not impossible. That Dr. William Keane never got to compare Ruth to modern players.

It's not the comparison to hitters in his time that was the point. It was how he viewed Ruth, not just his size but all the other qualities that made him the slugger he was.

If not Ruth then who from those years do you believe could compare in long distance hitting to todays best.

Think of what your saying that the one man that some believe could match todays best..... you say no. That means that not one single hitter from those years could match todays sluggers. Does that not defy all logic, that not a single hitter from another era could match todays sluggers. Thats a hard sell... to say the least.

[sturg1dj]

Thorpe, Mantle & Bell were all faster than Ichiro. And, no, .46 seconds is not a significant difference, considering all the advantages held by today's sprinters. I'm sure Owens and Peacock would be right with, or ahead of, today's sprinters. And, I'm sure there's no one around today that could out run Jim Thorpe, Cool Papa Bell, or Mickey Mantle on a baseball field. In fact, I know of no world class sprinters in Baseball today, like there were in Baseball's days of old. ... But, back to the topic of this thread ...

Like I said, if those four sluggers of yours can't hit farther than Ruth - with the juiced balls, small sweet strike zones, and high tech bats they have now -there's no way they could out distance him in his day of deader balls, mammoth strike zones, and low tech bats. There have been guys through the years that could come much closer than the ones you name. Certainly, Bonds & Sosa are not even in the running. Canseco hardly so. And, McGwire only so for about four highly-juiced years - whereas, Ruth hit over 500' for an amazing span of eighteen years.

this is how much of a baseball nerd is.....if heaven is all it is cracked up to be I will ask God himself all of these questions we pose just so we know who is the best at whatever......is Ichiro faster than Mantle in his prime and Jim Thorpe in his? Maybe just because of the era....but when all things are equal who is faster....Mantle in his prime, Thorpe in his, Bo Jackson, or Ichiro....if all things equal I would say Thorpe, but who the heck knows

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Lets not put down the players of the past. It's what they did in their time, with the equipment, the ball and the playing conditions, give them their respect.

Some are forgetting one thing, the players of today will some day be the players of the past. I can just see it 60 or 80 years from now. The battle continues... young fans raving about the stars of the year 2090 and the older fan saying..... hey you never saw Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, Wade Boggs these were real ballplayers... todays (2090) players are good but not as good as Barry and the rest.....................here we go again.. the past repeating itself.

It will take place... for sure, it's human nature.

[hellborn]

this is how much of a baseball nerd is.....if heaven is all it is cracked up to be I will ask God himself all of these questions we pose just so we know who is the best at whatever......is Ichiro faster than Mantle in his prime and Jim Thorpe in his? Maybe just because of the era....but when all things are equal who is faster....Mantle in his prime, Thorpe in his, Bo Jackson, or Ichiro....if all things equal I would say Thorpe, but who the heck knows

Well, I'm told by my boss that you'd better change your ways if you want to ask God those questions "in person"...if you know what I mean!! You're on our list right now...
:o
Hellborn


JK!!!!!
I like to have fun with my moniker...it's a simple twist on Mark Bellhorn's name, of course.
I swear, I haven't worshipped Satan for months now!!

[TRfromBR]

Post completed below

[TRfromBR]

.46 is an ETERNITY in the 100m, advantages or not.

Spoken by someone who has obviously not timed herself on a old cinder track. (TR)

Jesse Owens' 10.2 time in the 100m has been obliterated by HIGH SCHOOLERS.

Spoken by some who has obviously not timed herself on an old cinder track, with old leather spikes. (TR).

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/hssports/track/stories/MYSA031407.03C.TFHparson.graphic.34fe5ca.html
Mark McNeil, Sam Houston, 1980: 10.0 seconds
J-Mee Samuels, Winston-Salem, N.C., 2005: 10.08 sec

I personally witnessed one of the stars on my high school track team, [later Canadian Football Hall of Famer] Leon Bright, beat Houston McTear in the 100, at a meet in the '70s. Leon only beat him by a hair, but, on the football field, Leon could run circles around him. Running on a field, be it a football or baseball field, involves much, much more skill than running straight ahead, out of the blocks. I say this having ran on a national championship collegiate team, as well as having been a wide receiver and centerfielder on several exceptionally good football and baseball teams.

