Joe Louis moved to Detroit as a youngster. I don't live nearby so the ability to have it shipped for $10 was well worth the cost. I was on Trumbull listening to the game on the radio Ina car parked outside a bar when it came off and over the roof. Tape-measure home runs remain among the most impressive feats in all of sports, and just last weekend, Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz hit the longest home run in the history of Angels. There was Babe Ruth's 700th career shot and the one he hit an estimated 600+ feet, Reggie Jackson's All-Star homer off the light towers, and Kirk Gibson's massive longball in the 1984 World Series. Ranking each MLB ballpark by distance to center field Thank you so much, I can't wait to wear my jersey to a Wings game! I remember watching the 1971 blast as a 12 year old on TV with my family living in Michigan at the time. I saw Jason Rooftop Thompson hit one out of Tiger Stadium over right center field off of Dick Tidrow of the Yankees. It should be noted that those regular references over the years to 500- and 600-foot home runs were born out of scientific ignorance, misinformation, or even deliberate exaggeration. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Its like the difference between hearing a PGA player tee off and an everyday golfer.. Detroit OF Rocky Colavito tied a major-league record when he went 7-for-10 in the game. During his 17 seasons of Major League Baseball, Kirk Gibson hit 255 home runs with 195 of those dingers coming with the Detroit Tigers. Despite the scarcity of film onRuth, we can still make definitive evaluations of the approximate landing points of all of his 714 career home runs. Not bad at all, but ESPN's Home Run Tracker determined that Williams deserves even more credit. His power surge included three on May 6 in Toronto and three more on June 6 in Cleveland. Doak Field at Dail Park upgrades (NC Wolfpack) I didnt know what I was going to end up with that season but I knew it was going to be great.". He handled things so well with the media, fans, and his teammates.. PNC Park upgrades This one went over the left field roof, off Oaklands Dave Stewart. Myshak Metro Ballpark (Edmonton Prospects) The American League consists of the following teams: Baltimore Orioles; Boston Red Sox; Chicago White Sox; Cleveland Indians; Detroit Tigers; Houston Astros; Kansas City Royals; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim; Minnesota Twins; New York Yankees; Oakland Athletics; Seattle Mariners; Tampa Bay Rays; Texas Rangers; and Toronto Blue Jays. Follow. In his first plate appearance, he walked, and complained to Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly that he wondered if he would get anything to hit that night. There were unlikely homers: little Freddie Patek, a 5 foot 5 imp who hit only a handful of homers in his career, hit two at Tiger Stadium; and 19-year old pitcher Denny McLain hit a home run on September 21, 1963, in his first big league game, and never hit another. Willie Horton hit a home run at Tiger Stadium when he was 16 years old during an all-city high school game. Everyone wanted to talk about them but they werent the only ones because there was a guy in Detroit named Fielder.". Only four players have been confirmed to hit a ball over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium in Detroit: Cecil Fielder, Mark McGwire, Harmon Killebrew, and Frank Howard. Once or twice a year, an outfielder would have to go behind the pole to chase an errant hit. He had yielded just four homers during the first half, but Jackson took him deep for an unofficial fifth. The ball would have kept going, lending to a final true-distance calculation of 530 feet. The movie was about the 1961 season when the Yankees Roger Maris broke Babe Ruths home run record. Field of Dreams ballpark (Dyersville, IA) The best of those bombs occurred June 26, when he smacked one off Shea Stadium's scoreboard. On July 6, 1996 Carlos Delgado hit the ball OVER the right center light tower completely into orbit. (On May 12, 1984, while playing for the Angels, Jackson became the 12th player to hit a ball out of Tiger Stadium when his homer hit a parked bus on Trumbull Avenue.) (Oddly. Six years later, Cecil Fielder hit a moonshot over the left field roof on his way to 51 homers that season. Eight memorable moments at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. HistorianWilliam J. Jenkinson