Should this have been ruled the longest home run ever at Coors Field?
May 31, 2022, 11:29 AM | Updated: 11:33 am
Miami Marlins outfielder Jesús Sánchez hit a home run so far on Monday afternoon at Coors Field that the folks on the party deck had to duck.
You almost never see a baseball land where this one did from Sánchez, at least not in a regular game outside of batting practice or a home run derby.
Check it out:
JESUS SANCHEZ HIT THAT BALL A 𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗘 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 🤯
496 ft. blast for Sánchez!!!!!!@Marlins | #MakeItMiami pic.twitter.com/7GhxQZg8lI
— Bally Sports Florida: Marlins (@BallyMarlins) May 30, 2022
Wow! The blast was officially ruled at 496 feet, tied for the second longest home run in Coors Field history. Mike Piazza also hit one 496 feet back in 1997, a bomb to the concourse in center field.
But the record belongs to another (former) Marlin slugger, Giancarlo Stanton. He hit a ball 504 feet back in 2016. You can watch it for yourself, and then we can discuss why these measurements are flawed.
Today in 2016: A 21-year-old Giancarlo Stanton blasted a then-Coors Field record 504-foot home run 🤯
"When he hits 'em here, they just go and go and go." 🤣
(📹 @MLB) pic.twitter.com/avqUOAkfSc
— Blue Wire (@bluewirepods) August 6, 2020
A mammoth home run, no doubt, but there’s absolutely no way that ball went eight feet farther than Piazza’s shot nearly 20 years prior. The video is plain as day and they were hit to the same area of the ballpark. And that brings us back to Sánchez’s homer on Monday.
It’s nearly impossible to say if it went further than either one considering it was hit out to right field, but the sheer height of it provides a strong argument. Anyone who has stood on the party deck knows it’s significantly higher than the concourse in left and center field.
Does it really matter? Yes and no. Ultimately the ball going over the fence still counts the same, but hitting a baseball 500 feet puts a player in rare company. Trevor Story once hit one an estimated 505 feet at Coors Field, but it was later recalculated to 487 feet.
Could an adjustment for Sánchez be coming as well? Probably not, and if anything, Piazza should get one first. Regardless, Sánchez hit an absolute mammoth blast on Monday. The Rockies still got the last laugh, though, winning the ballgame 7-1.
***
