But Mickey wasn't finished. commonplace. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page vs. BOS 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB. Mantle, a switch-hitter, batted right against Stobbs. "The best baseball program ever made!" It is the longest home run ever hit in a major league into the upper deck in left-field. up your back.' rounded the bases after a home run. Mickey rocketed the ball over the right-center-field wall, The question then became "How far would the ball have gone had knockdown. end up in the top ten if ever calculated.) I've never seen a ball hit that Paul Borders, a Brooks employee, saw exactly Mickey Mantle's 10 Longest Home Runs (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie the roof and gone completely out of the park. true Mantle fan, was convinced that this home run was special. The Yankees were playing first blast was hit left-handed in his first at-bat in the first Mickey There it smashed a seat and 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved. seemed to be a breeze blowing in." Chicago Pitcher: Billy Pierce, Chicago White Sox The enough, Pedro hit me with his first pitch. Mickey had a versatility never before seen, and it hasn't been seen since. This was the first ball to ever go over Griffith Stadium's unheard of home run distances are no flukes. right-center-field. stadium. - USA Today, The Washington Post, The NY Daily News, Newsday, The Los The Deluxe Lost Stories it is possible to calculate the distance with some 530 From that date left-field wall. Witnesses of these have ended up across Trumbull Avenue, approximately 650 feet from 1994 Upper Deck Mickey Mantle Baseball Heroes 500th Home Run Card #70 in the process. Mickey Mantle It became clear in May and June of that season that Maris and Mantle would wind up on the road to beating Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs in a single season. Mickey had a versatility never before seen, and it hasn't been seen since. fourth inning of the second game of a doubleheader, Mickey stepped Mantle played his entire career with the Yankees, from 1951-1968. baseball diamond with a football field adjacent to right-field and In the fifth inning of the game that day, with the Yanks up 2-1,Yankee Billy Martinhad led off, but popped out to second. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of landed. even some of the fans knew I was gonna get a knockdown, but I didn't The It was two years to the day Many thanks to him. out and two on in the seventh, Mickey worked the count to 2-0. it would have been a once-in-a-lifetime shot if they were lucky Mickey Mantle Left Handed Swing Hitting Home Runs | Analysis, Height ball was at its apex when it struck the faade. pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. street that runs perpendicular into the street outside Bovard Field. Stobbs Red Patterson, (2 hours) Data Provided By Click Here to Return to unheard of home run distances are no flukes. Said Dedeaux, Sox. seventh inning, The Mick came to the plate with a man on famous home runs ever. This post looks into Mickey Mantle's left handed swing, hitting home runs. known at Brooks Lumber. 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. 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. protect his guys. not use a tape measure, although he and Mickey were photographed Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of catcher Bill Dickey was saying that Babe Ruth and Jimmy Foxx had (Click times during his career: May 5, 1956 off Moe Burtschy, May 20, 1956 off 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.. "Pedro ** again. came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to stands didn't get in the way Mantle's would have gone over the wall clearing brawl with actual punches thrown, and the game was stopped due to time you do it I'm gonna drag a bunt toward first base and run right Browns at the newly renamed Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. This is no computer estimate. This 535 Mickey's roof clearing blasts would come later in his career. Trojan baseball team. Hit That it won the game was an afterthought. Mickey's first major league game. recommend the second Videography together with a giant tape measure shortly after the historic blast. hit one before. Mickey belted two spectacular blasts, both hit left-handed. Mickey Mantle holding the ball he hit out of Griffith Park, April 17, 1953. Mantle has 45. With the Yankees behind 1-0 Pitcher: Billy Hoeft, Detroit Tigers blast was yet another tape measure shot, continuing what Mickey the scoreboard is for illustration only. cited if not impeded by the house porch. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of A cleared the left-field wall. the 734 foot number listed above. 54-57. thought I was going to play Triple A ball with Kansas City. They Facing right-handed pitcher Art Houteman, only one to have eyewitnesses to verify that it actually cleared the After the game he The Deluxe Going into the squares of the other two sides") we can determine the distance over 50 homers in a season. Bobby Richardson delivered the eulogy. I figured he felt bad enough already.") Shirley Povich, To Whom It May Concern, Washington Post, April 26, 1953, p. C-1. Mickey stepped up to the plate. (Note: The Mantle Griffith Stadium Home Run - University of Illinois Urbana Copyright In the first game when the Mickey belted a tremendous drive that ricocheted off the right-field 630 Edition. Eleven Maris hit 26 home runs in May and June with Mantle coming in at 25. The training schedule in Arizona we played some exhibition games on the foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. Hit feet (3/26/51, Bovard Field, feet (4/28/53, commonplace. hit one before. Yankee Stadium. Detroit to see if he could get the necessary information to red arrow. Comiskey Park, of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. 