Mickey Mantle writeup on SI.

[I'm A Wenner!]

My dad tells me Mantle stories all the time.

[delv]

Originally Posted by I'm A Wenner!

That physicist was incompetent. 734 feet is completely impossible. No human being is capable of producing that kind of force. I don't think you understand what this would require.

Do tell.

[I'm A Wenner!]

Originally Posted by delv

Do tell.

Is this serious? Are we really debating on whether it's possibly for a human being to hit a baseball 734 feet? When was the last time that happened? Why haven't any steroided-up juicebag sluggers who have knocked the bejesus out of plenty of 95mph fastball ever hit a ball within like 200 feet of that?

[delv]

Originally Posted by I'm A Wenner!

Is this serious? Are we really debating on whether it's possibly for a human being to hit a baseball 734 feet? When was the last time that happened? Why haven't any steroided-up juicebag sluggers who have knocked the bejesus out of plenty of 95mph fastball ever hit a ball within like 200 feet of that?

Oy. I'm not debating anything.

You said that the physicist must be incompotent and said toward yatqb: "I don't think you understand what this would require."

I presumed that you would be able give a physics lesson (on distribution of weight at the moment of inertia and so forth) and that you, by contrast, do understand what it would require (that seemed like an implication in your sentence), given your confidence. I guess not.

[I'm A Wenner!]

Originally Posted by delv

Oy. I'm not debating anything.

You said that the physicist must be incompotent and said toward yatqb: "I don't think you understand what this would require."

I presumed that you would be able give a physics lesson (on distribution of weight at the moment of inertia and so forth) and that you, by contrast, do understand what it would require (that seemed like an implication in your sentence), given your confidence. I guess not.

Originally Posted by I'm A Wenner!

I don't believe them. There's no way he could hit a ball over 700 feet. That's simply beyond human physiology. You'd have to swing the bat like 240mph to do that.

This should help:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/art_hr.shtml

[ajra21]

Originally Posted by Yankee Steve

I think the reason for this was that offense in general was at a lower level due to the quality of the pitchers, the number of teams, the larger ballparks (generally) and the mound level prior to 1969. There were no 6' 2" shortstops or 2nd basemen back then either. It was a different game...

Originally Posted by roblyo33

There were several other RBI guys hitting in front of him that probably kept his numbers down.

i'm aware of these points. it still surprises me, that's all.

[yatqb]

Wenner, all I can say is that I've been watching baseball for almost 60 years, and I've NEVER seen a ball hit nearly as hard as that one was. The fact that Mantle also identified it as the hardest ball he ever hit says a lot in itself. But the point I'm making is that in all that time I've never seen anything approaching that ball's velocity and line of flight (a rope, hitting so hard that it rebounded right into the infield). How many times have you seen that? If the ball HIT the facade over 500 feet away while still rising, how much farther would YOU think it might have carried if it's force hadn't been interrupted? I can't say; I'm no physicist. But it was extraordinary.

[Bob420]

Originally Posted by yatqb

Wenner, all I can say is that I've been watching baseball for almost 60 years, and I've NEVER seen a ball hit nearly as hard as that one was. The fact that Mantle also identified it as the hardest ball he ever hit says a lot in itself. But the point I'm making is that in all that time I've never seen anything approaching that ball's velocity and line of flight (a rope, hitting so hard that it rebounded right into the infield). How many times have you seen that? If the ball HIT the facade over 500 feet away while still rising, how much farther would YOU think it might have carried if it's force hadn't been interrupted? I can't say; I'm no physicist. But it was extraordinary.

That's the point. It didn't hit the facade over 500 feet away while still rising. Physically impossible.

[yatqb]

Originally Posted by Bob420

That's the point. It didn't hit the facade over 500 feet away while still rising. Physically impossible.

You had to see it to believe it. Crack of bat followed by almost immediate crack of ball against facade, followed by ball bounding into infield. Extraordinary.

[Curmudgeon]

I was not at the park but saw it on TV. My recollection is that it was a towering drive that was on the way down when it hit the facade.

Mantle could crush the ball, but the distance his home runs traveled was often a fabrication of the Yankee PR department. For example, the ball he hit off Chuck Stobbs in Washington never went 565 feet.

The longest shot I saw him hit was the one in 1956 that hit the "B" in the Ballantine Ale sign on the scoreboard behind the bleachers. That sign is alot further from home plate than the facade. BTW, Mantle hit for the cycle in that 1956 game against the White Sox

[Zimmers' Helmet]

As someone who has always been fascinated with Yankee history and never got a chance to see The Mick actually play (he retired the year I was born); I am really enjoying this thread.

