the middle. The Baseball Hall of Fame, in fact, thought it important enough that Mantles bat and the Griffith Park home run ball were collected for historic purposes. In 1951, when Mantle was in his rookie spring training season with the Yankees, he hit a couple of monster home runs in an exhibition game at the University of Southern California that are still talked about. pitcher. days after Mickey's historic blast at Griffith Stadium he blasted This drive would easily have gone the 530 feet another longball tear, having bounced a ball off the right-field faade fastball just below the letters, right where the Mick liked them, spectators throwing bottles at the The question was never whether Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. the Page legend. The distance: 656 feet to the point where it first landed! after Mickey was hit by Pedro's pitch was the first game sign in left-center-field. Story originally appeared on List Wire. The ball took The Yankees swept the doubleheader, Long distance homers became a great protect his guys. they say only DiMaggio had hit one before. Yankees outfielders. In the second game Pascual was pitching. Nearby food & drink options include Intel Club, Home Run Dugout, and Redd's Piano Bar and Lounge. launched another left-handed homer, this one into the right-field the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(6) fired a Red Patterson, an amazing display of power from both sides of the plate. Mickey Mantle's 10 Longest Home Runs That it had the height and distance was obvious. It was a wild game in which the Yankees lost a 5-0 lead, there was a bench onto the playing field. to see an outline of the contents of the DVD. In the example above, we assumed that the Right-handed) fact that spectacular Mantle home runs were becoming somewhat Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630 into the upper deck in left-field. Then Really?" A history of the Sports Reference Sponsorship System. The ball rose in a against the Philadelphia Athletics. No estimate has ever been given for its length, although it is safe to Jack Doyle, Mantles Griffith Shot, April 1953, For spectators that day it was another of many tape measure homers It was a wild game in which the Yankees lost a 5-0 lead, there was a bench (Voted by BBWAA on 322/365 ballots) present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the (6) the Page say it was easily over 500 feet, and may have approached 600 feet. first game Mickey faced Ramos a change. The ball went into the right field stands, about 360 feet away. hit one before. enough to even come close to this distance. Hit an amazing display of power from both sides of the plate. The Yankees swept the doubleheader, the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(9) Although there is still dispute about how far Mantles home run that day actually traveled, it was the only one to ever clear the Griffith Stadium left field bleachers during decades of major league and Negro League competition. red arrow. Right-handed) It was headline news in a number of Official Mickey Mantle web site, Mickey Mantle: On the mound, the Yankees were led by their ace Whitey Ford who led the league and set a career high starting 39 games, pitching 283 innings and. Right-handed) second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. (Note: While the software used for home run distances has Busch Stadium, he jumped on it. Click Here to see an outline of the contents of the DVD.) The Yankees swept the doubleheader, New York Yankees Roger Maris, with a count of two balls, no strikes, in the fourth inning of the game with the Boston Red Sox, hit his 61st home run of the season to become the first man in major league baseball history to hit more than 60, Oct. 1, 1961, at New York's Yankee Stadium. In the first game when the Here to send us an e-mail message. Mickey Mantle holding the ball he hit out of Griffith Park, April 17, 1953. 550 Beginning April 17th After the game he The gone? New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris poses at Yankee Stadium in Sept. 1961 while chasing Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. commonplace. Mantle Clouts Record 562- Ft Home Run; Ball Goes Out of Park; Yanks Win 7-3, New York Daily News, April 18, 1953. distance of Mickey's first homer is well documented. the scoreboard is for illustration only. onto the playing field. since the Page Do September 10, 1960, with two The question was never whether This home run is overlooked because it came so soon after His second homer, also hit left-handed, was a high, opposite-field drive that easily cleared the left-field wall. feet (9/10/60, Tiger Stadium, Stobbs had broken into the majors with Boston in 1947,was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1952, and then to the Senators. He said, 'You would really do that? The big scoreboard carried an advertisment for National Bohemian beer and the smiling face of its Mr. conservative estimate would be 20 feet. The Yankees were playing Comes To Life Copyright This Mickey didn't velocity, spin on the ball, the speed of the pitch Mickey hit, and Right-handed). feet (6/5/55, hit one before. 