It now stands as the fourth-longest tater tracked by Statcast behind Soto’s 520-footer, Story’s 518-footer and Alonso’s 514-footer all clubbed on Monday night. • Alonso set the tone early with a staggering 35 homers in his matchup against Salvador Perez, blowing past the previous first-round record of 29 set by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2019. This was the second derby since the format change in 2015 to feature tie-breaking rounds, as Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani went to a swing-off in the first round. Winner Pete Alonso of the New York Mets tied his own record for most home runs hit in the final round with 23.
Although two hours are scheduled in programming listings for the telecast, it has rarely ever been contained to the timeslot and consistently runs three to four hours. Chris Berman has gained notoriety for his annual hosting duties on ESPN, including his catchphrase, "Back back back...Gone!". Berman starts this phrase when the ball is hit, and does not say "Gone!" until the ball lands.
History
In the 1971 Midsummer Classic, slugger Reggie Jackson sent Dock Ellis’ pitch practically out of Tiger Stadium, with the ball bouncing off the roof as everyone in attendance just sat back in shock. The ESPN Home Run Tracker listed it at 539 feet, one of the longest homers hit in the recorded era. • In this Derby, 475 feet was the magic number, with any homer that long in regulation unlocking the full-minute bonus time. In a typical setting, that might have seemed daunting, but not at Coors. All eight competitors hit multiple 475-footers, led by Alonso with 20 and Ohtani with 14 .
First, we’ll rank the five longest since Statcast began tracking, as well as the five longest during that span that didn't have the benefit of taking place at Coors Field. Finally, we’ll round up some memorably gargantuan dingers from Derbies in the pre-Statcast era. It comes as no surprise that of the 10 farthest home runs hit, five happened at Coors Field.
Gold balls
Two other famous dingers that are worth digging into are a pair of legendary blasts, one by Mickey Mantle , and another by Minor Leaguer Joey Meyer . Going off older projected distance measurements, his farthest home run came 10 years earlier when he sent a Ryan Dempster pitch out of Wrigley Stadium all together. The future Hall of Famer ranks fifth out of this year’s contestants when it comes to biggest tape-measure homer in an MLB game. Pujols crushed his record home run 459 feet off Taylor Rogers in a July 4 Angels-Twins game back in 2017. Few people on the planet can describe the feeling of hitting a ball so far that even the camera operators have trouble tracking its flight. On June 21, 2019, Nomar Mazara joined that exclusive club -- and raised the bar for peak homer distance.
Acuña had already proven his power had matured to another level when he went 473 feet off Yankees ace Gerrit Cole earlier in the 2020 season. But this was an even more epic shot off Boston's Chris Mazza, reaching the concourse behind the seats in left-center field at Truist Park to give the Braves a 1-0 lead after just one at-bat. The Texas Rangers All-Star set his career mark against the Diamondbacks on Sept. 26, 2021, one of his final regular season games as a Dodger. He pulled a 464-foot bomb against Humberto Mejia for his second home run of the game in a 3-0 win for Los Angeles.
What time is the Home Run Derby?
With legal sports betting growing by the day, more and more prop betting markets become available for bettors. The Home Run Derby is no exception, with dozens of potential wagers being available on the derby. MLB bettors have already had plenty of money wagered on the Derby, as there have been odds movement on many markets, including this popular prop surrounding HR distance. Ramírez’s longest MLB home run came in a pretty inconsequential spot. The Cleveland third baseman entered as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 8, 2015.
But simple measurements, ballpark dimensions and first-hand accounts help us get a look at the longest MLB home runs since the game began. • Soto, as mentioned earlier, emerged with the longest distance of the night, at a Statcast Era record 520 feet. That’s 54 feet longer than Soto’s in-game record of 466 feet, which he set last August against the Mets at Citi Field. • “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” the saying goes, and Alonso’s pull-side swing clearly wasn’t broken.
American League
Griffey was the epitome of cool in 1993, never more than when he blasted a ball over the right field wall at Camden Yards, across Eutaw Street and off the B&O Warehouse. A plaque still marks the spot, noting an estimated distance of 465 feet. Facing the Chicago White Sox on April 24, Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton made history.
Weather concerns in 2015 led to a reduction in time from five minutes per round to four minutes. The clock was not stopped in the final minute, and one minute of bonus time was granted only for hitting two home runs of at least 425 feet (129.5 m). It’s been a turbulent career for Minnesota Twins slugger Miguel Sanó. An All-Star selection in 2017, Minnesota’s 6-foot-4 masher is more than capable of hitting one of the longest home runs ever. In August against the Boston Red Sox, Sanó uncorked a 495-foot cannon deep into the night at Fenway Park. We can only imagine how far the ball would have traveled if this moment happened at Coors Field.
Alonso, Griffey ( ) and Céspedes ( ) are the only sluggers to go back-to-back. In the case of a tie for 1st place in an age group, the tied participants will be brought back later for a final round. As long as the ball stays on field 8 and goes over the outfield fence, even if foul, it will count as a home run.
Ohtani’s 28 homers averaged 110.9 mph exit velocity, easily the hardest for any 2021 Derby slugger in any round (Alonso was second, averaging 108.8 in the final). • With 16 more homers in the semifinals and 23 in the finals, Alonso finished the night with a massive total of 74 long balls. That set a new record total for any Derby winner, surpassing the 61 hit by Giancarlo Stanton in 2016. As impressive as 74 homers is, it still falls well shy of the single-Derby record of 91 (!) bopped by Guerrero in a losing effort to Alonso in ‘19. Stanton belted the first 500-foot homer in Statcast™ history by extending way up the Coors Field bleachers in the left-center power gap.
It’s the most hitter-friendly MLB park thanks to the thin air helping make baseballs fly out of the stadium. Interestingly, Braves’ outfielders account for four of the longest MLB home runs in 2021. Adam Dunn hit 462 home runs in his career, earning a reputation as one of the best home-run threats during his era. On Aug. 10, 2004, in a matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dunn delivered a moment he’ll never forget.