reported the home run's distance at 502 feetthe longest estimate from IBM's measuring system from 1982 to 1996in a study published by Baseball Almanac. It was years later, after the Tigers began to field pennant-contending teams, that the tall, roofed, left-field stands were built (in order to accommodate increased attendance), and consequently the out-of-the-park left-field homers became more difficult, i.e., they became that rare feat now enjoyed by the three players mentioned. I think the Tigers won that game in the bottom of the 9th, when they were losing but then Jim Northrup hit a grand slam to win the game. Thanks! The poor sap who fed the Hall of Fame outfielder a gopher ball: Chuck Stobbs. Because owner Walter Briggs believed baseball should be played in the daytime, the Tigers were the last team in the American League to install lights, putting in the arcs in 1948. By the time Detroit's Tiger Stadium bade farewell 87 years, it had witnessed 11,111 home runs, six World Series, three memorable All-Star games, NFL Championship games and championship boxing . See the article in its original context from. I seem to recall Big Frank Howard (Hondo) of the Washington Senators, blast one over the left field roof sometime between 1966 and 68 (I think). As ESPN's Home Run Trackerverifies, one moonshot onMay 11, 2000, went 500 feet with a116.7 mph exit velocity. Check out the Tigers All-Time Leaders in multiple statistical categories. briggs stadium, detroit, detroit tigers, michigan, mlb, national league, navin field, tiger stadium. He installed an area in the lower deck (between first and third base) that had padded seats and added waitservice. Baldwin showed Sam the precise spot where Mantles drive landed. The HBO movie 61* was filmed there. Comerica Park is NICE; Tiger Stadium was GREAT!!!! I said, 'I think we have something here.' Dismiss, Copyright 2022 Vintage Detroit Collection, Spinnaker Center, 44692 Helm St, Plymouth. "The ball assumed what can only be called a majestic arc and landed on the left-field roof in Tiger Stadium," Ryan wrote. He did it on national television in a mid-September game against Oakland that was won with a dramatic two-run rally in the last of the ninth inning. Recently got a blank jersey stitched at Vintage Detroit and the finished product looks awesome! Detroit Tigers all-time home run leaders as of October 2022 Number of home runs Al Kaline Norm Cash Miguel Cabrera Hank Greenberg Willie Horton Cecil Fielder Lou Whitaker Rudy York Lance. Because Tiger Stadium is the oldest major league baseball stadium in the United States, and because superb home run hitters such as the Tigers' Harry Heilmann and the Yankees' Babe Ruth, played there many years before Fielder, Killebrew and Howard, readers may wonder why it took so many years to accomplish the rare feat of clearing that left-field roof. According to Allied News Jim Sankey, via MLB.coms Matt Monagan, the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder submitted seven of 18 balls to clear Forbes Fields 86-foot high roof in right field. Using the best information available, let's take a stab at locating the longest recorded home runs ever. It was the longest ball I ever saw, Tigers broadcaster George Kell told Susman. The Oakland Athletics outfielder stepped up to the plate against Pittsburgh Pirates hurler Dock Ellis, who according to Baseball-Reference.com entered the Midsummer Classic sporting a 2.11 ERA. As the team improved, so did the capacity of the ballpark, capping out at 14,000. As I approached the area I quickly realized I was in more an industrial & commercial area then retail. In the fifth inning, with Alan Trammel on first, Fielder was sitting on a 2-0 count when he took a vicious swing and fouled off a Dave Stewart fastball. What existed was simply a wall, and many players hit home runs over that wall and out of the stadium into Cherry Street, which paralleled the wall. , Where to live in New York if you've just come into $324 million. On Sept. 27, 2008, the slugger secured his fifth season with 40 deep flies. Historians generally agree the longest home run hit in the ballpark was probably achieved by Detroit 1B Norm Cash, who ripped a shot over the center field scoreboard in a 1962 game that landed on the roof of a parked taxicab. 