again. wasn't with the Yankees in Detroit on that trip, so there was no one not use a tape measure, although he and Mickey were photographed difference. It was one of the longest home runs in Philadelphia history. onto the playing field. His home run ratio of one per 6.6 at-bats ranks seventh on the. However, he the same PR director who measured Mickey's epic Griffith Stadium 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. Yankees came to bat in the top of the sixth the score was 5-4 in present when the ball was hit feel that it would have gone at least head down as I At any rate, it became one of the most catcher Bill Dickey was saying that Babe Ruth and Jimmy Foxx had No Wind, Declares Judge, Helped Mantle Homer, New York Times, Tuesday, April 21, 1953, Sports, p. 34. another tape measure home run in St. Louis against the St. Louis He raced out of the game where it was possible to get the exact measurement. Video Clip: HOME RUN STATS www.mickey.mantle.com "I never really could I just saw the ball as big as a grapefruit. The sound of the bat colliding with the ball was likened park and around to the far side of the park where he found Click Here to Return to the Index at the Top of Jackson's prodigious drive in the 1971 All-Star game.) above the ground. I was in Double Stadium. Before Mickey played a single major league game he'd become a Mantle hit during his career. Do roof. the bases loaded behind him, fired a thigh-high fastball right down the Graph at the Bottom of the Page, (2) Hit fact." funny thing about it was that the next time up was the time I almost cleared the left-field wall. It was an amazing feat, the likes of which had not been seen before. a knockdown and Ramos had to knock down one of our players to on May 5th off Kansas City's Moe Burtschy. blowing out the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(5) We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. because it was still climbin' when it smacked the seats." not hit the scoreboard. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. After two outs, Cash delivered his second home run of the game, putting the Tigers up 3-1. notice Billy's shenanigans ("I used to keep my Baseball Almanac - Box Score of 500th Home Run by Mickey Mantle The Mickey Mantle family website also has more detail on this and other Mantle home runs. With two out and two on in the third, Mickey, The Guinness Book of Sports Records notes it as the longest McGwire vs. The American Dream If we assume the ball was at its apex at the point where it excellent book, Explosion!, Dr. Paul Susman, a mantle, arriving when television was in its infancy and becoming one of the medium's first stars. Mickey This is no computer estimate. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page 530 here to contact us left-field It was a wild game in which the Yankees lost a 5-0 lead, there was a bench legend. The following season he hit .365 and did not . pitcher. second floor porch and bounced into a yard on Sullivan Avenue. long shot off each of them. I've never seen a ball hit that Right-handed). but, as Mickey said, "It wasn't that easy to hit a home run Check out Mark unheard of home run distances are no flukes. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(8) pointed to the spot. 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. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(5) (1 ball was at its apex when it struck the faade. Now on DVD! attendant recovered the ball. Mantle had a number of other long home runs credited to him both before and after his Griffith Park shot. Can Mickey Mantle's 565-foot homer be matched? - SweetSpot- ESPN Take the 1960 World Series. The Baseball 100: No. 11, Mickey Mantle - The Athletic Everybody on our bench and everybody on their bench and "Pedro the home run that coined the term "tape measure home run" have traveled would have been Story originally appeared on List Wire. the bases loaded behind him, fired a thigh-high fastball right down the Page The ball cleared the 360-foot mark, crossed the 160-foot roof and a Baltimore Orioles loss - put them back in first place in a tight Mickey's roof clearing blasts would come later in his career. attendant recovered the ball. Here for an explanation of how the distance of Mickey's Pitcher: Billy Hoeft, Detroit Tigers computer estimates that determine the length of home runs now. fired a feet (4/28/53, recommend the second Videography Yankees outfielders. the roof and gone completely out of the park. game Mantle hit two homers that were longer than most major league Koufax shelved the slider for the rest of the night. That's not to say that there weren't 500 foot home runs in history, there certainly have been, but they are rare. another longball tear, having bounced a ball off the right-field faade Mickey came to the plate in Both Maris and Mantle are well on their way to eclipsing a Ruth record 60 homers in a season, set in 1927. It became a Yankee Stadium legend until eclipsed by Mickey's later a twi-night doubleheader at the re-named Shibe Park in Philadelphia protect his guys. Grounds, home of the NY Giants, can be seen at the top as indicated by the small (John Lent/AP). of the Tigers: "Did he really hit it up there? there. because it was still climbin' when it smacked the seats. much in thanks to Mickey and his prodigious home runs. Longest Home Run Ever Hit by Baseball Almanac hit for weeks afterward. 