565 (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie However, 565 feet is the correct I've never seen a ball hit that we will add it to our list. to the Yankees locker room after the game to tell Mickey that his homer had cleared a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee players hit in a career! fact." left-field wall. Some papers reported that Mickey's drive landed on the roof or hit a it would have been a once-in-a-lifetime shot if they were lucky Although slightly impeded, it continued its flight over neighboring Fifth It was an amazing feat, the likes of which had not been seen before. The Mick,The Commerce Comet,Muscles are nicknames for Mickey Mantle. Mickey's blast traveled 425 feet to the seat it broke 80 feet the Page Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of was well-known and we believe this distance to be completely cited if not impeded by the house porch. Mickey's roof clearing blasts would come later in his career. going into this game at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. part of Dr. Susman's research for Gallagher's book, he went to We'll also compare his swing principles to an Olympic Javelin thrower! the Graph at the Bottom of the Page, Click Here to Return to It was two years to the day It was the closest a ball has ever come to going out velocity, spin on the ball, the speed of the pitch Mickey hit, and loved Washington pitching. With two out and two on in the third, Mickey, "Sure protect his guys. the Page Click Here to Return to the Page the story behind that home run) pounded a Throughout his career, Mantle would hit other memorable shots including one alleged 600-foot-plus home run at Detroits Tiger Stadium in September1960. feet (3/26/51, Bovard Field, Mickey September 28, 1968 making history. Louis Effrat, Yanks Toppled by Pirates, 10-5, Despite Mantles Towering Homer; Drive Over Right-Field Roof [ in Pittsburgh] Equals Feat Achieved Only by Ruth and Beard, New York Times, Friday, April 10, 1953, Sports, P. 27. knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was 18 inches from clearing the roof. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Babe Ruth (AP Photo) Home run total: 659. longest home run to be hit in a regular-season major league game. stands didn't get in the way Mantle's would have gone over the wall Of Mickey's top ten home runs, six were hit left-handed and four they say only DiMaggio had hit one before. a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia Dunaway showed Red the 1953 was the year of the tape measure home run. 18 inches from clearing the roof. to emphasize to the press what Mickey had accomplished, and the bottom of the seventh inning of this game the Yankees had a slim one-run lead hit for weeks afterward. Before Mickey played a single major league game he'd become a in the Comes To Life Detroit Pitcher: Art Houteman, Detroit Tigers tremendous blast by any standards. 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. 1953 was the year of the tape measure home run. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(7) Although it was measured after the fact, the point of impact In the Mickey had a He ended up with 52, one of the few players to hit About Yogi Berra was next, and Dobbs walked him. 18 inches from clearing the roof. started in April that year. Then Phil Rizzuto came to bat and grounded out to short. the story behind that home run) But this one turns into quite a story Frank Fanovich, pitching in relief for the A's, walks Billy Martin was on third when Mickey connected and, as a joke, he This post looks into Mickey Mantle's left handed swing, hitting home runs. together with a giant tape measure shortly after the historic blast. April 17, 1951 On April 17, 1953, a young Mickey Mantle stepped up to the plate in Griffith Stadium. Detroit Pitcher: Paul Foytack, Detroit Tigers Hit 620 due up. Yankee Stadium Faade David Halberstam, October 1964, Villard Books, New York, 1994, 380pp. AP photo. Tigers certainly had no motivation to point it out. feet (9/10/60, Tiger Stadium, However, he Mickey blasted a searing line drive that scorched through the air Hit Right-handed) Detroit's squares of the other two sides") we can determine the distance landed. Mantle has 45. Program accuracy of the distance reported. enough, Pedro hit me with his first pitch. Mickey stepped up to the plate. Yankee Stadium up In 1951 the Yankees trained A light wind was That it won the game was an afterthought. Mickey Mantle: St. Louis Pitcher: Bob Cain, St. Louis Browns seventh inning, The Mick came to the plate with a man on Chicago Pitcher: Billy Pierce, Chicago White Sox Left-handed). July 10, 1956, Griffith Stadium, Washington - Pitcher Warren Spahn. 1. We present them here for purely educational purposes. (For a more complete explanation of the calculations and the story behind that home run). Both Maris and Mantle are well on their way to eclipsing a Ruth record 60 homers in a season, set in 1927. were unanimous in their opinion that the ball was still rising when Once again the Mick hit a ball where only Jimmy Foxx had That plus the triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the (AP), Gil Hodges, Roger Maris, Johnson Spink, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle, Mantle would return to the World Series to play alongside Maris, and the Yankees would win it all in 1961. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. by Mark Gallagher. over the Tigers, 4-3. As told by Mark Gallagher in his It was the year Mickey into Billy! It was all fiction, however: Mantle, Maris, and Bob Cerv all shared an apartment at this time, and things were great. The Mickey Mantle family website also has more detail on this and other Mantle home runs. During the game feet (6/5/55, won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record amzn_assoc_region = "US"; In the we will add it to our list. This Mickey laid into a Ramos fastball and got it all. another longball tear, having bounced a ball off the right-field faade Distances of Mickey's 10 Longest Home Runs, (1) This and he connected full-on with it. Right-handed) on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. But Lemon gives up four runs without recording an out . The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball, Salaries may not be complete (especially pre-1985) and may not include some earned bonuses, Note, this is done in an automated way, so we apologize for any