Highlight Homers

"David Ortiz, Fenway Park, May 1, 2006" |"Mickey Mantle, Yankee Stadium, May 22, 1963" |"Glenallen Hill, Wrigley Field, May 11, 2000" |"Ted Williams, Fenway Park, June 9, 1946" |"Barry Bonds, Angels Stadium, Oct. 26, 2002" |Albert Pujols 10/17/2005 |"Richie Sexson, Bank One Ballpark, April 26, 2004" |"Ryan Howard, Citizens Bank Park, June 20, 2006" |"Reggie Jackson, 1971 All-Star Game, Tiger Stadium, July 13, |"Roberto Clemente, Forbes Field, May 31, 1964" |"Mark McGwire, Jacobs Field, April 30, 1997" |"Mark McGwire, Jacobs Field, April 30, 1997" |"Daryle Ward, PNC Park, July 6, 2002" |"Mark McGwire, Busch Stadium, May 16, 1998" |"Manny Ramirez, SkyDome, June 3, 2001" |"David Ortiz, 2004 All Star Game, Houston, TX" |"Andres Galarraga, Pro Player Stadium 1997"

"Mickey Mantle, Yankee Stadium, May 22, 1963" On May 22, 1963, Mickey Mantle hit a home run that none who saw will ever forget. In the 11th inning of the game that day against the Kansas City A's, Mantle hit a Bill Fischer pitch hard on a line to right field, and the ball struck the decorative facade of the stadium mere feet from the top, barely missing becoming the only man ever to hit a fair ball out of Yankee Stadium during a major league game. The ball struck the facade at a point 102 feet above field level, at a point 352 feet horizontally from home plate. Atmopsheric data is known as follows: temperature was 70 degrees, wind was 13 mph from the SW, which at Yankee Stadium means it was blowing out to left field (and thus not helping Mantle's home run). As for the time of flight, it is not known, but various reports from witnesses state that the ball was still climbing when it struck the facade. Since all observers were below the flight path of the ball, it is not likely that anyone could really be certain that the ball was going up, but it seems likely that the ball must have been very near its apex when it hit the facade, so only those trajectories that yield an apex within a few feet of 102 feet above field level will be considered. Another consideration is the speed off the bat that comes out of the assumed time of flight: only times of flight that yield reasonable speeds off the bat will be considered. After trying numerous times of flight, a value of 3.00 seconds was chosen. This yields an apex of 107 feet, which means the ball had only slightly passed its peak. The ball left the bat at an angle of 29.4 degrees, with a calculated value for speed off the bat of 130.2 mph, an extrememly high value, but one that seems feasible for what Mantle, one of the greatest long-distance hitters ever, referred to as the hardest ball he ever hit. With the inputs described above, Hit Tracker estimates the true distance of the Mantle "facade" homer at 507 feet. (NOTE: the stadium image shows the current configuration of Yankee Stadium). Questions or comments about this analysis are welcome, but let me make two points first: 1. if the ball had TRULY still been going up when it hit the facade, it would have had to been going at least 150 mph off the bat. If Mantle (or anyone, for that matter) was capable of hitting a baseball 150 mph, he would certainly have hit a ball near that speed at a better angle (i.e. closer to 35 degrees) at some point in his long career, with that ball EASILY leaving the stadium on the fly. That never happened, which proves that Mantle could not have hit the ball at 150 mph off the bat, and thus that the ball wasn't actually still going up. 2. a baseball in flight responds to forces acting on it, such as gravity, wind resistance and the Magnus Force (from the spin of the ball); it does not respond to "mystique", and it has no idea who hit it. Any estimate of home run distance should limit itself to aerodynamically valid trajectories; a 600 foot home run hit without a following wind (as is the case here) would have to leave the bat at 149 mph, and a 734 foot homer at more than 175 mph.