J.D. Martinez hit the go ahead home run against the Yankees on Thursday night. It was an amazing blast, but not for the reasons you normally associate with impressive home runs.
Let’s take a moment to marvel at the spectacle that is J.D. Martinez. On Thursday night in the 8th inning with the score tied and the Red Sox fending off a series sweep, he did this:
JD Martinez gives the Yankees a taste of their own medicine for the W! pic.twitter.com/y7LJegRTu4
— Boston Strong (@BostonStrong_34) May 11, 2018
That’s a ball on the inside edge of the plate that he took to the opposite field for a home run. Now, granted, it was in Yankee stadium where it’s not exactly hard to get over the fence in right field. But as an opposite field shot on a pitch that far inside? That’s impressive. Here’s another look at it:
JD Martinez hit that green ball on the left opposite field for a home run. pic.twitter.com/bmjRNcVOlj
— Crooked Numbers (@Crooked_Numbers) May 11, 2018
The view is from the catcher’s perspective so Martinez would be on the left with his back shoulder closest to where we are looking at it from. 99% of the time, a player making opposite field contact on that pitch is going to bloop it in front of the right fielder. Maybe they’ll lift it over the first baseman’s head and roll it down the line into the corner. But not Martinez.
Let’s look at the numbers.
#RedSox 5 @ #Yankees 4 [T8-0o]
— Home Run Tracker (@DingerTracker) May 11, 2018
J. D. Martinez homers (9): fly ball to RF (solo)
Exit velocity: 100mph
Distance: 350ft
Angle: 38°
Yeah, he put that ball 350 feet into right field at 100 MPH. At 38 degrees, he was just within the upper limit of the productive fly ball range. A few degrees higher and it’s almost certainly a pop out. But think about that for a moment. Not only did he get the good part of the wood on that pitch and generate enough bat speed to hit it 100 MPH, but he got under it enough to hit it at 38 degrees. That’s mind boggling. And if that wasn’t enough, it was on a 97.4 MPH fastball.
It’s not unheard of for hitters to take inside pitches at the belt or lower over the wall, but it’s almost always pulled. Down and in is actually a sweet spot for most left handed hitters. The only way to describe this pitch to a right handed hitter, however, is “great location with elite velocity.” Well, J.D. Martinez has your great location and elite velocity right here. And he’ll tell you where to shove it.
Next: Groome to undergo Tommy John
Right field. He’ll tell you to shove it to right field. What? Where did you think I was going with that?