The fascination of hitting a long home run goes all the back to 1883 when Roger Connor hit an unusually long home run at the Polo Grounds in New York.
It wasn't until 1915 that Babe Ruth, as a rookie for the Boston Red Sox, hit a ball that went approximately 470 feet. This was the start of the modern long-distance hitting.
The longest home run in Major league Baseball history was hit by Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees on April 17, 1953. The ball cleared the left-center-field bleachers at Clark Griffith Stadium in Washington. It was estimated to have traveled 565 feet from home plate to the point were it landed. The truth is the distance was estimated based on where a neighborhood kid retrieved the ball. The actual distance in the air was probably about 510 feet.
There have been many tremendous long home runs have been hit since the Mick hit that whopper, but the distances are all estimates. Some other players who have hit long home runs include:
Cecil Fielder of the Detroit Tigers is credited with hitting a 502 foot home run into the left-field bleachers at Milwaukee's County Stadium on September 14, 1991.
On April 14, 1976, Dave Kingman of the New York Mets, hit a towering home run in Chicago's Wrigley Field. The home run was first calculated by some to have traveled 573 feet. The NY Times estimated the blast at 630 feet.
It has been confirmed that the ball actually traveled about 530 feet and struck the third house beyond Waveland Avenue.
The Home Run has become so popular in modern baseball that a home run derby is held every year during the All Star Break.
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