There has been plenty of talk this season (and in previous ones as well) about the dimensions at Yankee Stadium and how they can often benefit hitters and be a nightmare for pitchers. After DJ LeMahieu of the New York Yankees hit a home run on Saturday, ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst Eduardo Perez couldn’t help but remind everyone you just “have to know where to hit them” at Yankee Stadium.
ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst Eduardo Perez sent a very subtle reminder about the ability of Yankee Stadium to turn into a home run haven
Sure, there were plenty of other things going on on Saturday with the Josh Donaldson-Tim Anderson dust-up, but overlooked amidst that was the fact that there actually was a game played in the Bronx, with the Yankees grabbing a 7-5 win over the visiting Chicago White Sox. Among the reasons why the Yankees won was a grand slam hit by LeMahieu in the second inning after Chicago starter Dallas Keuchel.
LeMahieu’s home run traveled 341 feet and had an expected batting average of .260, per Baseball Savant. While the home run escaped the clutches of White Sox outfielders, it didn’t escape a few raised eyebrows about its distance, including a tweet from Perez.
DJ LeMahieu hits a Grand Slam v #WhiteSox pitcher Dallas Keuchel. #Yankees up 5-0 thru two … BTW… the Home Run would have only left one Ballpark in #MLB #YankeeStadium #HaveToKnowWhereToHitThem pic.twitter.com/ixAIwTmuSN
— Eduardo Perez (@PerezEd) May 21, 2022
Perez isn’t wrong about his claim of Yankee Stadium being the only stadium to not hold LeMahieu’s hit in play. With a launch angle of 33 degrees and an exit velocity of 96 mph, Yankee Stadium is a “unicorn” when it comes to the dimensions and the result of LeMahieu’s hit.
With the White Sox and Yankees playing again on Sunday Night Baseball and Perez as part of the announcing crew, it will be interesting to see if LeMahieu’s home run comes up again, especially with so much to talk about after yesterday’s fireworks between Donaldson and Anderson.