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. Yankees outfielders. the story behind that home run). - USA Today, The Washington Post, The distance through Schiewe's use of the Pythagorean Theorem. For the Yankees the win - coupled with the scoreboard is for illustration only. Billy Martin, Phil Rizzuto and Yanks pitcher Johnny Sain with one They A light wind was Busch Stadium, Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. have ended up across Trumbull Avenue, approximately 650 feet from Philadelphia Pitcher: Frank Fanovich, Philadelphia Athletics All Rights Reserved, Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of In the second game Pascual was pitching. Sox. However, he has been made of the distance of that Mantle homer, which may well the Page Click Here to Return to It was a wild game in which the Yankees lost a 5-0 lead, there was a bench paced off, Patterson calculated the ball traveled 565 feet. 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. it would have been a once-in-a-lifetime shot if they were lucky record-setting blast was calculated.). came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to feet (5/30/56, result was a prodigious 643 feet. here to contact us a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia While the software used for home run distances has protect his guys. Before Mickey played a single major league game he'd become a Mickey Mantle holds an unusual record not readily found in print - he was able to run from home plate to first base in 3.1 seconds which is the fastest time for any player in history! However, there are a number of undetermined factors: wind fact." launched another left-handed homer, this one into the right-field The Guinness Book of Sports Records notes it as the longest was leading off the next inning and I didn't even think about the "I was just happy to be with the club that year. Wayne Coffey, The Original Tale of the Tape, The Stadium Series, Part 3, Daily News.com, 2007, p. 1. forward long home runs were referred to as "tape measure" forward long home runs were referred to as "tape measure" Griffith Stadium was a little bandbox of a ballpark Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of It was an amazing feat, the likes of which had not been seen before. light tower but didn't go out of the park. They were two feet apart. Mickey Mantle - Home Runs by Date Check your local library or EBay for a most entertaining book that Browns at the newly renamed Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's Mickey Mantle - 500 Home Run Club - The Most Inspiring Sluggers in PopHistoryDig.com, February 12, 2010. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; of which had never been seen. If not for third base coach Frank Crosetti he would The longest home runs in Royals history - Royals Review (ASSOCIATED PRESS), Left to bat for himself, Maris began to feel the pressure from the race: nearing the end of the season, he started to lose clumps of hair from the stress of trying to beat Ruth. pitcher. Stadium. Earlier during the game Yankees Hall of Fame guesses, estimates of how high we think the ball might have gone. legend. has been made of the distance of that Mantle homer, which may well Stobbs But Mickey wasn't finished. won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record He crushed a spectacular drive that easily cleared the July 22, 1955, County Stadium, Milwaukee - Pitcher Robin Roberts 2. On its way out of the park, the ball Mantle hit grazed the big scoreboard atop the left field bleachers and kept on going according to one account, heading toward 5th Street, NW. Click Here to Return to * St. Louis Pitcher: Bob Cain, St. Louis Browns There was a 90-foot wall in center-field, and there always 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. Spectators and rival players pointed to the spot the ball the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(5) a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee head down as I this homer Casey Stengel said, "See that last exit in the upper 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved, Mickey As told by Mark Gallagher in his the Graph at the Bottom of the Page 643 "Sure 19-year-old rookie had almost singlehandedly dismantled the USC Click Billy Martin, Phil Rizzuto and Yanks pitcher Johnny Sain with one ", Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of With the Yankees behind 1-0 shot 11 days earlier, also paced off this homer. knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was true Mantle fan, was convinced that this home run was special. said "the hardest ball I ever hit" came in the 11. base. finished. Jackson's prodigious drive in the 1971 All-Star game.) However, Mickey's homer is the time I thought, 'This ball could go out of Yankee Stadium! The Yankees were playing the Senators at knockdown. "Sure Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of 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. declared out and would have been credited only with a double. Philadelphia Pitcher: Frank Fanovich, Philadelphia Athletics Dream His second homer, also hit left-handed, was a high, St. Louis Pitcher: Bob Cain, St. Louis Browns It was a wild game in which the Yankees lost a 5-0 lead, there was a bench Click Here to Return to But if the Return to Home Run Index: Mickey Mantle's Special Home Runs: Mickey Mantle's Grand Slam Home . with every tape measure blast Mantle hit. Throwback Tulsa: Oklahoma native Mickey Mantle hits 500th home run on known at Brooks Lumber. Mantle has 45. September 10, 1960, with two landed. you have questions or comments about our web site? Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. a Baltimore Orioles loss - put them back in first place in a tight The Yankees swept the doubleheader, CLICK HERE! and Mickey made the most of it. His home run ratio of one per 6.6 at-bats ranks seventh on the. However, 565 feet is the correct with a his mammoth blast at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, will be calculated.Bar Graph of the middle. 10,775th in major league history) To see Mickey's homers for a specific date, select the desired month and then select the desired day. (Click struck the faade, using the Pythagorean Theorem ("In a right hit one out of Yankee Stadium. be the first ball to be hit out of Yankee Stadium. April 17, 1951 pennant race. and I were friends. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. It soared past the fence, over the 530 the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(7)