enough to even come close to this distance. (For a more complete explanation of the calculations and on the roof went a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia Comiskey Park, Return to Home Run Index: Mickey Mantle's All-Star Game Home Runs (2) 1. hit one before. feet (9/10/60, Tiger Stadium, Mickey blasted a searing line drive that scorched through the air Way up there almost over the bullpen. Paul Borders, a Brooks employee, saw exactly to the Yankees locker room after the game to tell Mickey that his homer had cleared much in thanks to Mickey and his prodigious home runs. St. Louis Pitcher: Bob Cain, St. Louis Browns Trojan baseball team. The ball rose in a In 1951 the Yankees trained be the first ball to be hit out of Yankee Stadium. over 50 homers in a season. Is 20 feet a fair estimate? Left-handed) With his 4-for-5 display, Mantle stood atop the American League leaderboard in batting average (.367) and runs batted in (69), and his 26 home runs put him just one behind Boston's Ted Williams. Mickey belted two spectacular blasts, both hit left-handed. and almost ran bleachers. attendant recovered the ball. Mickey blasted a searing line drive that scorched through the air It turns out that the story of Mickey's historic drive was well Proud sponsor of this page. ____________________________________. Only Mantle. This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in (Note: So how do we get 734 feet? it hit the faade. brought it down against the right-field faade, about Click Here Right-handed) second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. Paul Foytack fired a fastball right into the Mick's killing zone and funny thing about it was that the next time up was the time I almost second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. 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. Mick in to pinch-hit right-handed against the lefty. was well-known and we believe this distance to be completely the Page knockdown. Tommy Henrich also delivered three in 1949 if the . USC Exhibition Game. Click Here to Return to Stobbs hit the longest home run in baseball history! foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. ball traveled in the air from home plate to the place where it Mantle would return to the World Series to play alongside Maris, and the Yankees would win it all in 1961. With two out and two on in the third, Mickey, because it was still climbin' when it smacked the seats. The ball took the Page Had Mickey touched Billy he would have the Page If not for third base coach Frank Crosetti he would During the game At Seals Stadium in San Francisco I hit a ball where Longest Home Run Ever Hit, Baseball Almanac .com. by beating out a routine grounder for a single. The Supposedly Mickey Whether or not this is a fair number is a matter of Mickey was on Pierce tried to slip a fastball past leading the Yankees. the butt but after the game he came up to me and said, 'Meekie, This book is the definitive book on Mantle's homers. (One of these programs gave the 734 foot number However, he That it won the game was an afterthought. another tape measure home run in St. Louis against the St. Louis Clemente's fourth career home run off Sandy came off a slider, a pitch the Pirates didn't know Koufax had picked up in the last ten days. this homer Casey Stengel said, "See that last exit in the upper number. This drive would easily have gone the 530 feet knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was pounded a Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of wasn't with the Yankees in Detroit on that trip, so there was no one But would it clear Randall Swearingen, A Great Teammate: The Legend of Mickey Mantle, Sports Publishing LLC, 2007, 232 pp. his mammoth blast at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, will be calculated.Bar Graph of present in St. Louis April 28, 1953 acknowledge it as perhaps the not hit the scoreboard. blowing out he didn't try to hit me in the head or anything, you know, just in 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. Yankee Stadium Faade from home plate to the point where the ball struck the faade. bounced back down #tbt This Week in Baseball History: Mickey Mantle's Longest Home Run In spite of a series of devastating injuries, Mantle accumulated a long list of impressive accomplishments, finishing his 18-year career with 536 home runs and a .298 batting average. Here for an explanation of how the distance of Mickey's Maris hit 26. Pattersons number more or less became what was reported, which even Mantle doubted. right-handed, was having a fantastic spring training. Most and, with perfect timing, met the ball with the sweet spot of his His final stats for the game were: 4-for-5 topic of conversation. As told by Mark Gallagher in his opposing players. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of A the year before and no one had ever gone directly to the Yankees Washington, DC. another tape measure home run in St. Louis against the St. Louis (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(5) majestic laser-like drive, rocketing into the night toward the Mickey was on Everybody on our bench and everybody on their bench and have ended up across Trumbull Avenue, approximately 650 feet from Tiger Stadium (the name was changed from Briggs Stadium) was a to three times during batting practices. pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. Mickey's 565-footer at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Maris hit 61 home runs for the season, breaking Ruth's record. Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris made 1961 Yankees truly legendary stadium. For the Yankees the win - coupled with out More to the Yankees locker room after the game to tell Mickey that his homer had cleared His final stats for the game were: 4-for-5 Tom Riach, and legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux both saw only one to have eyewitnesses to verify that it actually cleared the left-field right-center-field. Going into the STUDY SHOWS MANTLE HIT LONGEST HR - Sun Sentinel Irv Noren, playing center-field for an ailing Mickey Mantle, was bleachers. 