Thanks to all of you who were fortunate enough to see The Mick for sharing your stories. I'm loving it.

[effdamets]

Originally Posted by Zimmers' Helmet

As someone who has always been fascinated with Yankee history and never got a chance to see The Mick actually play (he retired the year I was born); I am really enjoying this thread.

Thanks to all of you who were fortunate enough to see The Mick for sharing your stories. I'm loving it.

Same thing here..

All I could ever go on was my Dad's stroies of the Mick.
He always told me that Mickey was the fastest human being he'd ever seen.
The monumental blasts that Mantle hit we almost inhuman.

I did see an interview with Mickey once on TV. He said of the blast that hit the facade, that when he hit it, it was the only time he could remember saying to himself, "hey - that once has a chance to get outta here", meaning out of the stadium completely...

[JfromJersey]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I was not at the park but saw it on TV. My recollection is that it was a towering drive that was on the way down when it hit the facade.

Mantle could crush the ball, but the distance his home runs traveled was often a fabrication of the Yankee PR department. For example, the ball he hit off Chuck Stobbs in Washington never went 565 feet.

The longest shot I saw him hit was the one in 1956 that hit the "B" in the Ballantine Ale sign on the scoreboard behind the bleachers. That sign is alot further from home plate than the facade. BTW, Mantle hit for the cycle in that 1956 game against the White Sox

The only tape measure shot I actually saw was the one he hit off Ray Herbert in 64 because it was televised. It was measured at over 500 feet and i can believe it because it went completely over the batters eye above the 461 foot marker in CF. Watching that one makes it easier for me to believe some of those reports of incredible distances, although I do think most of them were exaggerated.

[Bob420]

Originally Posted by yatqb

You had to see it to believe it. Crack of bat followed by almost immediate crack of ball against facade, followed by ball bounding into infield. Extraordinary.

Again, it was most certainly an impressive blast. But as the article states, it is an illusion. No way it was on the way up at 500ft.

[roblyo33]

Originally Posted by Bob420

Again, it was most certainly an impressive blast. But as the article states, it is an illusion. No way it was on the way up at 500ft.

For years, there were "experts" telling us that a curveball was, also, an optical illusion.

[NYYRules#1]

Originally Posted by roblyo33

For years, there were "experts" telling us that a curveball was, also, an optical illusion.

Totally different though. A human does not have the physical capability to hit a ball as far as a lot of those supposed Mantle homers were hit. It's just simply not possible.

[JfromJersey]

Put it this way. If Mantle could hit a ball 700 feet without help, on steroids he could launch it into orbit.

[delv]

Originally Posted by NYYRules#1

Totally different though. A human does not have the physical capability to hit a ball as far as a lot of those supposed Mantle homers were hit. It's just simply not possible.

Err... you're really citing the same kind of argument: one based in scientific hegemony.

[NYYRules#1]

Originally Posted by delv

Err... you're really citing the same kind of argument: one based in scientific hegemony.

Thing is, the "curveball doesn't curve" argument has zero scientific basis. It's been proven by scientists and in wind tunnels repeatedly that it does in fact curve.

Likewise, many studies into the capability of humans to hit a ball with a baseball bat have all shown that the force exerted on a ball which would be necessary for it to travel to land 600+ feet away simply cannot be exerted by humans, even with wind or other factors helping it (keep in mind, nearly every ballpark Mantle played in was near sea level). The velocity at which the ball would need to travel simply cannot be reached by the maximum exertion of force a human can put on a ball with a baseball bat.

[grizy]

Originally Posted by delv

Err... you're really citing the same kind of argument: one based in scientific hegemony.

To give you an idea of how absurd that is. A typical homerun at Yankees stadium would travel 400~420 feet. To get that far, under normal weather conditions, we're talking about an initial velocity, leaving the bat, of about 110mph at ~30 degree angle (near ideal, this changes depending on assumptions.). To get the ball to travel 700 feet at that angle, again, using normal assumptions, we're about about initial velocities in the 150~160mph range, even if you allow the wind to carry it by 30 or 40 feet.

To achieve that kind of force, you need to hit the ball more than twice as hard as the typical homerun.

I am sorry, that kind of strength isn't humanly possible. Either that or there needs to be a mini-hurricane or some type of extraordinary weather phenomenon going on up there to carry the ball 700 feet.

That, guys, could only be described as a miracle.