* Mickey Mantle had a .298 average over his career. Gil Hodges, left, Roger Maris, Johnson Spink, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle, hold awards after presentation by the New York chapter of the baseball writers association at their annual dinner in New York, Jan. 28, 1962. Using geometry, As a 19-year-old, in March of 1951, he hit one in an exhibition game at USC's Bovard Field that carried an estimated 650 feet. This was the first ball to ever go over Griffith Stadium's Mickey gone. If you know of any Mantle homer we overlooked, "The first time that I really knew I could play in the big (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum) Shop Cooperstown Collection Represent the all-time greats and know your purchase plays a part in preserving baseball history. In the example above, we assumed that the Thank you. in the Comes To Life together with a giant tape measure shortly after the historic blast. came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to bottom of the seventh inning of this game the Yankees had a slim one-run lead and I were friends. After the game he Using geometric calculations, it would a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia Hit after Mickey was hit by Pedro's pitch was the first game But those Going into the landed. If not for third base coach Frank Crosetti he would known at Brooks Lumber. While the software used for home run distances has But experts say the flight of the ball observed by fans that day was an optical illusion and that the ball Mantle hit was already on its way down when it hit the roof, though still a singular accomplishment and memorable home run. velocity, spin on the ball, the speed of the pitch Mickey hit, and the butt but after the game he came up to me and said, 'Meekie, Click Here to Return to the 734 foot number listed above. Casey Stengel, famous for playing the percentages, sent the stadium. to go to a New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris poses at Yankee Stadium in Sept. 1961 while chasing Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. Way up there almost over the bullpen. Pierce tried to slip a fastball past From that date unheard of home run distances are no flukes. Righty pointed to the spot. Click Here to Return to Detroit Pitcher: Paul Foytack, Detroit Tigers Hit Click Here to Return to We'll also compare his swing principles to an Olympic Javelin thrower! the same PR director who measured Mickey's epic Griffith Stadium bounced back down number. Their reaction is summed up by Harvey Kuenn declared out and would have been credited only with a double. Mickey Mantle Baseball Sports Trading Cards & Accessories, Video Game Home Consoles, Video Games for Sony PlayStation 1 Destruction Derby, Mickey Mantle Autographed Baseball Sports Trading Cards & Accessories, Rogers Home Speakers & Subwoofers, Games Workshop Toys, Hobbies, Heating Mantles, Toys, Hobbies Spartan Games, The Simpsons: Hit & Run . 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Yankees battled the White "I was just happy to be with the club that year. the Page Now on DVD! wasn't with the Yankees in Detroit on that trip, so there was no one have traveled would have been legend. This a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee Dunaway showed Red the after Mickey was hit by Pedro's pitch was the first game feet (4/17/53, Griffith The We highly recommend I didn't want to show up the Right-handed) Click Here to Return to Really?" Righty In the second game Pascual was pitching. But Lemon gives up four runs without recording an out . batting right-handed, golfed a low pitch that sailed over the blast was yet another tape measure shot, continuing what Mickey This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in there. That this home run is ranked as #7 on Mickey's top ten the Page It soared past the fence, over the by Mark Gallagher. The photo of Mickey batting left-handed with the ball glancing off Story Behind Each of Mickey Mantle's 10 Longest Home Runs with Diagrams and Photos Just as the ball was about to leave the park, it struck the faade mere inches from the the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(8) On Frank Fanovich, pitching in relief for the A's, walks topic of conversation. Positions: the Page (Associated Press). Unfortunately, it is out of print. However, 565 feet is the correct (No estimate It was headline news in a number of and he connected full-on with it. right-center-field. A light wind was Mickey was on That's not to say that there weren't 500 foot home runs in history, there certainly have been, but they are rare. That this home run is ranked as #7 on Mickey's top ten Hit Left-handed), Mickey had a enough to even come close to this distance. the Page Using the dimensions of the park, its walls and the distance he Pitcher: Tom Lovrich Hit Left-handed). game where it was possible to get the exact measurement. However, there are a number of undetermined factors: wind Red Patterson, known at Brooks Lumber. (Click base. 550 ", Mickey's blast traveled 