The Tigers moved to Comerica Park in 2000 but the Corner remained standing. Target Field renovations, 2024 Ballparks I saw it bounce twice on the roof and was hoping it would go out and sure enough it did. During the PASS telecast, former Tiger Jim Northrup said: Cecil had a tremendous swing at that one and probably overswung just a little bit. If he hit that one, he might have hit it right out of Tiger Stadium.. In virtually every other field of endeavor in which physical performance can be measured, there are no Ruthian equivalents. 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. Ted Williams called it one of the hardest hit balls hed ever seen. Distance of Longest Batted Baseball - The Physics Factbook - hypertext-book 59,203 fans attended the game, the largest crowd ever to see a football game at the Corner. On April 15, 1999, Torii Hunter hit a home run off Brian Moehler at Tiger Stadium while playing for the Minnesota Twins. Who were the batters? Everyone has their own opinion. I think they left Dick Allen in 1973 for the White Sox. Most of those blasts, too, were prodigious, so the Tigers took a chance and signed Fielder. Only one current Tiger ever hit a home run at Tiger Stadium, and it was a memorable occasion. In 1895, Detroit had a team in the Western League, an eight-team loop that eventually melded into the American League. 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. Just nine homers short, hewas well aware of what he had to do. (Rumor was this came at the behest of the teams first star, Ty Cobb.) Answerbag wants to provide a service to people looking for answers and a good conversation. The Lions abandoned it for the Pontiac Silverdome. 2 others that hit the light towers. Monaghan had to get a helicopter to fly in pizzas to writers working inside the old ballpark while overzealous fans partied too hard directly outside Tiger Stadium. On June 14, 1983, Gibson belted a blast over the right field roof against the Red Sox. In 1967, the race riots that tore up the city of Detroit started less than two miles from the ballpark. Ruth hit 60 homers there, the most by any visiting ballplayer. In 1977, a fire wiped out the press box. Home runs that are hit out of the ball park are measured from where the batter stands to where the ball . Comments. Coincidentally, Roewas the home plate umpire. Took everyones breath away. Frank Robinson appeared poised to make the catch only to see the ball drop in the first row of the overhang for a game winning home run, one of just four Matchick hit in six big league seasons. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. On the first strike out , he threw his bat, so the fans were booing loudly, and banging the wood seats each time he came up to bat! It was Hunters first major league home run, and it was a doozy a deep fly to right center field that landed in the lower deck. Send a Message. 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! Depending who you talk to, the upper deck in right field was built to hang 5-10 feet over the warning track. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. It was one of five home runs Baseball Almanac listed as going at least 500 feet in 1998's record-setting season. The following year, his five postseason home runs led the Pirates to a World Series championship. On June 28, 1990, the ballpark hosted another unusual event. Over the years, the distances gradually shortened down the lines. He grabbed his crotch and Sparky was not happy about it. Adam Dunn played just 44 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but one of his eight home runs stands as the longest witnessed at Chase Field. In 1984, Kirk Gibson launched a home run into the upper deck in right field in the 8th inning of Game Five of the World Series, sealing the title for the Tigers. OnJuly 3, 1999, the Cleveland Indians star sent a ball screaming an estimated 511 feet. 2023 Ballparks That much is known. , Competition, joy and a little pain: Beep Baseball is a world of freedom for blind athletes, By In 1997, McGwire joined them. The Times reported that Cecil Fielder became the first Detroit player to hit a home run over the left-field roof at Tiger Stadium (''Fielder Belts Two as Tigers Rout A's, 14-4,'' Aug. 26), and that only Harmon Killebrew (in 1962) and Frank Howard (in 1968) had accomplished that feat. 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. Tiger Stadium saw gigantic home runs, like the one Babe Ruth hit that witnesses swore traveled 600 feet as it soared over the right field grandstands. The right field overhang frustrated many outfielders who were camped under a routine flyball only to see it land in the first row upstairs. This blast off Glendon Rusch caromed off the center field awning for an estimated 504 feet. I was a little concerned it would let look as good as I hoped, but when I put it on, I loved it. September 14, 1991: When Cecil Fielder's home run left the ballpark The only time Fielder went more than a week without a homer was June 1829. A year later, Tiger Stadium was in the national spotlight when Denny McLain became the first pitcher in 31 years to win 30 games. Acquired from the then-Anaheim Angels in 2001, the 1995 American League MVP spent his entire first season with the Mets sidelined before returning a shell of himself in 2002. Several years later, the country watched another memorable Thanksgiving Day game played in a blizzard that covered the field by halftime. 