Highlight Homers

Glenallen Hill, Wrigley Field, May 11, 2000 |Ted Williams, Fenway Park, June 9, 1946 |Mickey Mantle, Yankee Stadium, May 22, 1963 |Barry Bonds, Angels Stadium, Oct. 26, 2002 |David Ortiz, Fenway Park, May 1, 2006 |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 |Daryle Ward, PNC Park, July 6, 2002 |Mark McGwire, Busch Stadium, May 16, 1998 |Manny Ramirez, SkyDome, June 3, 2001 |Andres Galarraga, Pro Player Stadium 1997

Mark McGwire, Jacobs Field, April 30, 1997 Before Mark McGwire etched his name in baseball history for his record-breaking homerun season in 1998, he was known not only for the number of home runs he hit, but the mammoth distances he hit them. On April 30, 1997, McGwire, in his last season with the Oakland A’s, hit what was considered the longest homerun in Jacobs Field history. On a 0-1 pitch in the 3rd inning, Orel Hershiser buzzed a fastball under Big Mac’s chin, but apparently McGwire didn’t get the message, because on the very next pitch, he launched a drive to left center field that cleared the 19 foot fence and the 23 rows of bleachers. McGwire’s bomb struck the Budweiser sign below the left field scoreboard between the “I” and “S”, a feat no other player has accomplished before or since. A contemporary estimate marked the homer at 485 feet, but there has been much speculation that the ball would have gone further than this had it returned all the way to ground level, and Hit Tracker agrees. The ball impacted the sign at a distance of 436 ft. from homeplate at a height of 70 feet above field level, with the time of flight being 4.25 seconds. The weather conditions at the time included a 7 mph wind out to left field, and 72 degrees. Hit Tracker analysis indicates that the ball left the bat at a scorching 124 mph, and if uninterrupted by the scoreboard, would have traveled a mind-boggling 523 feet! Hershiser’s reaction: one word, “Wow!”.