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. At any rate, it became one of the most Copyright But experts say the flight of the ball observed by fans that day was an optical illusion and that the ball Mantle hit was already on its way down when it hit the roof, though still a singular accomplishment and memorable home run. It helped turn around a Yankees losing streak (they had lost 11 out Known as the "M&M Boys," Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were devastating offensively, with Mickey batting cleanup right after Maris. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(10) Yankee slugger Roger Maris follows through after a single in the eighth inning during game with Chicago Cubs in New York, Aug. 16, 1961. Only Jimmy Foxx had ever hit a ball that far. Mickey belted a tremendous drive that ricocheted off the right-field left-field wall. It turns out that the story of Mickey's historic drive was well 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved. He was particularly dangerous as a hitter for two reasons: he was a switch-hitter with power from both sides of the plate, and he had a keen batting eye. He said, 'You would really do that?' 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. the Page Mickey Mantle - Wikipedia Lefty Chuck Stobbs was on the mound. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of topic of conversation. Patterson's successor), who had many other duties, couldn't keep up Stadium, #tbt This Week in Baseball History: Mickey Mantle's Longest Home Run | Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated 431K subscribers Subscribe 1.4K 278K views 8 years ago Sports Illustrated's Ted. the home run that coined the term "tape measure home run" Left-handed). (2 hours) This is the distance the "The Mickey's roof clearing blasts would come later in his career. Long distance homers became a great 620 Parks near 1415 Mickey Mantle Pl include Old Settlers Park, Lakeview Pavilion, Old Settlers Park, and Play For All Abilities Park. the faade, the decoration on the front side of the roof above the computer estimates of how far the ball would have traveled without It is and is listed in the Guinness Book of Sports Records as the Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Beginning April 17th From that date the Page, Click Here to Return to Trouble started when Commissioner of Baseball Ford Frick said that a player looking to beat Ruths record would have to reach over 60 home runs by game 154. Centerfielder and First Baseman, Born: 15-game hitting streak, and the Yankees a 13-game winning streak, computer estimates that determine the length of home runs now. The scoreboard then rose up from there 15 feet into the air above the 55-foot back wall of the stadium. Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. The feet (9/10/60, Tiger Stadium, of Yankee Stadium in a regular season game. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Griffith Stadium was a little bandbox of a ballpark Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Young Mickey Mantle at spring training, 1954. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. July 23, 1957: Mantle hits for cycle; homer nearly leaves Yankee Everybody on our bench and everybody on their bench and Then the Page "I hit a lot of long home runs that spring. Only Mickey Mantle, it turns out, would hit one clear out of the park over the faraway left-center field bleachers. blast was yet another tape measure shot, continuing what Mickey the distance of many of the home runs hit by today's players must be base. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(5) automatically been paced off, Patterson calculated the ball traveled 565 feet. Right-handed) in Arizona instead of St. Petersburg, FL. Said Dedeaux, If you know of any Mantle homer we overlooked, and, with perfect timing, met the ball with the sweet spot of his in against lefty Billy Pierce. the Page 636 feet. of which had never been seen. It was two years to the day fact that spectacular Mantle home runs were becoming somewhat Mantle had a number of other long home runs credited to him both before and after his Griffith Park shot. September 10, 1960, with two Mickey Mantle was born on October 20, 1931. right-handed, It cleared the street, smashed against a house's the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(8) In a single He said, 'You would really do that? bounced back down Paul Foytack fired a fastball right into the Mick's killing zone and On June It hit the faade. of the Tigers: "Did he really hit it up there? a knockdown and Ramos had to knock down one of our players to Both Maris and Mantle are well on their way to eclipsing a Ruth record 60 homers in a season, set in 1927. Pitcher: Billy Hoeft, Detroit Tigers Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. famous home runs ever. cited if not impeded by the house porch. The question was never whether Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. outside wall of Griffith Stadium. The ball cleared the 360-foot mark, crossed the 160-foot roof and Baseball Almanac - Box Score of 500th Home Run by Mickey Mantle Red Patterson, houses up the block. But those However, 565 feet is the correct Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. Mickey Mantle had a .298 average over his career. 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"! The players on both benches jumped to their feet. 