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Allen may have hit some of his sport's longest home runs, but neither he nor anyone else ever hit a baseball nearly that far. As of 1995, the Mantle of baseball's longest hitter can probably best be worn by Cecil Fielder. His regular bombardment of the left-field roof at Tiger Stadium has not been approximated in the 60-year history of that structure. If Bo Jackson had not been forced into early retirement, he might have challenged Fielder for modern supremacy. Others who should be recognized are Jose Canseco, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey, Jr., Frank Thomas, and Andres Galarraga. It is only fair to also mention the great distance sluggers of the old Negro Leagues.
The A’s McGwire hit the ball so hard off of Cleveland’s Orel Hershiser that it caused the veteran pitcher to mouth the word “wow” as the ball sailed into the left field bleachers. Though this home run is impressive, it pales in comparison to the one later in this list, an absolute blast against future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. This article appeared in The Home Run Encyclopedia and is sole property of the author.
C.J. Cron, Colorado Rockies: 504 feet
Juan Soto was one of several Derby participants to hit at least one 500-foot bomb during last year's event at Coors Field. Regardless of circumstance, Soto smashed this ball into the atmosphere, and as a result he currently holds the record for the longest home run during the Home Run Derby as measured by Statcast. Sammy Sosa at the height of his powers, taking cut after cut at fastballs down the middle? Sosa's 2002 Home Run Derby performance is legendary and perhaps even more so because he ended up losing to Jason Giambi. Sosa's pièce de résistance in Milwaukee that year was a bomb that literally left the building and ESPN measured it at 524 feet.
Catchers constantly change baseballs because it is a rule set by the MLB and enforced by umpires. Moving into the eighties, Mike Schmidt, Jim Rice, and Darryl Strawberry set the pace at a time when modern technology permitted us to better understand the limitations of the flight of a batted ball. The same home runs that had once been described as 500 footers were now being scientifically calculated in the 450-foot range. The goal of the Home Run Derby is to hit the most homers, but this year’s group of contestants has a track record of posting incredible distances on their long balls, too. Statcast, which was created in 2015, gives us a precise measurement of just how far those homers would travel. However, as the game has grown and evolved, so have the players, the styles and the love of the game.
The longest homers measured since 2015
It has been confirmed that the ball struck against the third house beyond Waveland Avenue, which is situated about 530 feet from home plate. Yet again, we have an example of a genuinely epic home run that has been grievously overstated. Along with Roger Connor, the longest hitters in the early days of the major leagues during the 19th century included such men as Harry Stovey, Buck Ewing, Jocko Milligan, and Ed Delahanty.
By his own admission, during his 18-year career at Yankee Stadium, which included thousands of swing variables, he hit several balls to right field in an optimum manner. If he had the power to clear the roof by over 100 feet, he surely would have cleared it marginally on many occasions. In returning the discussion to Babe Ruth, it can be said that he defies rational analysis.
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins: 469 feet
Below, we’ll look at some of the longest home runs hit in MLB history, both documented and rumored. There is no specific data on the farthest home run in the the Home Run Derby pre-StatCast era. Let’s dive into the best moonshots in MLB history and the longest home run ever. Mantle’s famous baseball was actually stolen from its display case in the Yankee Stadium by a group of boys who regretted the theft and returned it. Before Strawberry broke the record, the previous longest Olympic Stadium Home Run was made by Willie Stargell at 475 feet. "That just shows what kind of fun we're having here, what kind of group we have here," Judge said.
He started his career with the A’s and made himself known with a pair of 40 home run seasons. During the 1989 ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays, after a shortened season held him to 65 games and just 17 homers, Canseco hit the longest home run of all-time. His massive fifth deck shot at the formerly named Skydome registers in at 540 feet, earning him sole possession of first place on our list of longest dingers. When he came to the plate to hit this blast, he was already established as a power hitter, so no one was shocked when he cranked this ball out of the yard. On July 3rd, 1999, Jim Thome destroyed Kansas City Royals righty Don Wengert’s offering to the deepest part of center, and then some.
After playing a major role in the Red Sox 2004 championship drive, Ortiz joined an all-star team for a tour of Japan. In a 5-3 win against the Japan Stars at the Tokyo Dome, Ortiz drove a ball into the lights high above the upper deck in right field. The 2021 season was filled with moonshots aplenty, as MLB hitters combined to swat nearly 6,000 home runs.
There are stories of his 600-foot home runs or treating old Yankee Stadium like it was his own personal Little League field. Statcast has given us a whole new tool to answer that question, thanks to the tracking technology at every MLB ballpark. The Marlins signed Jorge Soler following his huge 2021 World Series MVP performance to be one of Miami’s major power threats. I’m sure Gary Sanchez got a little extra jacked up each time his Twins faced the Yankees this year.
Former National League MVP isn't having the best statistical year, but that didn't stop him from blasting the second-longest home run in the MLB this year. Yeli blasted the homer off the glove of Colorado Rockies pitcher Chad Kuhl. The first non-Colorado Rocky blast on this list comes courtesy of Miami Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez. The bomb, however, made it 3-for-3 for Coors Field as Sanchez hit the blast in the Mile High against Rockies pitcher Ryan Feltner way back in May. Schwarber added two more homers that traveled 450-plus feet this season.
Since this home run was the only one that ever cleared those bleachers during decades of major league and Negro League competition, it is genuinely deserving of recognition. The same process was at work for Mantle on September 10, 1960, in Detroit, where his right-center-field rooftopper was reported to have traveled more than 600 feet. From interviews with the surviving source of the original data, it is readily apparent once again that the all had bounced several times before it reached the estimated distance. Included among the other great exaggerations in the history of tape measure home runs are Dave Nicholson's Comiskey Park rooftopper on May 6, 1964, and Dave Kingman's Wrigley Field blast on April 14, 1976. However, subsequent investigation indicated that the ball landed on the back of the roof before bouncing into the night. When Kingman launched his wind-aided blow in Chicago, The New York Times somehow concluded that it had flown 630 feet.
He added another dinger of 460-plus feet on September 16th against Adrian Martinez of the Oakland Athletics. The one thing we can be sure of, though, is it went as high as it did far. This moonshot doesn’t just earn the honors of being the longest home run of the 2022 season.
It’s interesting because I don’t remember seeing a left-handed hitter slug a baseball to this part of Coors Field before 2022. As we’ll see with the two people immediately below Yelich, this was one of three homers to visit that general area in the Mile High City. Cron has quietly had consecutive seasons of solid offensive production with the Rockies. He’s compiled just 3.6 fWAR since the start of 2021, but it’s also included two straight years of at least 25 homers and 90 RBI. The 2022 season is notable because it’s the first time the right-handed hitter surpassed the 100-RBI plateau.
Longest homer for every 2022 MLB Home Run Derby participant
While his career was on the decline with the Mets in 2002, Mo still provided the faithful with a blast from the past at Shea in their June 26th matchup with Atlanta. His moonshot was an estimated 505 feet, one of his 26 on the season upon his return from missing the previous year due to injury. It would be the last big blast we would see from Mo, but boy was she a rocket. Baseball has always been a sport that has been played with elements of speed and power.
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