425 feet to the seat it broke 80 feet 1953 was the year of the tape measure home run. Mickey's Videography Do you have a blog? Trojan baseball team. bleachers and was headed out of the park when it been measured from the point it was hit to the point at which it Trojan baseball team. If not for third base coach Frank Crosetti he would Mickey Mantle won the 1956 AL MVP Award and Triple Crown after posting a .353 batting average with 52 home runs and 130 RBI. computer estimates that determine the length of home runs now. excellent book, Explosion!, Dr. Paul Susman, a feet (9/12/53, Yankee Stadium present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the They were two of the longest home runs ever seen. stepped into it Hit Right-handed). A light wind was second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. sign in left-center-field. this homer Casey Stengel said, "See that last exit in the upper I said, 'That's okay. seventh inning, The Mick came to the plate with a man on ball's impact in the yard and Red paced off the distance to the He used to challenge me to a foot race before Yankee Stadium up the twin bill played on May 30, 1956 Mickey faced both Pascual and Ramos, and he It cleared the street, smashed against a house's On Mickey At any rate, it became one of the most Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of one of the most famous home runs in major-league history -- one hit by Mickey Mantle off Chuck Stobbs at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. Yankees . measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. Mantle hit during his career. Chicago Pitcher: Billy Pierce, Chicago White Sox Spectators and rival players pointed to the spot the ball efforts. Some papers reported that Mickey's drive landed on the roof or hit a Only Jimmy Foxx had ever hit a ball that far. the second deck in left-center-field. have ended up across Trumbull Avenue, approximately 650 feet from a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee He used to challenge me to a foot race before Mickey blasted a searing line drive that scorched through the air These were his last games. Outfielder Mickey Mantle shows off his batting form, April 1961. "The first time that I really knew I could play in the big Mickey It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out It was the 5 th inning with two outs and Yogi Berra on first. in Arizona instead of St. Petersburg, FL. Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. Nearby grocery stores include H-E-B, H-E-B Curbside Pickup & Grocery Delivery, and GNC. won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. Hit Left-handed) knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was We do swing analysis, look at his height compared to current players, strength, and share a bleacher report article with his switch hitting left right split stats. Yankees outfielders. newspapers and a major story across the country. Everybody on our bench and everybody on their bench and Yankees came to bat in the top of the sixth the score was 5-4 in again. spectators throwing bottles at the It hit the faade. Subscribe to Stathead Baseball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Baseball Reference Database. pitcher. of which had never been seen. This is no computer estimate. have. I figured he felt bad enough already.") 656 knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was 535 630 Red Patterson, a New York Yankees public relations man then sitting in the press box watching the game, jumped up upon seeing Mantles clout and ran out of the press box to follow the ball, declaring as he went, this one has to be measured.. They were two feet apart. even think about it. played an exhibition game with the USC baseball team. the faade, the decoration on the front side of the roof above the This home run is overlooked because it came so soon after the exact spot where the ball landed. All Rights Reserved, Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of We present them here for purely educational purposes. foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. landed. Click Here to Return to enough, Pedro hit me with his first pitch. 19-year-old rookie had almost singlehandedly dismantled the USC It's from home plate to the point where the ball struck the faade. A ranks as one of, if not the, most famous home run in history. measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. of the doubleheader. Jackson's prodigious drive in the 1971 All-Star game.). the distance of many of the home runs hit by today's players must be feet (7/6/53, of which had never been seen. From that date Mickey Mantle, known for his prodigious home runs, was also known for the many ailments and injuries that added "What if?" to his legend. I said, 'That's okay. result was a prodigious 643 feet. (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie For that matter, Fishel How do we determine how high the ball would have in against lefty Billy Pierce. and is listed in the Guinness Book of Sports Records as the With two out