Longest or hardest hit ball seen in person

[denisincalif]

Baseball fans---What is the longest or hardest hit ball you ever saw in person?

For me, it was a ball hit by Frank Howard of the Dodgers against the Yankees in the 1963 World Series. He hit a line drive which left the playing field unbelievably fast. It was still rising when it crashed into the back wall of the third level of seats (called the "Club Box" level in those days). It was just barely a fair ball, so it was a home run. If he had hit it about 30 feet further right it would have missed the stands and gone out to the parking lot where it could have been measured. I can only guess at how far it would have gone, but I am betting at least 650 feet. I will never forget the sound when his bat made contact.

 

[Mr Tony]

Chili Davis in 1992 against Baltimore (when he played for the Twins)

Crushed a ball that would have ended 1/2 way up in the right field seats...only it hit a speaker in right field and ricochet back near the infield. Caught by Mark McLemore

 

[HD MM]

1999. Jim Thome as and Indian in the second game of a double header at Jacob's Field.

It was a 511-foot shot to center field and also just happened to be the longest home run ever recorded at a Cleveland ballpark!

 

[SabresRule]

1999. Jim Thome as and Indian in the second game of a double header at Jacob's Field.

It was a 511-foot shot to center field and also just happened to be the longest home run ever recorded at a Cleveland ballpark!

What about Albert Belle?

He hit some BIG ONES!!

 

[HD MM]

What about Albert Belle?

He hit some BIG ONES!!

He sure did, but Thome still holds the record for longest drive ever in Cleveland.

 

[salsadancer7]

Andres Galarraga hit the longest home run I have ever seen whether live or on TV.
In 1997 hit a ball to the 3rd deck in Pro Player Stadium(now called Dolphin Stadium) that has been measure to be somewhere between 529 to 574 feet. The SCARIEST part was, I had a great angle to see the ball and when it hit the REAL cheap seats, it was STILL going in a UPWARD trajectory!! It was down right scary!
I, to this day think that IF the seat rows in the upper deck were not SO STEEP, he would have COMPLETELY cleared the stadium and I would have been talking about the longest ball EVER hit in a any major league park....past or present.

 

[Skyhi]

Mark Mcgwire Hit a HR over the bleachers at Jacobs field....not sure how many feet, but its the only time thats been done.

 

[KCK_Halo]

Mike Piazza hit one out of Dodger Stadium one hot Summer Sunday evening. It literally hit a palm tree in the parking lot behind the Dodger bullpen! I will never forget the sound of that hit.

 

[mdonnelly]

Another Frank Howard story. I was in Washington D.C. in 1970, and the USO was giving out free tickets to the military for the Washington Senators at RFK. Howard was playing for the Senators at the time.

I went to about five or six games, and in one of those, Frank Howard hit a line drive to dead center field that I swear, was still going up when it hit the upper deck seats.

 

[SandraC]

Not in person, but I read that when Dizzy Dean was asked about the hardest ball hit off him, he said it went through his legs and hit the center field wall on the fly!


Sandra

 

[riffjim4069]

For me, there were three home runs that will always stand-out in my mind. One was hit by Frank Howard (Washington Senators) over the left field roof in Tiger Stadium against Mickey Lolich. My great uncle Ray had season tickets direct behind the third base dugout and he used to take me to the ballpark quite frequently. Although I was only five at the time, I knew I had just witnessed something special since the crowd gasped in unison, was in stunned silence for several seconds, and then murmured in disbelief of what they just saw. Pitchers learn to hide emotions - 7/11/05

Another was a tape measure shot was launched by Harmon Killebrew (Minnesota Twins) in Tiger Stadium that struck the facing of left field roof and, in my opinion, was still rising. This shot was a line-drive that went from home plate to the facing of the rood in the blink of an eye. It was probably hit in '69 or '70 (I was pretty young back then), but it had the same on the crowd as the one hit by Howard a year or two earlier.