51 to complete the Tigers 10-3 victory. Text by Dave Wright Photos by John Moist. "Examination of satellite and ground-based digital photos suggests that the 502-foot figure is an accurate measurement of the horizontal distance to the 'Red Seat,' but since the impact point was approximately 30 feet above field level, the ball would have covered more distance before landing at field level, had its flight not been interrupted.". "Straw hit it so far and so high that I just stood and watched.". To Ilitchs credit, he paid for several renovations that kept the park looking reasonable in its final years. 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. He was also adept at hitting the ball out down the left field line, a trait later adopted by Willie Horton and Lance Parrish. Jim Thome has to be in there for homeruns to it seemed like every time I was at a game he hit one to right field. Just ordered the military green Lions shirt and couldn't be happier. Chronicling the Business and Culture of Baseball Ballparks--MLB, MiLB, College, Tiger Stadium / Detroit Tigers / 1912-1999, Its Oriole Park vs. PNC Park in 2023 MLB BoTB finals, As land purchase could lead to new Vegas ballpark, WI Assembly leader: American Family Field maintenance should see Milwaukee money, 2023 MLB Best of the Ballparks fan vote moves to Final Four, 2023 MiLB Best of the Ballparks, Triple-A vote reaches Final Four, Is 2025 a firm deadline for teams to meet MiLB facility upgrades? Killabrew was in 62. Jose Canseco's upper-deck blast helped the Oakland Athletics defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1989 American League Championship Series. Reggie Jackson became a national figure due to a famous home run in an All-Star Game. By the time Detroits 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 fights. New Hagerstown Atlantic League ballpark I wanted to play every day and I didnt have that opportunity in Toronto. For what it's worth, it passes the "Wow, he sure hit that ball a long way" eye test. Outsiders began to look at Tiger Stadium and the neighborhood it was located in a different light. In the 1970s, Ken Berry, an excellent flychaser, forgot about this one day and ran flush into the pole while chasing a shot by Detroit OF Willie Horton. , Where to live in New York if you've just come into $324 million. A crowd of 13,380 at Yankee Stadium gave Fielder a standing ovation. After failing to land free agents Pete OBrien and Kent Hrbek, Tigers general managerBill Lajoie went after Fielder. By the way, where did TRAM rank for the amount of HRs he hit during his career with the Tigers when they played at Tigers Stadium for going yard? According to ESPN's findings, the ball landed on a fan's straw hat deep in the right field bleachers. Privacy Policy When baseball's biggest stars need a haircut, they come to Jos 'Jordan' Lpez, By What are your home run memories of Tiger Stadium? The NFL Lions left University of Detroit Stadium to move downtown. I bet that was a great experience, seeing Killebrews home run. Since that time, millions of baseball fans around the world have subscribed to MLB.TV, the live video streaming product that airs every game in HD to nearly 400 different devices. The green box was considered a home-run haven. 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. 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. As a lifelong Tigers fan, I have been fortunate enough to see two players clear the fence. The bullpens were brought over from the right-field corner, and the old bullpen area near the right-field corner became more seating. Although they only won six pennants during their tenure there, the hometown Tigers were often an interesting team with individual stars. MLB Network'sBob Costas credits it above as the Guinness Book of World Records holder for longest home run. What do you get when you combine a block party and a baseball league? They checked it over and off I went. Prince Fielder hit a home run there during batting practice when he was a 12-year old and his dad was playing for the Tigers. Paul was great to work with and offered to delay shipping when I told him I would be on vacation on the original delivery date. 49 at Tiger Stadium off Bostons Dennis Lamp on Sept. 27. Few, if. The exact distance, however, remains disputed. He hit his first home run of the 1961 season there. At the last game played at Tiger Stadium, on Sept. 27, 1999, Robert Fick delivered a dramatic eighth-inning grand slam on the first pitch he faced. Purchased a New Era Gruff Michigan Syaye hat, and I absolutely love it. He had yielded just four homers during the first half, but Jackson took him deep for an unofficial fifth. A post-game ceremony brought back just about famous ex-Tiger who was still alive for one last salute. Eight memorable moments at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. To make the park appear like Yankee Stadium, the parks seats were painted green and a skyline of the Bronx was added. There's no way to say for sure whether Reggie Jackson's homer at the 1971 All-Star Game is the longest in the history of the Midsummer Classic -- the game is over 80 years old, after all, and data is incomplete.Here's what we do know, though: 46 years to the day after Jackson's blast, it remains the only baseball in All-Star Game history to nearly turn out the lights.