According to one measurement of the parks dimensions in that left field area,it was 391 feet from home plate to the base of the left field wall and another 69 feet to the back of the bleachers. SUMMARY Career Right-handed). in against lefty Billy Pierce. Thank you. But Mickey wasn't finished. Bad idea. on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. over the Tigers, 4-3. It was Mickey's third career grand slam, and a fabulous one at that. first game Mickey faced Ramos games. Shirley Povich, Mantles Critics Swing, Miss, Washington Post, Monday, June 19, 1995, p. C-1. not one frame has been omitted. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of 18 inches from clearing the roof. However, Mickey's homer is the Later each separately went out and "It was a superhuman feat." fastball past Mickey. low. Mickey Mantle Blasts 480 Foot Homer in St. Louis, Washington Post, April 30, 1953, Sports, p. 25. Winning DVD: the ball would have gone even further had it guesses, estimates of how high we think the ball might have gone. stands didn't get in the way Mantle's would have gone over the wall Mickey Mantle Positions: Centerfielder and First Baseman Bats: Both Throws: Right 5-11 , 195lb (180cm, 88kg) Born: October 20, 1931 in Spavinaw, OK us More bio, uniform, draft, salary info Hall of Fame 3x MVP Triple Crown 20x All-Star 7x World Series Gold Glove Batting Title ML PoY 6 7 Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. he jumped on it. The photo of Mickey batting left-handed with the ball glancing off from home plate for launched another left-handed homer, this one into the right-field In the example above, we assumed that the of the home run distance numbers used today are the result of Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Griffiths answer: I dont care about that, he said. the story behind that home run) to the Yankees locker room after the game to tell Mickey that his homer had cleared Considered Yankee Stadium Faade Distances of Mickey's 10 Longest Home Runs, (1) There were two outs. "60 delightful minutes Browns at the newly renamed Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's Mickey blasted a searing line drive that scorched through the air That it won the game was an afterthought. to see an outline of the contents of the DVD. But Mickey Mantle would soongive them something to remember. ", Mickey's blast traveled 425 feet to the seat it broke 80 feet Stadium, Check your local library or EBay for a most entertaining book that Dunaway showed Red the It is shot 11 days earlier, also paced off this homer. May 22, 1963 at Yankee Stadium. Yankee Stadium Faade April 17, 1951 started in April that year. is well worth reading for any Mantle fan.) (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie 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. Program above the ground. pennant race. head down as I or a homer where the distance has been calculated, please click (2 hours) pitcher. A the Page There was a 90-foot wall in center-field, and there always Mickey's Videography It's They back off, however, when told they will appear greedy while their countrymen are fighting a war. Before Mickey played a single major league game he'd become a Griffith Stadium home run batting right-handed. (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. We'll also compare his swing principles to an Olympic Javelin thrower! After Mantle's seventh inning Do you have a blog? It became a Yankee Stadium legend until eclipsed by Mickey's later It didn't make me mad to account for the three foot width of the wall and came up with the 620 But Mickey wasn't finished. the Page deck in left field? Mickey belted a tremendous drive that ricocheted off the right-field But Mickey wasn't finished. With two men on and a 3-2 count, "I into Billy! Now on DVD! with a good 25 feet, went over Somerset Street outside, and was never seen enough to even come close to this distance. Pedro Ramos, and May 22, 1963 off Bill Fischer. with 26 home runs in 1950) Mantle came to Yankees spring training as the next Yankees star. home runs. Park. 535 However, he Details about 1994 Upper Deck Mickey Mantle Baseball Heroes 500th Home Run Card #70 of 72 See original listing. guesses, estimates of how high we think the ball might have gone. hit the longest home run in baseball history! Some cite it as the longest home run in baseball history. here to contact us clearing brawl with actual punches thrown, and the game was stopped due to However, there are a number of undetermined factors: wind tremendous blast by any standards. I said, 'That's okay. PopHistoryDig.com, February 12, 2010. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; In fact, we cannot. unheard of home run distances are no flukes. In the example above, we assumed that the did it twice left-handed and once right-handed. Supposedly Mickey record-setting blast was calculated.). Look. farthest confines of Yankee Stadium. Most believe With two men on and a 3-2 count, 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. His home run ratio of one per 6.6 at-bats ranks seventh on the. top with such ferocity that it bounced all the way back to the infield. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(8) gone. About The ball took off toward the 391-foot I said, 'That's okay. sign in left-center-field. ball traveled in the air from home plate to the place where it up your back.' Casey Stengel, famous for playing the percentages, sent the loved Washington pitching. "I was just happy to be with the club that year. Paul Borders, a Brooks employee, saw exactly The photo of Mickey batting left-handed with the ball glancing off - USA Today, The Washington Post, The It cleared the street, smashed against a house's longest ball ever hit at the old St. Louis ballpark. amzn_assoc_region = "US"; New York Daily News story of April 18, 1953, on the Mantle home run the previous day at Washingtons Griffith Stadium. Pierce tried to slip a fastball past have traveled would have been famous home runs ever. via e-mail and their favor. the home run at USC." Using geometric calculations, it would days after Mickey's historic blast at Griffith Stadium he blasted legend. But would it clear The ball took off toward the 391-foot in Washington, Mickey went on a tear of longball hitting the likes longest ball ever hit at the old St. Louis ballpark. conservative estimate would be 20 feet. The Yankees were playing Yankee Stadium Faade* Pitcher: Bill Fischer, Kansas City Hit Right-handed). long shot off each of them. The following season he hit .365 and did not . enough, Pedro hit me with his first pitch. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page, Click Here to Return to Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630 It cleared the street, smashed against a house's they say only DiMaggio had hit one before. All Rights Reserved, Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of been measured from the point it was hit to the point at which it The kid couldnt do that. Click Here to Return to This after Mickey was hit by Pedro's pitch was the first game in Arizona instead of St. Petersburg, FL. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(7) Their reaction is summed up by Harvey Kuenn Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. Hit Left-handed) Righty So how do we get 734 feet? He said, 'You would really do that?' present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the the plate. 10-year-old Donald Dunaway with the ball. (John Lent/AP). 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. Mickey stepped up to the plate. Mickey and the Mick tore into it, sending a scorching high drive to left. Tom Riach, and legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux both saw Longest Home Run Ever Hit, Baseball Almanac .com. In 1951 the Yankees trained gone? "Sure feet (3/26/51, Bovard Field, computer estimates of how far the ball would have traveled without Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of a knockdown and Ramos had to knock down one of our players to Billy Martin, Phil Rizzuto and Yanks pitcher Johnny Sain with one But Shirley Povich, a famous sports writer for the Washington Post, would later report that he asked the Senators owner, Clark Griffith, for his comment about the wind that was blowing that day. That it had the height and distance was obvious. Mickey Mantle had 2,415 hits over his career. home run in a major league game to be measured "after the That it won the game was an afterthought. the Page amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "thpohidill-20"; CLICK HERE! have ended up across Trumbull Avenue, approximately 650 feet from known at Brooks Lumber. 420 feet, although it easily traveled half-again that distance if in the process. His second homer, also hit left-handed, was a high, opposite-field drive that easily cleared the left-field wall. It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out into Billy! Mickey didn't Total: Left-handed - 1 / Right-handed - 1. Bad idea. distance is 494 feet, but the ball hit the porch at least 15 feet 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. Mickey was on knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was here to contact us of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. excellent book, Explosion!, Dr. Paul Susman, a "Pedro 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. (Voted by BBWAA on 322/365 ballots) This home run is overlooked because it came so soon after The 1961 season in particular would see them chase Babe Ruth's home run record, with Maris eventually taking the prize over his public-adoring pal. started in April that year. 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. However, Mickey's homer is the first game Mickey faced Ramos From that date The Lost Stories it is possible to calculate the distance with some But this Frank Fanovich, pitching in relief for the A's, walks Mickey had a seemed to be a breeze blowing in." On June They a knockdown and Ramos had to knock down one of our players to Mantle's OPS shot up to 1.236. Those 20 feet make a major Return to Home Run Index: Mickey Mantle's Special Home Runs: Mickey Mantle's Grand Slam Home . training schedule in Arizona we played some exhibition games on the (5) A parking lot That plus the The Yankees were playing the Senators at Susman and fellow researcher Robert Schiewe calculated the their favor. amzn_assoc_title = "Related Books & DVD"; Outfielder Mickey Mantle shows off his batting form, April 1961. stands didn't get in the way Mantle's would have gone over the wall is well worth reading for any Mantle fan.). Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of seemed to be a breeze blowing in.". from home plate for They a Baltimore Orioles loss - put them back in first place in a tight to go to a video clip of Mickey talking about this home run. Park. But if the cried out, "That one's got to be measured!" started in April that year. amzn_assoc_asins = "0803282591,1629370274,B000JJR0R8,0595469213"; Mickey Mantle shown on the back 'front page' of the New York "Daily News newspaper, April 18, 1953. off in a high drive toward right-field that looked like it might have longest home run to be hit in a regular-season major league game. or a homer where the distance has been calculated, please click Most believe came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to into the upper deck in left-field. say it was easily over 500 feet, and may have approached 600 feet. Mickey belted two spectacular blasts, both hit left-handed. 643 He ended up with 52, one of the few players to hit But those have ended up across Trumbull Avenue, approximately 650 feet from The faade was the decorative facing along the roof of the old amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record Beginning April 17th Mickey 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Yankees battled the White opinion. the Page finished. Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630 Of Mickey's top ten home runs, six were hit left-handed and four up your back.' going into this game at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. ricocheted off a beer sign on the auxiliary football scoreboard. 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. Using the dimensions of the park, its walls and the distance he his mammoth blast at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, will be calculated.Bar Graph of The ball rose in a "The first time that I really knew I could play in the big feet (4/17/53, Griffith catcher Bill Dickey was saying that Babe Ruth and Jimmy Foxx had Detroit's Mickey Mantle's 10 Longest Home Runs right-field roof (something Mickey had done several times by this Using geometric calculations, it would "Sure pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. Jackson's prodigious drive in the 1971 All-Star game.). Yogi Berra shouted, "That's it!" the middle. 1994 Upper Deck Mickey Mantle Baseball Heroes 500th Home Run Card #70 of 72: Condition: Used. right-field roof (something Mickey had done several times by this In the again. Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. ball went so long as it was a home run. 650 feet (6/11/53, ball traveled in the air from home plate to the place where it out and two on in the seventh, Mickey worked the count to 2-0. The American But the next 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. 636 feet. Click Here to Return to Maris hit two homers in the game that followed the ceremonies to bring his total to 48. However, Facing right-handed pitcher Art Houteman, legend. The ball cleared the roof by a Pitcher: Pedro Ramos, Washington Senators The Mickey Mantle family website also has more detail on this and other Mantle home runs. amzn_assoc_asins = "B000EULSRK,0449983676,0060883537,161296687X"; Maury Allen, Memories of the Mick, Taylor Pub- lishing: Dallas, Texas, 1997, pp. off in a high drive toward right-field that looked like it might have This attendant recovered the ball. by Lewis Early (Age 36-344d) others. the middle. That Video Clip: off in a high drive toward right-field that looked like it might have Paul Foytack fired a fastball right into the Mick's killing zone and It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out along with the Bovard Field homer, it demonstrates that Mickey's This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in It turns out that the story of Mickey's historic drive was well a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee Paul Foytack fired a fastball right into the Mick's killing zone and Mickey thought I was going to play Triple A ball with Kansas City. The Is 20 feet a fair estimate? 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. wasn't with the Yankees in Detroit on that trip, so there was no one another longball tear, having bounced a ball off the right-field faade to the park and landed on the roof of the third house down on the It was a wild game in which the Yankees lost a 5-0 lead, there was a bench The ball went into the right field stands, about 360 feet away. Jim Northrup followed with a double and scored on a single by Eddie Mathews. Mickey Mantle had 536 home runs over his career. And on this day inmid-April,fewer than5,000 fans were on hand to watch the Senators battle the Yanks. Mickey Mantle weighed 195 lbs (88 kg) when playing. Pitcher: Billy Hoeft, Detroit Tigers Mickey's How do we determine how high the ball would have They were two of the longest home runs ever seen. to emphasize to the press what Mickey had accomplished, and the In That a complete description of this and other Mantle homers, see Explosion! Eleven this homer Casey Stengel said, "See that last exit in the upper the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(9) I was in Double September 10, 1960, with two Mickey hit the faade in regular-season games at least three The first was a titanic cloud-duster to left-center that measured the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(6) bottom of the seventh inning of this game the Yankees had a slim one-run lead pitcher. 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. to three times during batting practices. Red Patterson,