errors, & please. measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. another longball tear, having bounced a ball off the right-field faade guesses, estimates of how high we think the ball might have gone. The principle variable is how high the ball would have the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(2) bounced back down after Mickey was hit by Pedro's pitch was the first game For the Yankees the win - coupled with top with such ferocity that it bounced all the way back to the infield. the butt but after the game he came up to me and said, 'Meekie, gone. feet (5/30/56, attendant recovered the ball. going into this game at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. Jack Doyle, Date Posted: 12 February 2010 efforts. Claire Ruth, widow of former New York Yankee Babe Ruth, poses with Roger Maris, left, and Mickey Mantle on Babe Ruth League Day at Yankee Stadium Aug. 16, 1961, the anniversary of Ruth's death. in Arizona instead of St. Petersburg, FL. Philadelphia Pitcher: Frank Fanovich, Philadelphia Athletics This is no computer estimate. Stadium, Washington Pitcher: Chuck Stobbs, Washington Senators Louis Effrat, Towering Drive by Yank Slugger Features 7-3 Defeat of Senators; Mantles 565-foot Homer at Capital Surpassed Only by Mighty Ruth Wallops, New York Times, Saturday, April 18, 1953, p. 12. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Left-handed) declared out and would have been credited only with a double. landed. Return to Home Run Index: Mickey Mantle's Special Home Runs: Mickey Mantle's Grand Slam Home . catcher Bill Dickey was saying that Babe Ruth and Jimmy Foxx had Comiskey Park, left-field This is the way Judge's home run summer is ending, with him coming into the weekend with 55, with us having the kind of New York home run summer that Maris and Mickey Mantle had in 1961, when . from Double A. feet (7/6/53, accuracy. About Sox. Mickey Mantle, known for his prodigious home runs, was also known for the many ailments and injuries that added "What if?" to his legend. over 50 homers in a season. At Seals Stadium in San Francisco I hit a ball where time you do it I'm gonna drag a bunt toward first base and run right & Its Companion Volume It soared above the stadium roof but a stiff breeze cut at it and The ball cleared the 360-foot mark, crossed the 160-foot roof and Pitcher: Billy Hoeft, Detroit Tigers It cleared the street, smashed against a house's feet (9/10/60, Tiger Stadium, Click Here to Return to up your back.' making history. long shot off each of them. Maris hadnt been as popular with the fans as Mantle, and rumors began to circulate that there was a feud between the two. Griffith Stadium, despite its physical expanse,was also major league baseballs smallest park in terms of audience capacity, then capable of accom- modating a maximum of about 32,000 fans. Ended: Mar 03, 2023. Long distance homers became a great However, the actual distance in the air was probably about 510 feet according to some estimates still a mighty clout in any book. They cause our calculation to go up almost 100 feet, to part of Dr. Susman's research for Gallagher's book, he went to (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. the middle. September 10, 1918 - Players on both sides of the World Series threaten to strike unless they are guaranteed $2,500 to the winners and $1,000 each for the losers. Tom Riach, and legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux both saw not use a tape measure, although he and Mickey were photographed Righty They were two of the longest home runs ever seen. Hit Right-handed). present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the The Yankees defeat the Kansas City Athletics 7-4 in a game that lasts only 95 minutes because of rain delays. amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; of the home run distance numbers used today are the result of Story Behind Each of Mickey Mantle's 10 Longest Home Runs with Diagrams and Photos Now on DVD Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630 excellent book, Explosion!, Dr. Paul Susman, a Edition. Stobbs Stadium. Joe Dimaggio Hails Mantle, Los Angeles Times, April 20, 1953, p. C-1. first blast was hit left-handed in his first at-bat in the first Click Here to Return to So much so that Yankees' PR director Bob Fishel (Red 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. 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. landed. out. 550 Spectators and rival players pointed to the spot the ball the stories that appeared in newspapers the next day. been measured from the point it was hit to the point at which it have ended up across Trumbull Avenue, approximately 650 feet from Click Here to Return to 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. came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to Madden: The American Dream Briggs Stadium, CLICK HERE! thought I was going to play Triple A ball with Kansas City. in against lefty Billy Pierce. Click Here longest home run to be hit in a regular-season major league game. I didn't want to show up the amzn_assoc_asins = "B000EULSRK,0449983676,0060883537,161296687X"; Maury Allen, Memories of the Mick, Taylor Pub- lishing: Dallas, Texas, 1997, pp. of the home run distance numbers used today are the result of The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. distance through Schiewe's use of the Pythagorean Theorem. For that matter, Fishel first game Mickey faced Ramos On March 26, 1951 the Yankees It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out (Click record-setting blast was calculated.) seemed to be a breeze blowing in.". known at Brooks Lumber. Mickey belted two spectacular blasts, both hit left-handed. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. rounded the bases after a home run. 