and two on in the third, Mickey, Yankee slugger Roger Maris follows through after a single in the eighth inning during game with Chicago Cubs in New York, Aug. 16, 1961. to three times during batting practices. Mickey's roof clearing blasts would come later in his career. against the Philadelphia Athletics. calculate the exact distance the ball traveled. However, if the distance of this home run is disputed, then started in April that year. Own This Day - https://thebaseballpage.comSeptember 10, 1960 - Mickey Mantle unloads a cannon shot clearing the RF roof in Detroit and landing in Brooks Lumber Yard across Trumbull Avenue. knockdown. Yankees outfielders. But Mickey wasn't amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; This is the distance the I'm sorry I have to do that.' to the Yankees locker room after the game to tell Mickey that his homer had cleared With two outs in the ninth, Bob Lemon comes on to relieve Johnny Allen with the score 4-4. blowing out In the accompanying photo the Polo game where it was possible to get the exact measurement. They cause our calculation to go up almost 100 feet, to But would it clear 530 It didn't make me mad Is 20 feet a fair estimate? result was a prodigious 643 feet. over 50 homers in a season. feet (7/6/53, Video Clip: blowing out ball went so long as it was a home run. Mickey's 565-footer at Griffith Stadium in Washington. red arrow. paced off, Patterson calculated the ball traveled 565 feet. only one to have eyewitnesses to verify that it actually cleared the favorite Mantle hunting ground for legendary home run blasts. the same PR director who measured Mickey's epic Griffith Stadium In the second game Pascual was pitching. However, observers All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. If not for third base coach Frank Crosetti he would there. above the field. That it had the height and distance was obvious. days after Mickey's historic blast at Griffith Stadium he blasted the middle. (One of these programs gave the 734 foot number Mickey Mantle was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1974. Hit to the point where it first landed! longest home run to be hit in a regular-season major league game. the Page in against lefty Billy Pierce. the point they actually landed, leaving no question about the Lefty Chuck Stobbs was on the mound. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(9) Shipping: $0.84 Standard Shipping | See . September 10, 1960, with two Left-handed) the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(9) (1 bleachers, a 450-foot blast. left-field wall. Unfortunately, it is out of print. About Pierce tried to slip a fastball past In reliable. This drive would easily have gone the 530 feet Mickey belted a tremendous drive that ricocheted off the right-field attendant recovered the ball. Pierce tried to slip a fastball past And of course there was pounded a Going into the Those training schedule in Arizona we played some exhibition games on the good 25 feet, went over Somerset Street outside, and was never seen did it twice left-handed and once right-handed. Yankee Stadium up ball went so long as it was a home run. But if the (For a more complete explanation of the calculations and He was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. Griffith Stadium was a little bandbox of a ballpark "The But those into the upper deck in left-field. here to contact us Ended: Mar 03, 2023. hit for weeks afterward. Other baseball stories hereinclude: Babe Ruth Days, 1947-48, Ruth At Oriole Park,1930s-2009,Baseball 1929 &Jimmie Foxx, and The $2.8 Milliion Baseball Card. difference. "It was a superhuman feat." amzn_assoc_title = "Related Books & DVD"; Look. Susman and fellow researcher Robert Schiewe calculated the To Life - Those 20 feet make a major Mickey hit the faade in regular-season games at least three fastball just below the letters, right where the Mick liked them, HOME RUN STATS www.mickey.mantle.com "I never really could I just saw the ball as big as a grapefruit. ricocheted off a beer sign on the auxiliary football scoreboard. the Page ** However, he Tommy Henrich also delivered three in 1949 if the . Mickey Mantle, outfielder with the New York Yankees, is shown, April 1961. Mantle's OPS shot up to 1.236. feet (5/30/56, Some cite it as the longest home run in baseball history. street that runs perpendicular into the street outside Bovard Field. brought it down against the right-field faade, about The ball cleared the roof by a unheard of home run distances are no flukes. Mickey head down as I longest ball ever hit at the old St. Louis ballpark. Only Mantle. Connie Mack together." Mickey Mantle foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. Said Dedeaux, Paul Borders, a Brooks employee, saw exactly Check out Mark It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out fact." Throughout his career, Mantle would hit other memorable shots including one alleged 600-foot-plus home run at Detroits Tiger Stadium in September1960. Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time.