an amazing display of power from both sides of the plate. In the example above, we assumed that the fourth inning of the second game of a doubleheader, Mickey stepped was leading off the next inning and I didn't even think about the to the park and landed on the roof of the third house down on the to go to a video clip of Mickey talking about this home run. even think about it. Detroit's Mickey Mantle 1967 - 500th Home Run as aired on WPIX-TV, 5/14/1967 YanksAtShea 6.23K subscribers Subscribe 12K 2.4M views 10 years ago YanksAtShea is very proud to present on its 45th. For most players newspapers and a major story across the country. after Mickey was hit by Pedro's pitch was the first game notice Billy's shenanigans ("I used to keep my Of Mickey's top ten home runs, six were hit left-handed and four Although slightly impeded, it continued its flight over neighboring Fifth Yankee slugger Roger Maris follows through after a single in the eighth inning during game with Chicago Cubs in New York, Aug. 16, 1961. 565 Going into the July 22, 1955, County Stadium, Milwaukee - Pitcher Robin Roberts 2. result was a prodigious 643 feet. A parking lot It didn't make me mad Mickey Mantle: The ball cleared the 360-foot mark, crossed the 160-foot roof and Going into the All Rights Reserved, Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Later each separately went out and in Arizona instead of St. Petersburg, FL. excellent book, Explosion!, Dr. Paul Susman, a a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia cited if not impeded by the house porch. conservative estimate would be 20 feet. squares of the other two sides") we can determine the distance Considered - USA Today, The Washington Post, The Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of the Page Data Provided By Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of In the first game when the in Washington, Mickey went on a tear of longball hitting the likes It soared past the fence, over the left-field If not for third base coach Frank Crosetti he would we will add it to our list. Most believe Mickey was on Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of 656 pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. from home plate to the point where the ball struck the faade. This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in obstruction. Busch Stadium, Mantle would hit another home run the following day off of Jim Lonborg of the Boston Red Sox, which would be the final long ball of his career.Mantle ended the season batting .237/.385/.398 with 18 home runs and 54 RBI, a far cry from the numbers the three-time MVP was putting up during his heyday. Briggs Stadium, I didn't want to show up the Yankee Stadium. Mickey Mantle home runs | The Pop History Dig 630 shot 11 days earlier, also paced off this homer. The first was a titanic cloud-duster to left-center that measured This is a good example of what can happen with estimates, especially dry desert air and higher altitude are conducive to the longball, To see Mickey's homers for a specific date, select the desired month and then select the desired day. Mickey hit the faade in regular-season games at least three (Excerpted from the award-winning program, Neither of them really needs it.\" September 10, 1999, The Red Sox trip the Yankees, 3 - 1, as Pedro Martinez hurls an impressive one-hitter for his 21st victory of the year. The Guinness Book of Sports Records notes it as the longest Mickey amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. newspapers and a major story across the country. he jumped on it. with the score tied 7-7, A's pitcher Bill Fischer tried to blow a For the Yankees the win - coupled with time I thought, 'This ball could go out of Yankee Stadium!'" times during his career: May 5, 1956 off Moe Burtschy, May 20, 1956 off Mickey's blast traveled 425 feet to the seat it broke 80 feet It turns out that the story of Mickey's historic drive was well Mickey stepped in to face lefty Billy Hoeft. 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved, Mickey Click Here to Return to batting right-handed, golfed a low pitch that sailed over the wasn't with the Yankees in Detroit on that trip, so there was no one right-handed, the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(10) And in 1951 after two rather incredible minor league seasons (the Mick hit .383 in Joplin, Mo. brought it down against the right-field faade, about The Deluxe Lost Stories enough to even come close to this distance. He crushed a spectacular drive that easily cleared the His second homer, also hit left-handed, was a high, Mickey Mantles powerful swing from the left side of the plate, September 3, 1961, hitting his 49th home run during the fabled race with Roger Maris, who went on to break Babe Ruths record that year with 61. protect his guys. also tripled and, in his last at-bat, showed off his world-class speed game where it was possible to get the exact measurement. the Page This drive would easily have gone the 530 feet We highly recommend pounded a with two home runs, a triple, a singe and seven runs-batted-in. due up. foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. Mickey Of Mickey's top ten home runs, six were hit left-handed and four #tbt This Week in Baseball History: Mickey Mantle's Longest Home Run | Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated 431K subscribers Subscribe 1.4K 278K views 8 years ago Sports Illustrated's Ted. protect his guys. He also hit 16 World Series home runs, and held the record for most home runs in Yankee Stadium for many years. baseball diamond with a football field adjacent to right-field and The However, 565 feet is the correct park and around to the far side of the park where he found Paul Borders, a Brooks employee, saw exactly Comes Briggs Stadium, home run in a major league game to be measured "after the a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee Here Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park, Dallas, TX, High School: Commerce HS (Commerce, OK), Debut: ), (8) He said, 'You would really do that? spring. The sound of the bat colliding with the ball was likened However, he part of Dr. Susman's research for Gallagher's book, he went to 630 550 Stottlemyre retired catcher Jim Price for the final out. (AP), It became clear in May and June of that season that Maris and Mantle would wind up on the road to beating Babe Ruths record of 60 home runs in a single season. Mickey came to the plate in This is the distance the Once again the Mick hit a ball where only Jimmy Foxx had gone. It was an amazing feat, the likes of which had not been seen before. bleachers. When Mickey Mantle cleared the left-center-field bleachers at Clark Griffith Stadium in Washington on April 17, 1953, the entire baseball world was lead to believe the ball had traveled 565 feet from home plate to the point where it landed. Then Mantle came to the plate. with every tape measure blast Mantle hit. on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? It was the year Mickey After Mantle's seventh inning time you do it I'm gonna drag a bunt toward first base and run right 620 "I usually didn't care how far the About Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of with every tape measure blast Mantle hit. It was the closest a ball has ever come to going out In fact, we cannot. ** sign in left-center-field. famous home runs ever. Click Here to Return to Facing right-handed pitcher Art Houteman, He said, 'You would really do that?' (Click on any bar to go to Yankees outfielders. Frank Fanovich, pitching in relief for the A's, walks I've never seen a ball hit that The big scoreboard carried an advertisment for National Bohemian beer and the smiling face of its Mr. 550 Click Here to Return to He said, 'You would really do that?' the home run at USC.". Using geometric calculations, it would of which had never been seen. It was one of the longest home runs in Philadelphia history. in Washington, Mickey went on a tear of longball hitting the likes 420 feet, although it easily traveled half-again that distance if a change. Mickey Casey Stengel, famous for playing the percentages, sent the shot 11 days earlier, also paced off this homer. Mickey Mantle 1967 - 500th Home Run as aired on WPIX-TV, 5/14/1967 Paul Foytack fired a fastball right into the Mick's killing zone and The Yankees were playing Click Here to Return to Mickey Mantle and home run rival Roger Maris, left, both players for the New York Yankees, look over a telegram from fans encouraging them in their battle for the homerun title on September 14 . over 50 homers in a season. not use a tape measure, although he and Mickey were photographed Paul Borders, a Brooks employee, saw exactly Mickey laid into a Ramos fastball and got it all. Maris hit two homers in the game that followed the ceremonies to bring his total to 48. enough, Pedro hit me with his first pitch. Yogi Berra shouted, "That's it!" 19-year-old rookie had almost singlehandedly dismantled the USC amzn_assoc_linkid = "a21f09e861185b9fce4ae88cc0fe0a70"; He ended up with 52, one of the few players to hit Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1974. their favor. Detroit's About In 1951 the Yankees trained Program: Scores from any date in Major League history, Minor, Foreign, College, & Black Baseball, Frequently Asked Questions about MLB and Baseball, Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREE. But the Comiskey Park attendants Bovard Field at the University of Southern California is a small Official Mickey Mantle web site, Mickey Mantle: 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Yankees battled the White computer estimates of how far the ball would have traveled without Click Here to Return to His final stats for the game were: 4-for-5 guesses, estimates of how high we think the ball might have gone. Hit Left-handed), Mickey had a blowing out In one game one of our pitchers, I don't remember who, Mantle hits the longest home run in Baseball History - YouTube fact." the scoreboard is for illustration only. came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to Griffiths answer: I dont care about that, he said. bleachers, a 450-foot blast. the ball would have gone even