mammoth homeruns

[elmer]

The June 5, 1955 Comiskey Mantle HR has been
mistakenly misrepresented as 550'
The homer was later thought to have gone over the LC
roof.
The homer skimmed off the base of the light tower, in LEFT field
not Left Center, or cleared the roof, (according to attendants on the roof).
The distance to the car: a bit short of mammoth at 465-470 feet.

[SHOELESSJOE3]

These two lived up to that name, "window breakers."
Never saw Babe but did see Mick and he could hit them as far as any I saw in my time and right up to today. Bombs at 430-460 feet were routine and then he would really put one in orbit, from both sides of the plate.

[elmer]

2 of Busch Stadium's longest home runs
Dick Allen: May 14, 1970
Mark McGwire May 16, 1998 - Struck St.Louis Post Dispatch sign
above batting eye

[gator92]

Take a look at the attached diagram, drawn to scale. No way the McGwire May 1998 homer went 545, or anything close. Doesn't mean McGwire didn't hit the ball far, he did. Just not that far.

And by the way, when it shows "hypo", that's short for "hypothetical", just in case anyone was wondering. Look at the legend below the image, it says hypothetical there.

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by gator92

Take a look at the attached diagram, drawn to scale. No way the McGwire May 1998 homer went 545, or anything close. Doesn't mean McGwire didn't hit the ball far, he did. Just not that far.

And by the way, when it shows "hypo", that's short for "hypothetical", just in case anyone was wondering. Look at the legend below the image, it says hypothetical there.

Actually it would be at least 872 feet since it was "still rising" at 436 feet, and arcs are obviously symmetrical

[gator92]

Originally Posted by RuthMayBond

Actually it would be at least 872 feet since it was "still rising" at 436 feet, and arcs are obviously symmetrical

Don't forget the part about the shortstop jumping for it as it went by, that's important...

[gator92]

Here's a link to a video capture of this homer. Note that the ball only reappears (on the rebound) after about 5.75 seconds or so. Titanic homer, sure, but not 545 feet.

I suspect that the 545 may have come about because some earlier homers were "given" numbers that were too big, and then when McGwire hauled off and hit one farther, the number had to be bigger to make sense vis-a-vis the existing lore, and so it was...


http://www.mcgwire.com/downloads/1998hr16.zip

[RuthMayBond]

Originally Posted by gator92

Don't forget the part about the shortstop jumping for it as it went by, that's important...

Wimpy compared to the one that went between the pitcher's legs. Must be one of those ones that "never got higher than 15 feet".
If Cool Papa Bell wasn't such a slowpoke, he would have almost been hit by his own batted ball that went down the LEFT field line and over the fence for a HR

[gator92]

Originally Posted by gator92

Here's a link to a video capture of this homer. Note that the ball only reappears (on the rebound) after about 5.75 seconds or so. Titanic homer, sure, but not 545 feet.

I suspect that the 545 may have come about because some earlier homers were "given" numbers that were too big, and then when McGwire hauled off and hit one farther, the number had to be bigger to make sense vis-a-vis the existing lore, and so it was...


http://www.mcgwire.com/downloads/1998hr16.zip

I should have checked before I wrote that about the prior home run being overestimated.

Turns out on May 12th (i.e. 4 days before the "545" homer"), Mcgwire was credited with a 527 foot homer. The May 16, 1998 homer must have clearly gone farther, and thus "had" to get a bigger number than the previous (bogus) 527...

[elmer]

Mickey Mantle HR
Virgil Trucks article from Aug. 14, 1964 2 days after
Mantle hit 502' Hr at Yankee Stadium.