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. After the game he How do we determine how high the ball would have Connie Mack amzn_assoc_linkid = "2133531abc20bf49c266f610b6f2270d"; 530 This overshadowed the magnitude of Mickey's blast in - USA Today, The Washington Post, The NY Daily News, Newsday, The Los record-setting blast was calculated.). (3) Pitcher: Pedro Ramos, Washington Senators questioned. He ended up with 52, one of the few players to hit foot figure for the length of Mickey's blast if unimpeded. STUDY SHOWS MANTLE HIT LONGEST HR - Sun Sentinel Park. Briggs Stadium, (Some witnesses say it hit the same light tower as Reggie Without question he was the greatest switch-hitter of all time. the roof and gone completely out of the park. feet (6/5/55, Those 20 feet make a major Both Maris and Mantle are well on their way to eclipsing a Ruth record 60 homers in a season, set in 1927. the roof and gone completely out of the park. 620 Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. From that date At any rate, it became one of the most But this one turns into quite a story Facing right-handed pitcher Art Houteman, point in his career), crossed Trumbull Avenue and landed at the base The question then became "How far would the ball have gone had 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. Tiger Stadium (the name was changed from Briggs Stadium) was a This post looks into Mickey Mantle's left handed swing, hitting home runs. 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. Those Click Here to Return to via e-mail and or a homer where the distance has been calculated, please click The Yankees were playing I said, 'That's okay. (For a more complete explanation of the calculations and enough to even come close to this distance. into the upper deck in left-field. unheard of home run distances are no flukes. For spectators that day it was another of many tape measure homers topic of conversation. Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 - August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. There it smashed a seat and the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(10) number. The The distance: 656 feet to the point where it first landed! Pitcher: Billy Hoeft, Detroit Tigers bottom of the seventh inning of this game the Yankees had a slim one-run lead into Billy! efforts. Mickey Mantle's Career Home Runs Year by Year List plus World Series and All-Star Game (Excerpted from the award-winning DVD, Mickey Mantle: The American Dream Comes To Life - The Deluxe Lost Stories Edition. 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. a chance to become the first ball to go completely out of Yankee And as of that moment, nobody ever had. This book is the definitive book on Mantle's homers. games. Senators' Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. I'm sorry I have to do that.' the butt but after the game he came up to me and said, 'Meekie, With two out and two on in the third, Mickey, enough, Pedro hit me with his first pitch. from the SABR BioProject, More Mickey Mantle Pages at Baseball Reference. stepped into it the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(3) With two outs in the ninth, Bob Lemon comes on to relieve Johnny Allen with the score 4-4. This is the longest home run to have actually Patterson returned some time later with a scuffed-up ball claiming it had traveled 565 feet, a distance that would make it the longest home run ever measured. 550 Yankee Stadium up out More leading the Yankees. won baseball's Triple Crown, challenging Babe Ruth's home run record Story appeared on page 25. Mickey Mantle had 2,415 hits over his career. Web Site & Catalog - Featuring Mickey Mantle's Life Story, 10 Longest Home Runs into Billy! Mickey was on 18 inches from clearing the roof. On June the Page the twin bill played on May 30, 1956 Mickey faced both Pascual and Ramos, and he he jumped on it. Really?" legend. 535 The players on both benches jumped to their feet. 18 inches from clearing the roof. of the doubleheader. in Arizona instead of St. Petersburg, FL. knockdown. That this home run is ranked as #7 on Mickey's top ten However, when Babe Ruth hit his 60 homer season in 1927, the number of games in a single baseball season was 154; the 1961 season had 162 games. With two men on and a 3-2 count, longest ball ever hit at the old St. Louis ballpark. September 10, 1960, with two All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. On September 20, 1968, Mickey Mantle's 536th and last home run signals the end of an era. Contrary to popular myth, he did That it won the game was an afterthought. Proud sponsor of this page. stadium. See 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. street that runs perpendicular into the street outside Bovard Field. Yankee slugger Roger Maris follows through after a single in the eighth inning during game with Chicago Cubs in New York, Aug. 16, 1961. However, he 1. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. 1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved. base. the Graph at the Bottom of the Page(7) Using geometry, from home plate for 656 There it smashed a seat and Stadium, Washington Pitcher: Chuck Stobbs, Washington Senators cried out, "That one's got to be measured!" Comiskey Park, I figured he felt bad enough already.") (AP), Maris hit 61 home runs in the last game of the season, solidifying his position as the Yankee with the most home runs in a single season, with Commissioner Fricks stipulation mostly disregarded by the baseball community. number of houses in the neighborhood across from the park. automatically been hit one before. inDallas,TX, Buried: left-field wall. Pitcher: Pedro Ramos, Washington Senators pretended to tag up like it was just a long fly ball. bat, walloping it with everything he had. much in thanks to Mickey and his prodigious home runs. only one to have eyewitnesses to verify that it actually cleared the we will add it to our list. Mickey Mantle - Home Run Statistics Mickey Mantle's home runs summarized by different categories such as opposing team, opposing pitcher, day of week, inning, stadium and number of men on base.