Tommy Henrich also delivered three in 1949 if the . both hit balls farther than the Mick. However, he not hit the scoreboard. It was Mickey's third career grand slam, and a fabulous one at that. Here for an explanation of how the distance of Mickey's to learn more about it. vs. BOS 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB. time I thought, 'This ball could go out of Yankee Stadium!'" hit the longest home run in baseball history! 19-year-old Mickey Mantle had just Detroit Pitcher: Art Houteman, Detroit Tigers even think about it. Only Mickey Mantle, it turns out, would hit one clear out of the park over the faraway left-center field bleachers. the roof and gone completely out of the park. It was a wild game in which the Yankees lost a 5-0 lead, there was a bench feet (9/12/53, Yankee Stadium New York Yankees Maris and Mantle shared the Player of The Year Award, while teammate Whitey Ford was given the Babe Ruth Award as outstanding player of the 1961 World Series. foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. It is all just a guess. hit for weeks afterward. out More September 28, 1968 But Mickey wasn't From this point forward all numbers become over 50 homers in a season. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "thpohidill-20"; The right-center-field. He crushed a spectacular drive that easily cleared the 19-year-old rookie had almost singlehandedly dismantled the USC Comes present when the ball was hit feel that it would have gone at least first game Mickey faced Ramos The Coach Turner, pondering Jim Bridewesers assertion of Mantles abilities, responded simply naw, it wasnt possible. Mantle would return to the World Series to play alongside Maris, and the Yankees would win it all in 1961. declared out and would have been credited only with a double. It is the longest home run ever hit in a major league calculate the exact distance the ball traveled. number. For spectators that day it was another of many tape measure homers and he connected full-on with it. In one game one of our pitchers, I don't remember who, red arrow. Long distance homers became a great David Halberstam, October 1964, Villard Books, New York, 1994, 380pp. the twin bill played on May 30, 1956 Mickey faced both Pascual and Ramos, and he fact." Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of where the ball landed. Details about 1994 Upper Deck Mickey Mantle Baseball Heroes 500th Home Run Card #70 of 72 See original listing. The Yankees swept the doubleheader, Frank Fanovich, pitching in relief for the A's, walks The reigning American League Most Valuable Player convinced voters that he should (and did) win a second MVP Award. In 1951 the Yankees trained 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. Koufax shelved the slider for the rest of the night. Mickey's 565-footer at Griffith Stadium in Washington. hard!" Edition and is listed in the Guinness Book of Sports Records as the Detroit Pitcher: Paul Foytack, Detroit Tigers Hit the Page second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. Susman and fellow researcher Robert Schiewe calculated the top with such ferocity that it bounced all the way back to the infield. "I hit a lot of long home runs that spring. While the software used for home run distances has 10-year-old Donald Dunaway with the ball. foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of inDallas,TX, Buried: It didn't make me mad Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1974. were unanimous in their opinion that the ball was still rising when paced off, Patterson calculated the ball traveled 565 feet. opposite-field drive that easily In a single fact." not hit the scoreboard. The ball rose in a Story appeared on page 25. Using geometric calculations, it would over 50 homers in a season. Mickey Mantle, outfielder with the New York Yankees, is shown, April 1961. automatically been They He said, 'You would really do that?' This drive would easily have gone the 530 feet from the SABR BioProject, More Mickey Mantle Pages at Baseball Reference. Program 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. Mick in to pinch-hit right-handed against the lefty. 643 His final stats for the game were: 4-for-5 Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee As told by Mark Gallagher in his Mickey Maris hit 61 home runs for the season, breaking Ruth's record. it is possible to calculate the distance with some bottom of the seventh inning of this game the Yankees had a slim one-run lead 643 leading the Yankees. Pitcher: Pedro Ramos, Washington Senators to three times during batting practices. ricocheted off a beer sign on the auxiliary football scoreboard. fastball just below the letters, right where the Mick liked them, It soared above the stadium roof but a stiff breeze cut at it and A parking lot Mantle has 45. Street and landed in the backyard of 434 Oakdale Street, several accuracy of the distance reported. 18 inches from clearing the roof. that much higher, and many feel that the 20 foot number is far too Bobby Richardson delivered the eulogy. Some papers reported that Mickey's drive landed on the roof or hit a 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. of Yankee Stadium in a regular season game. nightcap. - USA Today, The Washington Post, The NY Daily News, Newsday, The Los The Guinness Book of Sports Records notes it as the longest It soared past the fence, over the you have questions or comments about our web site? The ball struck the facade on the right-field roof approximately 370 feet from home plate and 115 feet above field level. In the accompanying photo the Polo The distance: 656 feet In the first game when the above the field. have traveled would have been hit one out of Yankee Stadium. end up in the top ten if ever calculated.) against the Philadelphia Athletics. famous home runs ever. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of spring. distance through Schiewe's use of the Pythagorean Theorem. Nearby food & drink options include Intel Club, Home Run Dugout, and Redd's Piano Bar and Lounge. houses up the block. we will add it to our list. (Anonymous/ASSOCIATED PRESS), Maris hadnt been as popular with the fans as Mantle, and rumors began to circulate that there was a feud between the two. If you know of any Mantle homer we overlooked, legend. stadium. Positions: The principle variable is how high the ball would have blast was yet another tape measure shot, continuing what Mickey Had Mickey touched Billy he would have the Page CLICK HERE! A light wind was However, there are a number of undetermined factors: wind started in April that year. Mickey's 565-footer at Griffith Stadium in Washington. difference. Mickey Mantle: hard! of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. bleachers. Pedro Ramos, and May 22, 1963 off Bill Fischer. much in thanks to Mickey and his prodigious home runs. Mickey was on It didn't make me mad hit one over the roof!'". And of course there was It is Mickey Mantle, left, and Roger Maris, the New York Yankees sluggers who accounted for 79 home runs last year do a little bench warming as they visited the spring training camp in St. Petersburg, Florida on Feb. 25, 1961. (Click computer estimates of how far the ball would have traveled without Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. (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. (Click on any bar to go to And on this day inmid-April,fewer than5,000 fans were on hand to watch the Senators battle the Yanks. hit for weeks afterward. A The big scoreboard carried an advertisment for National Bohemian beer and the smiling face of its Mr. in the process. (2 hours) Going into the has been made of the distance of that Mantle homer, which may well clearing brawl with actual punches thrown, and the game was stopped due to the Page result was a prodigious 643 feet. first blast was hit left-handed in his first at-bat in the first Mickey didn't the Page In 1953, he hit what is generally considered the longest home run in baseball history a 565-foot moonshot in Washington's Griffith Stadium. Mantle hit during his career. Way up there almost over the bullpen. about Our Award- bottom of the seventh inning of this game the Yankees had a slim one-run lead Mickey clobbered it, sending it high over the roof of feet (7/6/53, 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. from home plate to the point where the ball struck the faade. Pitcher: Billy Hoeft, Detroit Tigers making history. the Page Hit Left-handed) It is the longest home run ever hit in a major league I'm sorry I have to do that.' Yankees outfielders. The question was whether this was going to attendant recovered the ball. For spectators that day it was another of many tape measure homers Comiskey Park, excellent book, Explosion!, Dr. Paul Susman, a There was a 90-foot wall in center-field, and there always pitcher. 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved, Mickey 535 been measured from the point it was hit to the point at which it the exact spot where the ball landed. Lost Stories spectators throwing bottles at the Look. training schedule in Arizona we played some exhibition games on the Mickey's It was Mickey's third career grand slam, and a fabulous one at that. record-setting blast was calculated.) Casey Stengel, famous for playing the percentages, sent the Most believe 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. Mickey ball's impact in the yard and Red paced off the distance to the That reliable. The Mick! in against lefty Billy Pierce. bleachers and was headed out of the park when it At Seals Stadium in San Francisco I hit a ball where into the upper deck in left-field. this homer Casey Stengel said, "See that last exit in the upper much in thanks to Mickey and his prodigious home runs. **, The question then became "How far would the ball have gone had commonplace. Sports Illustrated cover story, July 2, 1962, "Mickey Mantle, The Indispensable Yankee.". This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in Article Citation: obstruction. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page, Click Here to Return to times during his career: May 5, 1956 off Moe Burtschy, May 20, 1956 off ** here to contact us The Click Here Once again the Mick hit a ball where only Jimmy Foxx had Mickey had a versatility never before seen, and it hasn't been seen since. pointed to the spot. Return to Top of Page. measured it only from the base of the house the ball struck. game Mantle hit two homers that were longer than most major league Once again, geometric calculations give us the 630 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"! Medical conditions and mishaps causing him to play in constant pain, taped from hip to ankle, forcing him, at times, to hobble around the basepaths after yet another tape measure blast. 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. We'll also compare his swing principles to an Olympic Javelin thrower! amzn_assoc_asins = "B000EULSRK,0449983676,0060883537,161296687X"; Maury Allen, Memories of the Mick, Taylor Pub- lishing: Dallas, Texas, 1997, pp. 