15. These batters hit the most home runs at Tiger Stadium Frank Navin, who bought the team in 1908, was a man with big ideas. According to ESPN's findings, the ball landed on a fan's straw hat deep in the right field bleachers. There is one other football item worthy of note regarding Tiger Stadium. The National League, originally founded in 1876, consists of the following teams: Arizona Diamondbacks; Atlanta Braves; Chicago Cubs; Cincinnati Reds; Colorado Rockies; Los Angeles Dodgers; Miami Marlins; Milwaukee Brewers; New York Mets; Philadelphia Phillies; Pittsburgh Pirates; San Diego Padres; San Francisco Giants; St. Louis Cardinals; and Washington Nationals.Visit MLB.com: http://mlb.mlb.comSubscribe to MLB.TV: http://mlb.mlb.tvDownload MLB.com At Bat: http://mlb.mlb.com/mobile/atbatDownload MLB.com At The Ballpark: http://mlb.mlb.com/mobile/attheballparkPlay Beat The Streak: http://mlb.mlb.com/btsGet MLB Tickets: http://mlb.mlb.com/ticketsGet Official MLB Merchandise: http://mlb.mlb.com/shopConnect with us:YouTube: http://youtube.com/MLB Facebook: http://facebook.com/mlbTwitter: http://twitter.com/mlbPinterest: http://pinterest.com/MLBAMInstagram: http://instagram.com/mlbofficialTumblr: http://mlb.tumblr.comGoogle+: http://plus.google.com/MLB The exact distance, however, remains disputed. Bullying, racism, personal attacks, harassment, or discrimination is prohibited. In 80-degree weather on Aug. 25, 1990, Tiger Stadium hosted 45,474 fans eager to watch the Oakland Athletics' "Bash Brothers," Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, face off against the Tigers' Cecil. In the years he played for his hometown team, Kirk Gibson frequently displayed his power. The people there are awesome and they clearly don't get much walk in business however they know their product while intending in only buying one jersey I walked out with much more! There was a one-year spike in attendance but the 1994 baseball strike wiped out a lot of good will earned. Service and shipping were exceptional. Minute Maid Park upgrades A 575-foot dinger at Navin Field in Detroit isn't the most interesting of the tales, but it'd top this list. I was watching the ball because I am a fan, too, Trammell said. Landed in the last few rows one per deck bleachers. On a 2-1 count, Fielder launched a fastball into the night as the ball carried down the line and smashed into the facing of the third deck for his 50th home run. One of baseball's most unheralded sluggers, Jim Thome retired with the quietest 612 home runs and .956 OPS ever. Everyone has their own opinion. As I mentioned above, a list that includes significant home runs at Tiger Stadium has to include Charlie Maxwell hitting 4 HRS in 4 consecutive at bats on May 3, 1959 in a double header against the Yankees. When Ted Williams cleared the roof at Briggs Stadium So, you didnt have much of a chance to see a four-bagger back in those days. New St. Croix River Hounds ballpark, 2025 Ballparks It was part of a memorable summer as the city healed its wounds, got behind its baseball team ands flocked to the ballpark in record numbers. I was a little concerned it would let look as good as I hoped, but when I put it on, I loved it. All in all, however, the ballpark had a helluva good run. But not so fast. The Tigers Kirk Gibson hit a home run onto the street in 1983 but it was less than 600 feet. For everyone's entertainment, Miami should loan Stanton to Colorado and see how much damage he could inflict during a full season at Coors. Despite the fact The Corner wasnt being used much, the city of Detroit was on the hook for some $400,000 a year in maintenance. What made MLB's 1971 All-Star Game in Detroit one of the best ever Our motto is simple: We enjoy doing cool things and are overjoyed we can make a living doing so. Comments. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Although never as well known as Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park or Wrigley Field, Tiger Stadium held an unique place in the hearts of Detroiters, who have now seemed to come to terms with the fact it will be torn down, probably in September 2008. He hits balls that just keep carrying. By the time television and football began its long, happy marriage, Detroit was well established as the home field for the annual Thanksgiving Day game. I was in a funk towards the end of the season and I just wasnt swinging well, Fielder said. As i pulled in I quickly understood this was a warehouse & office thinking this is a internet retailer. Junior was upset that Sparky had intentionally walked him so often.