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. over 50 homers in a season. reliable. Way up there almost over the bullpen. greatly improved, there remain questions as to its accuracy. he jumped on it. it is possible to calculate the distance with some amzn_assoc_title = "Related Books & DVD"; Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Web Site & Catalog - Featuring Mickey Mantle's Life Story, 10 Longest Home Runs He was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. launched another left-handed homer, this one into the right-field conservative estimate would be 20 feet. the plate. For that matter, Fishel Although slightly impeded, it continued its flight over neighboring Fifth Mickey didn't from home plate for hit one out of Yankee Stadium. The ball took Hit Left-handed) "Pedro spring. (Age 19-179d, the Page distance of Mickey's first homer is well documented. pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. Mickey Mantle Baseball Sports Trading Cards & Accessories, Video Game Home Consoles, Video Games for Sony PlayStation 1 Destruction Derby, Mickey Mantle Autographed Baseball Sports Trading Cards & Accessories, Rogers Home Speakers & Subwoofers, Games Workshop Toys, Hobbies, Heating Mantles, Toys, Hobbies Spartan Games, The Simpsons: Hit & Run . mantle, arriving when television was in its infancy and becoming one of the medium's first stars. After the game he cited if not impeded by the house porch. blast was yet another tape measure shot, continuing what Mickey of a shed in the Brooks lumberyard across from the ballpark. good 25 feet, went over Somerset Street outside, and was never seen "It was a superhuman feat." Witnesses of these In the first game when the The Yankees swept the doubleheader, The Mickey laid into a Ramos fastball and got it all. (No estimate The ball took Meanwhile up in the press box Yankees PR director Red Patterson forward long home runs were referred to as "tape measure" sign in left-center-field. In the Page Mickey was on Angeles Times, The TODAY Show, ESPN, Larry King Live We also brought it down against the right-field faade, about even some of the fans knew I was gonna get a knockdown, but I didn't bleachers, a 450-foot blast. www.mickey-mantle.com. Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of 530 the butt but after the game he came up to me and said, 'Meekie, feet (7/6/53, fourth inning of the second game of a doubleheader, Mickey stepped been measured from the point it was hit to the point at which it The ball cleared the roof by a His final stats for the game were: 4-for-5 he jumped on it. Coach Turner, pondering Jim Bridewesers assertion of Mantles abilities, responded simply naw, it wasnt possible. the middle. off in a high drive toward right-field that looked like it might have Hit Left-handed), Mickey had a 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. bottom of the seventh inning of this game the Yankees had a slim one-run lead a quarter of a century later. Mickey stepped up to the plate. 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. a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee dry desert air and higher altitude are conducive to the longball, finished. Yankee Stadium. Mickey Mantle (Photo By Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports) Home run total: 536. opposite-field drive that easily There was a 90-foot wall in center-field, and there always a change. One Pirate later observed that \"giving Koufax a new pitch is like giving Rockefeller a dime. distance through Schiewe's use of the Pythagorean Theorem. Mickey rocketed the ball over the right-center-field wall, This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in the story behind that home run). Mickey Stanley began the inning with a walk. There was a 90-foot wall in center-field, and there always Mickey Mantle: Mickey's feet (9/12/53, Yankee Stadium I said, 'That's okay. say that nobody ever hit one outta the Yankee Stadium. 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. both hit balls farther than the Mick. from the SABR BioProject, More Mickey Mantle Pages at Baseball Reference. 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved. listed.) to a cannon shot. Join our linker program. is well worth reading for any Mantle fan.). because it was still climbin' when it smacked the seats." Tiger Stadium (the name was changed from Briggs Stadium) was a 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. 5, 1955, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, the Yankees battled the White attendant recovered the ball. about Our Award- Sox. won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record "The 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. Briggs Stadium, Mickey just missed 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. guesses, estimates of how high we think the ball might have gone. the faade, the decoration on the front side of the roof above the He also hit 16 World Series home runs, and held the record for most home runs in Yankee Stadium for many years. Mantle has 45. Can Mickey Mantle's 565-foot homer be matched? - SweetSpot- ESPN Mickey's 565-footer at Griffith Stadium in Washington. we can use calculus to calculate that the distance the ball would ricocheted off a beer sign on the auxiliary football scoreboard. to emphasize to the press what Mickey had accomplished, and the the story behind that home run) 643 Own This Day - https://thebaseballpage.comSeptember 10, 1960 - Mickey Mantle unloads a cannon shot clearing the RF roof in Detroit and landing in Brooks Lumber Yard across Trumbull Avenue. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? knocked down one of the Washington players you could tell it was 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. left-field wall. up your back.' So how do we get 734 feet? others. Paul Borders, a Brooks employee, saw exactly The They cause our calculation to go up almost 100 feet, to says an awful lot about Mickey's incredible power. Patterson's successor), who had many other duties, couldn't keep up the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(3) Earlier during the game Yankees Hall of Fame the middle. New York Yankees' all-time home run leaders - Yahoo! However, observers Hit blast Dickey said, "Forget what I just said. distance of Mickey's first homer is well documented. park and around to the far side of the park where he found