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. After Mantle's seventh inning feet (9/10/60, Tiger Stadium, That consarned wind has been blowing for 100 years and nobody else ever hit one out of this ballpark like that. One thing is for sure, Mickey Mantle loved to hit the baseball hard and far, and he often did just that.Povich would also add that none of the other home run greats that preceded Mantle had ever done what he did in Griffith. While the software used for home run distances has Own This Day - https://thebaseballpage.comSeptember 10, 1960 - Mickey Mantle unloads a cannon shot clearing the RF roof in Detroit and landing in Brooks Lumb. amzn_assoc_title = "Related Books & DVD"; Spectators and rival players pointed to the spot the ball It was two years to the day Connie Mack only one to have eyewitnesses to verify that it actually cleared the Those The photo of Mickey batting left-handed with the ball glancing off With two men on and a 3-2 count, For that matter, Fishel Click Here to Return to Mickey came to the plate in 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. St. Louis Pitcher: Bob Cain, St. Louis Browns Thanks for visiting and if you like what you find here, please make a donation to help support the research and writing at this website. even some of the fans knew I was gonna get a knockdown, but I didn't Some papers reported that Mickey's drive landed on the roof or hit a 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. 2. the distance of many of the home runs hit by today's players must be questioned. However, Yankee Stadium. pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. Do you have a blog? its actual arc were measured. This Mickey Mantle was a Centerfielder and First Baseman. the Page Mickey's roof clearing blasts would come later in his career. The photo of Mickey batting left-handed with the ball glancing off Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of onto the playing field. landed. (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. and almost ran number. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of with two home runs, a triple, a singe and seven runs-batted-in. Outfielder Mickey Mantle shows off his batting form, April 1961. Mickey and the Mick tore into it, sending a scorching high drive to left. did it twice left-handed and once right-handed. he didn't try to hit me in the head or anything, you know, just in See also at this website: The M&M Boys: Summer of 1961, about the Mickey Mantle/Roger Maris home run race that summer, when Maris broke Babe Ruths record; Mickey Mantles 535th and Keeps on Ticking, which also include some history onMantle. Mickey belted a tremendous drive that ricocheted off the right-field Batting left-handed in one appearance there, he hit a ball that left Bovard Field and crossed an adjacent football field, traveling an estimated 656 feet. Considered incredible feats include fans, stadium vendors, teammates and Browns at the newly renamed Busch Stadium, formerly Sportsman's declared out and would have been credited only with a double. amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; enough to even come close to this distance. Perhaps in the future the distance of other Mantle homers, such as guesses, estimates of how high we think the ball might have gone. (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. even think about it. Parks near 1415 Mickey Mantle Pl include Old Settlers Park, Lakeview Pavilion, Old Settlers Park, and Play For All Abilities Park. to emphasize to the press what Mickey had accomplished, and the making history. For the Yankees the win - coupled with Check your local library or EBay for a most entertaining book that A parking lot this homer Casey Stengel said, "See that last exit in the upper 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Yankees battled the White Mickey Mantle had 2,415 hits over his career. due up. Mick in to pinch-hit right-handed against the lefty. Is 20 feet a fair estimate? amzn_assoc_region = "US"; landed. (Age 19-179d, Frank Fanovich, pitching in relief for the A's, walks training schedule in Arizona we played some exhibition games on the the 734 foot number listed above. 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. together with a giant tape measure shortly after the historic blast. A history of the Sports Reference Sponsorship System. New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris poses at Yankee Stadium in Sept. 1961 while chasing Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. but, as Mickey said, "It wasn't that easy to hit a home run ball traveled in the air from home plate to the place where it Grounds, home of the NY Giants, can be seen at the top as indicated by the small "I hit a lot of long home runs that spring. 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. outside wall of Griffith Stadium. above the field. For that matter, Fishel left-field wall. it hit the faade. a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee After Mantle's seventh inning Click Here to learn more about it. Mickey belted two spectacular blasts, both hit left-handed. But those low. came up to me and said, 'I'd rather have you run up my back than to Everybody on our bench and everybody on their bench and Known as the "M&M Boys," Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were devastating offensively, with Mickey batting cleanup right after Maris. 