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The Story Behind
Mickey's Incredible Blast:
Since
we first published our list of Mickey's ten longest home runs we received a great deal of correspondence from our readers
commenting on the number one home run on our list: Mickey's home run
off Bill Fischer at Yankee Stadium on May 22, 1963. Mickey called
this home run, "the hardest ball I ever hit!" and we've
found little evidence to contradict his assessment. Mickey was
certainly in the best position to judge.
It
came in the 11th inning
of the Yankees game against the Kansas City Athletics on
May 22, 1963 at Yankee Stadium. Leading off in the bottom of the 11th
inning,
with the score tied 7-7, Mickey had just swung at and missed a slow
curve ball from A's pitcher Bill Fischer to bring the count to
2-and-2. Fischer then tried to blow a
fastball past Mickey, and
Mickey
went after it with everything he had. With impeccable timing, Mickey
had one of those moments when everything comes together in complete
perfection. Swinging as hard as he possibly could, Mickey met
Fischer's heater with the sweet spot of his
bat, catching it just right. The sound was likened
to a cannon shot by those who witnessed it. Players on both benches jumped to their
feet, not only because Mickey's monster shot instantly ended the
game, but also because the ball rocketing into the night looked like
it would become the first ball to go completely out of the park. Yogi Berra shouted, "That's it!" The ball
streaked through the air in a laser-like line toward the
farthest confines of Yankee Stadium. The question was never whether
it was a home run or not. It was whether it would be the first ball to be hit out of Yankee
Stadium.
That it had the height and distance was obvious. But would it clear
the façade, the decoration on the front side of the roof above the
third deck in right-field? "I usually didn't care how far the
ball went so long as it was a home run. But this
time I thought, 'This ball could go out of Yankee
Stadium!'"
Just as the ball was about to leave the park it struck the façade, mere inches from the
top, with such ferocity that it bounced all the way back to the infield.
That it won the game became an afterthought. Mickey just missed
making history. It was the closest a ball has ever come to going out
of Yankee Stadium in a regular season game.**
The question then became "How far would the ball have gone had
the façade not prevented it from leaving the park?" Using geometry,
it is possible to calculate the distance with some
accuracy. The principle variable is how high the ball would have
gone. If we assume the ball was at its apex at the point where it
struck the façade, using the Pythagorean Theorem ("In a right
triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the
squares of the other two sides") we can determine the distance
from home plate to the façade. Using calculus we can then determine
that the distance the ball would have been
636 feet. There are a number of unknown variables: the wind velocity
and direction from which it was blowing, the ball's spin, the speed
of the pitch, etc. These unknowns prevent us from ever determining
the exact distance to a certainty. (For a more complete explanation of the calculations and
complete description of this and other Mantle homers, see Explosion!
by Mark Gallagher. This book is the definitive book on Mantle's homers. Unfortunately, it is out of print. It may be
available at your local library.)
How the Distance Was
Calculated:
So how do we get 734 feet? In the example above, we assumed that the
ball was at its apex when it struck the façade. However, observers
were unanimous in their opinion that the ball was still rising when
it hit the façade. How do we determine how high the ball would have
gone? In fact, we cannot. From this point forward all numbers become estimates,
depending upon how high we think the ball might have gone. A
conservative estimate would be an additional 20 feet. Those 20 feet make a major
difference. They cause our estimation of total distance to go up almost 100 feet, to
the 734 foot number listed above. Is 20 feet higher a fair estimate? Those
present when the ball was hit feel that it would have gone at least
that much higher, and many feel that the 20 foot number is far too
low.
To
get a precise value we must turn to calculus. There we have a
formula to determine distance (or range) more precisely. That
formula is range = v2 sin (2y)÷g
, where v = velocity (estimated at 230 feet per second), and g = the
gravitational constant (32.45 feet per second). Using the 117 foot
value (the estimated height of the ball where it hit the façade) in
the formula, we get a minimum distance of 740.095 feet, and a
maximum of 976.528 feet!
This is a good example of what can happen with estimates, especially
computer estimates that determine the length of home runs now.
Most of the home run distance numbers used today are the result of
computer estimates of how far the ball would have traveled without
obstruction. (One of these programs gave the 734 foot number listed.)
Whether or not this is a fair number is a matter of opinion.
However, if the distance of this home run is disputed, then the
distance of many of the home runs hit by today's players must be
questioned. While the software used for home run distances has
greatly improved, there remain questions as to its accuracy.
It is important to note that many of Mickey's home runs were
measured to the point they actually landed, leaving no question
about the accuracy of the distance reported.
*
The façade was the decorative facing along the roof of the old Yankee
Stadium. Mickey hit the façade in regular-season games at least three
times during his career: May 5, 1956 off Moe Burtschy, May 20, 1956 off
Pedro Ramos, and May 22, 1963 off Bill Fischer.
**
Legend has it that Mickey hit balls completely out of Yankee Stadium up
to three times during batting practices. Supposedly Mickey
did it twice left-handed and once right-handed. Witnesses of these
incredible feats include fans, stadium vendors, teammates and
opposing players.
Copyright
1988-2010 Lewis Early - All Rights Reserved |