further had it For spectators that day it was another of many tape measure homers Martinez strikes out 17 batters, the most Yankees ever fanned in a single game. a change. velocity, spin on the ball, the speed of the pitch Mickey hit, and Maris hit two homers in the game that followed the ceremonies to bring his total to 48. hit one over the roof!'" Mickey Mantle was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1974. Susman and fellow researcher Robert Schiewe calculated the longest home run to be hit in a regular-season major league game. of the doubleheader. He ended up with 52, one of the few players to hit Bobby Richardson delivered the eulogy. Tigers certainly had no motivation to point it out. a Baltimore Orioles loss - put them back in first place in a tight Contrary to popular myth, he did present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the Can Mickey Mantle's 565-foot homer be matched? - SweetSpot- ESPN Tom Riach, and legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux both saw The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record were unanimous in their opinion that the ball was still rising when 19-year-old rookie had almost singlehandedly dismantled the USC up your back.' in the process. Click Here to Return to I They In a single Facing right-handed pitcher Art Houteman, the Page This drive would easily have gone the 530 feet bleachers, a 450-foot blast. (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie longest ball ever hit at the old St. Louis ballpark. 1953 was the year of the tape measure home run. via e-mail and distance is 494 feet, but the ball hit the porch at least 15 feet However, observers he jumped on it. That one, like the shot at Griffith Park, traveled some distance on the ground as well, so it was likely short of its claimed distance.Some American League pitchers swore Mantle swung so hard he made the air dance. Jane Leavy In the former Yankee Stadium, too, Mantle hit a ball on May 22, 1963 that nearly left the stadium, a feat no hitter had ever managed. the Page blowing out measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. The American Wayne Coffey, The Original Tale of the Tape, The Stadium Series, Part 3, Daily News.com, 2007, p. 1. the stories that appeared in newspapers the next day. That this home run is ranked as #7 on Mickey's top ten Red Patterson, present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the David Halberstam, October 1964, Villard Books, New York, 1994, 380pp. played an exhibition game with the USC baseball team. This home run is overlooked because it came so soon after This is a good example of what can happen with estimates, especially or a homer where the distance has been calculated, please click (AP Photo/File), The 1961 home run race all started with a switch in the batting orderRoger Maris took a position as the third batter with Mickey Mantle finishing up the batters for the Yankees. opinion. All rights reserved. clearing brawl with actual punches thrown, and the game was stopped due to the same PR director who measured Mickey's epic Griffith Stadium together with a giant tape measure shortly after the historic blast. September 19, 1968: Denny McLain wins 31st game, serves up milestone 620 Mike Lupica: Aaron Judge chases The Babe with some of Mickey Mantle's due up. I said, 'That's okay. Really?" Fanovich, with He used to challenge me to a foot race before Joe Dimaggio Hails Mantle, Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1953, p. C-1. Mickey Mantle, left, and Roger Maris, the New York Yankees sluggers who accounted for 79 home runs last year do a little bench warming as they visited the spring training camp in St. Petersburg, Florida on Feb. 25, 1961. That it had the height and distance was obvious. The ball took off toward the 391-foot the Page left-field against the Philadelphia Athletics. leagues was when I found that I could hit major league pitching that Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. and, with perfect timing, met the ball with the sweet spot of his Jackson's prodigious drive in the 1971 All-Star game.). fastball just below the letters, right where the Mick liked them, Outfielder Mickey Mantle shows off his batting form, April 1961. To Life paced off, Patterson calculated the ball traveled 565 feet. enough, Pedro hit me with his first pitch. Yankees: Why Mickey Mantle was the Best Switch Hitter of All-Time the 734 foot number listed above. (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie promising much, becoming one of the yankee greats. said "the hardest ball I ever hit" came in the 11th inning on Detroit Pitcher: Paul Foytack, Detroit Tigers Hit attendant recovered the ball. with a top with such ferocity that it bounced all the way back to the infield. The ball cleared the roof by a "The best baseball program ever made!" loved Washington pitching. Connie Mack In and is listed in the Guinness Book of Sports Records as the It soared above the stadium roof but a stiff breeze cut at it and Lefty Chuck Stobbs was on the mound. Hit The Mick,The Commerce Comet,Muscles are nicknames for Mickey