The final unbelievable home run I saw belted at Tiger Stadium was one hit by Dick Allen (Chicago White Sox?) a year or two before my uncle's passing, perhaps in '74-'75. Allen belted one off of the facing of the left-center field roof that was similar to the one hit by Killebrew.

Overall, the two hit by Howard and Killebrew were super-human and more special. Both men seemed to bring a certain "fear factor" when they stepped to the late (and I was a diehard Tigers fan): fans would hold their breath during the windup and delivery and each mightly swat would be greeted with a huge sigh of relief from Tiger fans when the ball safely landed in catch Bill Freehan's glove.

As far as most memorable...every Norm Cash and Willie Horton blast was a special treat for me to witness. Heck, even the onces from Gates Brown, Al Kaline, Jim Northrup, and Mickey Stanley were special too.

 

[brainfry]

Vlad Guerrero hit a home run for the Expos in Cincinnati to dead center field that put a dent in a black canvas "wall" that was used as a backdrop for the batters.

 

[damjr]

1978......... Dave Kingman for the Cubbies at Wrigley. He hit one out of the park and I still think it's in flight.

 

[salsadancer7]

Vlad Guerrero hit a home run for the Expos in Cincinnati to dead center field that put a dent in a black canvas "wall" that was used as a backdrop for the batters.

Funny you mention that, VLAD also hit a bomb to almost THE EXACT location that Andres Galarraga hit....WITH LITTERALY ONE HAND!

 

[BillD1984]

1978......... Dave Kingman for the Cubbies at Wrigley. He hit one out of the park and I still think it's in flight.

Kingman for me also. When Kingman was a member of the A's, he hit a homer in Fenway that cleared the left-centerfield wall ,and it was still going up when it cleared the wall. Also, Jim Rice and Tony Armas each hit a few memorable blasts when I was in attendance at the Fens.

 

[Pinchhitter]

1989 - Jose Canseco, Oakland: One hops one off the back cement wall at the concession stand behind left field bleacher section at the Oakland Coliseum, where Mount Davis now exists.

2002 - Vladimir Guerrero, Montreal: Hits roof of bleacher section concession stands in dead center field at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

2003 - Andrés Galarraga, San Francisco: Hits one 4/5 the way up the left field bleachers at AT&T Park, closest I have ever seen one hit to the Coke bottle slide.

 

[DodgerKing]

Mike Piazza hit one out of Dodger Stadium one hot Summer Sunday evening. It literally hit a palm tree in the parking lot behind the Dodger bullpen! I will never forget the sound of that hit.

There was another one he hit on a Sunday Night game (ESPN game) that went over the roof of the bleachers in left field and into the parking lot.

One I seen him hit on TV in FL. Went to straight away center field half way up the seats behind the covered seats. Remember the wall in that part of the stadium is over 400ft away.

 

[salsadancer7]

There was another one he hit on a Sunday Night game (ESPN game) that went over the roof of the bleachers in left field and into the parking lot.

One I seen him hit on TV in FL. Went to straight away center field half way up the seats behind the covered seats. Remember the wall in that part of the stadium is over 400ft away.

OK...see the leftfield foul pole go to the right and there is the entrance tunnel. VLAD hit one in there with litterally one hand. And the one that Andres Galarraga hit was HALFWAY up the blue tarp ABOVE the entrance tunnel! Basically, where you see the very tip of the foul pole....THERE!

 

[raoul5788]

I saw Mo Vaughn hit one in Yankee Stadium to the upper deck in right field. The ball got there so fast it was amazing! You knew off the bat it was gone. The ball was just starting to fall when it reached the seats, about 3/4 of the way up the upper deck!

 

[Paul Wozniak]

Reggie Jackson - 1971 All Star game in Detroit. Hit the lamp tower over the right field roof, on a line drive. The ball was still rising when it the tower. I was fortunate 13 yr. old sitting 2 rows behind the first base dugout, and I've never seen a ball hit that hard in my life since.