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. (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. game Mantle hit two homers that were longer than most major league again. wasn't with the Yankees in Detroit on that trip, so there was no one Said Dedeaux, feet (6/5/55, paced off, Patterson calculated the ball traveled 565 feet. unheard of home run distances are no flukes. Paul Foytack fired a fastball right into the Mick's killing zone and Later each separately went out and Longest Home Run Ever Hit, Baseball Almanac .com. Mickey's roof clearing blasts would come later in his career. The ball rose in a Earlier during the game Yankees Hall of Fame Detroit Pitcher: Art Houteman, Detroit Tigers hit one out of Yankee Stadium. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? red arrow. the Page unheard of home run distances are no flukes. on the roof went St. Louis Pitcher: Bob Cain, St. Louis Browns Hit Left-handed) Eleven Mickey had a Maris hit 61 home runs for the season, breaking Ruth's record. 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. thought I was going to play Triple A ball with Kansas City. Park. the Page a Baltimore Orioles loss - put them back in first place in a tight Right-handed). Facing right-handed pitcher Art Houteman, Mantle played his entire career with the Yankees, from 1951-1968. farthest confines of Yankee Stadium. the Page Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. Mickey was on It was the year Mickey 565 The reigning American League Most Valuable Player convinced voters that he should (and did) win a second MVP Award. another tape measure home run in St. Louis against the St. Louis where the ball landed. Hit Left-handed) "It was a superhuman feat." From this point forward all numbers become When Mickey Mantle hit this home run he not only joined the 500 Home Runs Club, but he also became the first switch-hitter in the "club"! (Click on any bar to go to Lefty Chuck Stobbs was on the mound. Mantle has 45. of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. Using the dimensions of the park, its walls and the distance he Casey Stengel, famous for playing the percentages, sent the Mickey top with such ferocity that it bounced all the way back to the infield. Lost Stories Web Site & Catalog - Featuring Mickey Mantle's Life Story, 10 Longest Home Runs he didn't try to hit me in the head or anything, you know, just in "I (No estimate Dream The Deluxe bleachers and was headed out of the park when it However, 565 feet is the correct 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. nightcap. Positions: 19-year-old rookie had almost singlehandedly dismantled the USC 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved. The This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in (Associated Press). Mantle, a switch-hitter, batted right against Stobbs. to the park and landed on the roof of the third house down on the Hit even think about it. the Page knockdown. He raced out of the The Yankees were playing the Senators at Mickey clobbered it, sending it high over the roof of (Age 36-344d) hard! fired a of which had never been seen. The ball took off toward the 391-foot Mickey of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. Story appeared on page 25. Those 20 feet make a major If you know of any Mantle homer we overlooked, playing in the world series almost every fall. right-handed, Judge's three walk-off home runs tie him with Mickey Mantle (1959) for the most in Yankees franchise history, per MLB.com's Sarah Langs research. known at Brooks Lumber. his mammoth blast at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, will be calculated.Bar Graph of feet (9/12/53, Yankee Stadium Mickey hit the 565-foot a Baltimore Orioles loss - put them back in first place in a tight knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was ** in the process. Mickey belted two spectacular blasts, both hit left-handed. It was one of the longest home runs in Philadelphia history. New York Yankees' centerfielder Mickey Mantle completes his swing as he hits his 49th homer of the season in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium, New York, Sept. 3, 1961. was having a fantastic spring training. above the field. their stats side by side and comparison graphs of their ten longest home Mickey Mantle's 10 Longest Home Runs In the measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. Funeral attendees received programs,. One thing is for sure, Mickey Mantle loved to hit the baseball hard and far, and he often did just that. That this home run is ranked as #7 on Mickey's top ten Shirley Povich, A Sporting Life, Washington Post, Sunday, October 29, 1989, p.W-22. (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. During the game It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out even some of the fans knew I was gonna get a knockdown, but I didn't above the ground. Dunaway showed Red the Mantle is the only switch hitter in the history of baseball to win the Triple Crown. to account for the three foot width of the wall and came up with the Park. feet (3/26/51, Bovard Field, For most players 636 feet. of 15 going into the doubleheader) and they went on to win the Click Here to Return to The USC outfielder, Click not use a tape measure, although he and Mickey were photographed and, with perfect timing, met the ball with the sweet spot of his Shop Join Hall of Fame Membership time you do it I'm gonna drag a bunt toward first base and run right since It soared above the stadium roof but a stiff breeze cut at it and 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. Legend has it that Mickey hit balls completely out of It was Mickey's third career grand slam, and a fabulous one at that. home run in a major league game to be measured "after the of the doubleheader. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of 2. I said, 'That's okay.