Yordan Alvarez and Pete Alonso produce the week’s two longest home runs, both traveling more than 470 feet. Here are the longest HRs in MLB during week-16.
Fifty years ago, America put a man on the moon. This week, the best of MLB tried to hit some baseballs there.
In the first post-All Star week, hitters lathered up. The average distance of the weeks 25 longest was a mind-blowing 450.4 feet. Two players went beyond 470 feet.
Nobody celebrated the anniversary of Apollo 11 with moon shots quite like the Mets’ Pete Alonso. On Wednesday, he hammered a Matt Magill pitch 474 feet, officially landing only at No. 2 on the week’s list because its 110.9 mph exit velocity didn’t quite match the 112.2 mph exit velocity of Yordan Alvarez’s 474-footer off Mike Minor Friday.
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Then on Saturday afternoon, almost concurrent with the 50th anniversary of the moment when Apollo 11 landed on the moon, Alonso launched a 444-footer off Derek Holland in San Francisco. He didn’t reach the Sea of Tranquility – or McCovey Cove, for that matter. But the ball did land about 10 rows deep in dead center field. It was not, however, the week’s hardest-hit home run among the top 25. That distinction goes to Minnesota’s Miguel Sano, whose 443-footer Saturday off Oakland’s Brett Anderson left the bat at 113.8 mph.
Toronto’s Teoscar Hernandez also made the weekly list twice. Hernandez hit a 441-footer off new Boston starter Andrew Cashner on Tuesday, then one night later nailed a 442-footer off Eduardo Rodriguez.
Pity the poor Giants, whose pitchers gave up four of the 25 shots. In addition to Alonso’s blast off Holland, they included Ramiel Tapia’s 440-footer off Jeff Samardzija on Monday, Ian Desmond’s 467-footer off Will Smith Tuesday, and Trevor Story’s 458-footer Wednesday.
The list is based on the 25 longest home runs hit during the week as measured by Statcast. Ties are broken by exit velocity.
Here’s the full list of the 25 longest home runs in MLB during week-16 of the season.
        Date    Batter, team                  Pitcher, team            Distance
1             July 19  Yordan Alvarez, Hou                     Mike Minor, Tex           474
2             July 17  Pete Alonso, NYM                          Matt Magill, Min          474
3             July 20  Fernando Tatis Jr., SD                    Jose Quintana, Chc        468
4             July 16  Ian Desmond, Col                           Will Smith, SF            467
5Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â July 20Â Â Avisail Garcia, TBÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Lucas Giolito, CWSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â 459
6             July 19  Christian Yelich, Mil                        Matt Andriese, Ari        459
7             July 16  Bryce Harper, Was                          Walker Buehler, LA       458
8             July 17  Trevor Story, Col                             Andrew Suarez, SF       458
9             July 17  Kevin Cron, Ari                                 Adrian Sampson, Tex     453
10          July 15  Jeimer Candelario, Det                 Adam Plutko, Cle         449
11          July 19  Josh Naylor, SD                                Pedro Strop, Chc         448
12Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â July 16Â Â Hunter Dozier, KCÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Josh Osich, CWSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 447
13          July 19  Victor Robles, Was                         Luke Jackson, Atl         446
14Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â July 20Â Â Pete Alonso, NYMÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Derek Holland, SFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 444
15          July 20  Miguel Sano, Min                            Brett Anderson, Oak     443
16          July 16  Juan Soto, Was                                Asher Wojciechowski, Bal443
17          July 15  Brandon Crawford, SF                   Jesus Tinoco, Col        443
18          July 17  Teoscar Hernandez, Tor         Eduardo Rodriguez, Bos  442
19          July 17  Stephen Vogt, SF                            Jon Gray, Col            442
20          July 20  Vlad Guerrero Jr., Tor           Gregory Soto, Det        441
21          July 19  Daniel Vogelbach, Sea                  Jaime Barria, LAA        441
22          July 16  Teoscar Hernandez, Tor         Andrew Cashner, Bos    441
23          July 16  Brian Anderson, Mia                      Logan Allen, SD         440
24          July 16  Max Muncy, LA                                Vince Velasquez, Phi    440
25          July 15  Raimel Tapia, Col                             Jeff Samardzija, SF      440