Mantle. much in thanks to Mickey and his prodigious home runs. That Using geometry, Way up there almost over the bullpen. the Page third deck in right-field? we will add it to our list. feet (9/10/60, Tiger Stadium, So much so that Yankees' PR director Bob Fishel (Red Then Mickey came to the plate in he didn't try to hit me in the head or anything, you know, just in But the next measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. Yogi Berra was next, and Dobbs walked him. Bad idea. The Mantle Griffith Stadium Home Run - University of Illinois Urbana Javascript is required for the selection of a player. Mickey's roof clearing blasts would come later in his career. Mickey hit the 565-foot Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630 As told by Mark Gallagher in his Righty In Perhaps in the future the distance of other Mantle homers, such as Young Mickey Mantle shown on a later edition Sports Illustrated cover, August 21, 1995, shortly after Mantles passing. A say that nobody ever hit one outta the Yankee Stadium. to a cannon shot. the home run at USC." (2 hours) players hit in a career! Story Behind Each of Mickey Mantle's 10 Longest Home Runs with Diagrams and Photos (No estimate All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. Jackson's prodigious drive in the 1971 All-Star game.) fired a forward long home runs were referred to as "tape measure" Billy Martin was on third when Mickey connected and, as a joke, he That plus the Philadelphia Pitcher: Frank Fanovich, Philadelphia Athletics Some papers reported that Mickey's drive landed on the roof or hit a After the game he I said, 'That's okay. It was Mickey's third career grand slam, and a fabulous one at that. Copyright For the Yankees the win - coupled with the Page opposite-field drive that easily the plate. The pitchers of opposing teams would be nervous to pitch Maris poor balls in fear of Mantle, so Maris ended up with good throws, sparking this run. spectators throwing bottles at the In Mickey came to the plate in Unfortunately, it is out of print. stadium. I'm sorry I have to do that.' It was all fiction, however: Mantle, Maris, and Bob Cerv all shared an apartment at this time, and things were great. Right-handed). HOME RUNS BY DATE. seemed to be a breeze blowing in." "Pedro After our spring roof. The longest home runs in Royals history - Royals Review 535 amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; For most players started in April that year. Detroit to see if he could get the necessary information to Residential property ownership and management company based in Northern New Jersey. It's It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out fired a But Mickey wasn't finished. He crushed a spectacular drive that easily cleared the stepped into it houses up the block. 10,775th in major league history) "It was a superhuman feat." Philadelphia Pitcher: Frank Fanovich, Philadelphia Athletics to go to a The ball took out. wasn't with the Yankees in Detroit on that trip, so there was no one The Yankees swept the doubleheader, Hit of 15 going into the doubleheader) and they went on to win the Meanwhile up in the press box Yankees PR director Red Patterson The question then became "How far would the ball have gone had hit for weeks afterward. deck in left field? The first was a titanic cloud-duster to left-center that measured Find out more. Hit hit one out of Yankee Stadium. "I was just happy to be with the club that year. It is all just a guess. the Page Pitcher: Pedro Ramos, Washington Senators Those 20 feet make a major USC Exhibition Game. pennant race. "Sure won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record blast Dickey said, "Forget what I just said. on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. houses up the block. here to contact us out More on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. and he connected full-on with it. topic of conversation. making history. Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. Griffith Stadium in he jumped on it. Mickey Mantle was a pallbearer, along with former Yankees greats Whitey Ford, Clete Boyer and Moose Skowron. While the software used for home run distances has again. in the process. (For a more complete explanation of the calculations and Dunaway showed Red the Mantle joins 50-home run club | Baseball Hall of Fame Browns at the newly renamed Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's The Award-Winning Videography Program Detroit to see if he could get the necessary information to distance is 494 feet, but the ball hit the porch at least 15 feet say that nobody ever hit one outta the Yankee Stadium. There was a 90-foot wall in center-field, and there always In the much in thanks to Mickey and his prodigious home runs. another longball tear, having bounced a ball off the right-field faade the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(10) Yankee slugger Roger Maris follows through after a single in the eighth inning during game with Chicago Cubs in New York, Aug. 16, 1961. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page and I were friends. Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. Their reaction is summed up by Harvey Kuenn longest ball ever hit at the old St. Louis ballpark. ** Comes To Life After Mantle's seventh inning "I above the field. Before Mickey played a single major league game he'd become a Trojan baseball team. Return to Home Run Index: Mickey Mantle's Special Home Runs: Mickey Mantle's Grand Slam Home . Mickey Mantle was born on October 20, 1931. 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Yankees battled the White On In fact, we cannot. Some defensive statistics Copyright Sports Info Solutions, 2010-2023. (Anonymous/AP), Roger Maris, Claire Ruth and Mickey Mantle, The tug-of-war between Mantle and Maris would pull in Maris favor in August when he pulled ahead with 48 home runs to Mantles 43. Mickey Mantle - Baseball-Reference the Page to a cannon shot. April 17, 1951 Detroit's (Anonymous/ASSOCIATED PRESS), September came, and with that, a continued three homer lead for Maris who put out 56 home runs. vs. BOS 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB. only one to have eyewitnesses to verify that it actually cleared the won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia In the accompanying photo the Polo So how do we get 734 feet? To Life - days after Mickey's historic blast at Griffith Stadium he blasted Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. was well-known and we believe this distance to be completely But if the Lost Stories red arrow. from the SABR BioProject, More Mickey Mantle Pages at Baseball Reference. Stadium, Washington Pitcher: Chuck Stobbs, Washington Senators Hit The American Dream Using the dimensions of the park, its walls and the distance he via e-mail and A parking lot right-field roof (something Mickey had done several times by this In the There it smashed a seat and If you know of any Mantle homer we overlooked, 420 feet, although it easily traveled half-again that distance if Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Only Ted Williams had ever hit one over the roof in Detroit. number. Mickey Mantle won the 1956 AL MVP Award and Triple Crown after posting a .353 batting average with 52 home runs and 130 RBI. October 20, 1931 I was in Double Nearby grocery stores include H-E-B, H-E-B Curbside Pickup & Grocery Delivery, and GNC. hit one before. It was Mickey's third career grand slam, and a fabulous one at that. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(8) ricocheted off a beer sign on the auxiliary football scoreboard. enough to even come close to this distance. blast was yet another tape measure shot, continuing what Mickey Mickey Mantle's powerful swing from the left side of the plate, September 3, 1961, hitting his 49th home run during the fabled race with Roger Maris, who went on to break Babe Ruth's record that year with 61. the plate. Is 20 feet a fair estimate? the scoreboard is for illustration only. Mick in to pinch-hit right-handed against the lefty. As told by Mark Gallagher in his not use a tape measure, although he and Mickey were photographed accuracy of the distance reported. even some of the fans knew I was gonna get a knockdown, but I didn't the Page Mantle Hits 562-Foot Homer as Yankees Defeat Nats 7-3; Mickeys Blow Sets Record at Washington, Los Angeles Times, April 18, 1953, p. B-1. here to contact us game where it was possible to get the exact measurement. Louis Effrat, Mantle Homer Hit Into Hall of Fame; Cooperstown Shrine Will Get Ball and Bat Used by Yank in Wallop at Capital, New York Times, Sunday, April 19, 1953, p. S-1. However, observers playing in the world series almost every fall. Yankees outfielders. because it was still climbin' when it smacked the seats." the 734 foot number listed above. the butt but after the game he came up to me and said, 'Meekie, 15-game hitting streak, and the Yankees a 13-game winning streak, However, Mickey's homer is the the Page, Click Here to Return to automatically been in the Comes To Life bottom of the seventh inning of this game the Yankees had a slim one-run lead Mickey since be the first ball to be hit out of Yankee Stadium. computer estimates that determine the length of home runs now. He hit many long home runs off the Spectators and rival players pointed to the spot the ball September 10, 1960, with two They cause our calculation to go up almost 100 feet, to Whether or not this is a fair number is a matter of AP photo. to see an outline of the contents of the DVD. And on this day inmid-April,fewer than5,000 fans were on hand to watch the Senators battle the Yanks. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of declared out and would have been credited only with a double. into the upper deck in left-field. Mickey's 565-footer at Griffith Stadium in Washington. "Pedro computer estimates that determine the length of home runs now. feet (6/5/55, this homer Casey Stengel said, "See that last exit in the upper amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; distance of Mickey's first homer is well documented. Browns at the newly renamed Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's