Based on all evidence available: Thorpe, Bell, Owens & Mantle were all faster than Ichiro. What evidence do you have to the contrary? Any record times on the bases? Any high school times from Japan available? Thorpe & Owens were regarded the fastest men in the world. Bell was regarded the fastest person ever to run the bases. And, Mantle still has the record from home to first - possibly tied with Willie Wilson, another of those guys you regard as "INFINITELY" slower.

Back to George Herman, he was a superman among men, not "a man among boys". Your denigrating all the ballplayers of his day (and since) as mere "boys" raises very serious questions about knowledge, judgement and intent.

Finally, even if one was to accept your argument the Ruth played against mere "boys", how does that explain hitting farther than modern guys. Remember, faster fast balls lead to longer home runs, not shorter ones.

[TRfromBR]

I swear, I haven't worshipped Satan for months now!!



Not even when he hit Number 756?? :laugh :laugh :laugh

[Gary D]

Surely, I cannot say that this was "the longest home run ever," but on a summer's night in 1967, at old Connie Mack Stadium, as I sat in seats behind home plate, off of New York Mets' right handed, tall, veteran hurler Don Cardwell, a young slugger wearing red pinstripes and those big red numbers (#15), and built like a lumberjack by the name of Richie (Dick) Allen swung his forty ounce bat and a white baseball went high, and it went far, deep out to centerfield, out into the darkness of the North Philadelphia night, and completely out of Connie Mack Stadium and its two decks (447 feet to dead center, no bandbox to be sure). You never saw a baseball get so small so fast! I mean that baseball tuned into a pea! At the time I loved the Cubs and I hated facing Richie Allen because I feared his awesome power.

[E.Howard 32]

Probably the one Michael Hecht hit off me in Little League. I think Neil Armstrong found it on the moon in '69!

[AstrosFan]

. . . outside of Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle?

This is not a trivia question. It is a question being asked to some of our top historians here on baseball fever. I want to know, who had the reputation of hitting the longest home runs? Foxx? Killebrew? McGwire? Other?

[elmer]

http://www.wilkes.edu/pages/1636.asp

[hellborn]

http://www.wilkes.edu/pages/1636.asp

Very interesting article!
One thing that I wonder about from these exhibition games is what kind of ball was being used. You might expect that an unofficial game would tend to use an inferior, less lively ball, but I suppose that it's possible that it might have been a very lively one, too.
There's probably no way to get a definite answer, but it is an X factor in looking at a non-league game.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Here is a drive that Babe hit at Artillery Park, Kingston Pa.

[Ytown Tribe fan]

Bo Jackson hit one in Spring Training, 1987, that is still rolling down a Florida street. He also hit a one-handed home run and a broken-bat home run in regular season games with the Royals. Both of those were well documented and got a lot of airplay on ESPN in the late '80s.

Josh Gibson is reputed to have hit a home run completely out of Yankees Stadium during an exhibition game, but teammates are divided on that. The current consensus is that it went into the old bullpen, 505 feet from home plate.

Mark McGwire was probably the one player capable of hitting the longest home run in history, but he did not do it due to the configurations of the various stadiums he hit in. He certainly hit the ball harder than anyone I ever saw, and it travelled out of the ballpark a lot faster than any homers hit by his fellow players.

[elmer]

Bo Jackson hit one in Spring Training, 1987, that is still rolling down a Florida street. He also hit a one-handed home run and a broken-bat home run in regular season games with the Royals. Both of those were well documented and got a lot of airplay on ESPN in the late '80s.

Josh Gibson is reputed to have hit a home run completely out of Yankees Stadium during an exhibition game, but teammates are divided on that. The current consensus is that it went into the old bullpen, 505 feet from home plate.

Mark McGwire was probably the one player capable of hitting the longest home run in history, but he did not do it due to the configurations of the various stadiums he hit in. He certainly hit the ball harder than anyone I ever saw, and it travelled out of the ballpark a lot faster than any homers hit by his fellow players.