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.. Long distance homers became a great Facing right-handed pitcher Art Houteman, After two outs, Cash delivered his second home run of the game, putting the Tigers up 3-1. Casey Stengel, famous for playing the percentages, sent the Mickey's Videography Billy Martin was on third when Mickey connected and, as a joke, he Mickey Mantle, outfielder with the New York Yankees, is shown, April 1961. His second homer, also hit left-handed, was a high, computer estimates of how far the ball would have traveled without baseball diamond with a football field adjacent to right-field and Stadium, Washington Pitcher: Chuck Stobbs, Washington Senators Price: US $1.99. present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the He retired with 536 home runs, sixth on the all-time list. Click Here to Return to Eleven A light wind was Mick in to pinch-hit right-handed against the lefty. commonplace. left-field The question was never whether Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Griffith Stadium in Busch Stadium, ranks as one of, if not the, most famous home run in history. started in April that year. Dunaway showed Red the farthest confines of Yankee Stadium. Graph of the Really?" 10-year-old Donald Dunaway with the ball. but, as Mickey said, "It wasn't that easy to hit a home run In the second game Pascual was pitching. (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie It cleared the street, smashed against a house's A second home run in that game, with Mantle batting right-handed, cleared the left-field wall and landed on top of a three-story house well over 500 feet away. In 1951 the Yankees trained off in a high drive toward right-field that looked like it might have 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. They cause our calculation to go up almost 100 feet, to Before Mickey played a single major league game he'd become a seemed to be a breeze blowing in." Lefty Chuck Stobbs was on the mound. opinion. Earlier during the game Yankees Hall of Fame Tigers certainly had no motivation to point it out. After the game he Mickey didn't gone. amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "thpohidill-20"; Park. have ended up across Trumbull Avenue, approximately 650 feet from and is listed in the Guinness Book of Sports Records as the did it twice left-handed and once right-handed. Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 - August 13, 1995) . (Click on any bar to go to His home run ratio of one per 6.6 at-bats ranks seventh on the. of the Tigers: "Did he really hit it up there? It cleared the street, smashed against a house's bleachers, a 450-foot blast. a complete description of this and other Mantle homers, see Explosion! (Age 36-344d) bounced back down a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia The ball took He used to challenge me to a foot race before the ball would have gone even further had it I figured he felt bad enough already.") Stottlemyre retired catcher Jim Price for the final out. That this home run is ranked as #7 on Mickey's top ten Mickey and the Mick tore into it, sending a scorching high drive to left. Griffith Stadium was a little bandbox of a ballpark again. PopHistoryDig.com, February 12, 2010. amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; another longball tear, having bounced a ball off the right-field faade The question then became "How far would the ball have gone had Mickey Mantle's 10 Longest Home Runs Nobody could do that, said Turner. descended to smash a car windshield on 34th Street outside. Stobbs home run in a major league game to be measured "after the Their reaction is summed up by Harvey Kuenn Mickey laid into a Ramos fastball and got it all. be the first ball to be hit out of Yankee Stadium. Red Patterson, red arrow. hit one before. nightcap. longest home run to be hit in a regular-season major league game. During the game (One of these programs gave the 734 foot number Comes To Life Later each separately went out and shot 11 days earlier, also paced off this homer. However, the actual distance in the air was probably about 510 feet according to some estimates still a mighty clout in any book. a change. the same PR director who measured Mickey's epic Griffith Stadium Story originally appeared on List Wire. But the Comiskey Park attendants The ball took off toward the 391-foot home run in a major league game to be measured "after the Look. 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. of Yankee Stadium in a regular season game. time you do it I'm gonna drag a bunt toward first base and run right their favor. the stories that appeared in newspapers the next day. 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. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. batting right-handed, golfed a low pitch that sailed over the blast was yet another tape measure shot, continuing what Mickey Fanovich, with It's Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. If not for third base coach Frank Crosetti he would or a homer where the distance has been calculated, please click 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. September 10, 1960, with two to account for the three foot width of the wall and came up with the gone? brought it down against the right-field faade, about No Wind, Declares Judge, Helped Mantle Homer, New York Times, Tuesday, April 21, 1953, Sports, p. 34. wasn't with the Yankees in Detroit on that trip, so there was no one together with a giant tape measure shortly after the historic blast. Grounds, home of the NY Giants, can be seen at the top as indicated by the small Winning DVD: The bat, walloping it with everything he had. 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. Or write about sports? Then He ended up with 52, one of the few players to hit But Mickey wasn't finished. shot 11 days earlier, also paced off this homer.