Jackson home run, hit March 3rd '89 at Baseball City Stadium in Davenport Fl., over the scoreboard was estimated at 515' in length.

Gibson's, in his own words bounced in the bullpen before it hit the
back wall which was 505' from home plate.

McGwire's 2 or 3 longest stated home runs have been shown to be about 475' His longest is probably the one mentioned on Highlight home runs at Hittracker -- 512'.

[elmer]

question is subjective

those who consistantly hit the ball the farthest
are
Ruth, Foxx, Mantle, Frank Howard

then there are the rest like Killebrew, Stargell, Jackson, Gibson, McCovey

etc.

[Olliemets]

I recall going to see a lot of Giants games as a kid when they came to Shea to play the Mets.

Willie McCovey- Seemed to hit one every time I went. They were alway these screaming line drives that got out in about 3 seconds and bounced around in the RF Bull Pen like a pin ball machine. He may not have hit them the farthest but in 40 years of watching He's one guy who hit them very hard.

[FatAngel]

In 2006 Adam Dunn hit 535 ft. tape measure shot out of Great American Ballpark, which finally rolled on a piece of driftwood at the shore of Ohio River.
In 1999, Cecil Fielder hit the first 500 ft. home run in twenty years.
I´m very cautious about every reported distance above 450 feet, especially when they are from the good ol´ times.

[nerfan]

Killebrew reportedly had some monster shots. Kingman once hit a 530 ft home run.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/art_hr.shtml

Really interesting read from our parent site.

[bob]

It sure is interesting when every physicist (or whoever it is that is best qualified to deal with such matters) says that no human could hit a baseball much over 500 feet unless it was thrown at 120mph or there was a very strong wind to help it fly. Personally i viewany baseball hit over 500 feet as pretty much teh same but with different environmental factors and "creative" measuring (635ft my ass). Even now measurments have to be taken with a pinch of salt unless it hit a set object at ground level which can then be measured accurately later. Teams, players and commentators just love saying that some home run was one of the biggest in history without actually knowing where it landed.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

Ruth hit one that went out of Shibe Park's right field, across the street and landed in someone's backyard. That was anywhere between 329 and 400 to get it out of the park on the right field side and judging by the photo below another 100+ to land in a back yard.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/RichardLillard1/shibeaerial.jpg

Then of course Ruth's '32 series blast out to Wrigley's CF bleachers. It was 436 to the CF wall, and it landed outside the park and hit a ticket booth.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/RichardLillard1/Wrigley1932copy.jpg

Of course Ruth also hit over the roof at Forbes Field on his last homer.



Josh Gibson apparently once hit a ball over the roof on the left field side of Yankee Stadium in the 30's. No one has ever confirmed this but it would have had to have gone around 600 feet and been around 110 feet high. Definately a titanic shot. Not to mention the year Gibson out homered the Washington Senators at Griffith by him self (they had 6 as a team that season he had 7 or 8 that were officially noted).

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/RichardLillard1/sI.jpg

Couple of articles dealing with Josh Gibson and Yankee Stadium. The second one are the words of Josh himself.

[Calif_Eagle]

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070203&content_id=169805&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp


http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060907&content_id=129089&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp


Here are 2 minor league blasts that if believed or credited, may be the longest balls ever hit... you be the judge :)

[RuthMayBond]

Shouldn't this be merged with the How Far Do Home Runs Really Travel? (Stat? section)

[parlo]

Not the longest ever, but the longest I have witnessed.
Dave Kingman Shea Stadium parking lot 1975
Darryl Strawberry Olympic Stadium April 1988 (hit close to where the rim meets
removable roof)
Ivan Calderon Old Comisky Park over the left field roof (I later realized that this
wasnt that rare)
Darryl Strawberry Yankee Stadium 1997 (right center field in the black, bounced
once and hit the billboard behind it)
Ken Griffey Jr Yankee Stadium 1997-8 (same area as Strawberrys but it was a
bullet that bounced back when it hit) Deep in the right center
black, maybe 5 or eight rows from the billboards.
Ken Caminitti Jack Murphy Stadium 1996 left field upper deck