It's Outta Here!: The Might and Majesty of the Home Run
For Dad and the endless hours he played catch and pitched to me
CONTENTS 5 7 19 Introduction Going Deep 1 The Long History of the Long Ball 2 The Physics of the Home Run 3 History's Most Memorable Home Runs 4 Record Book 5 The Future of the Long Ball 26 41 55 Glossary 60 Source Notes 61 Further Reading 62 Index 63
INTRODUCTION GOING DEEP The pitcher looks in to the catcher for the sign and delivers It's a fastball high in the strike zone and the batter is ready Within a fraction of a second the hitter figures out the pitch's spin and location and begins to swing Crack The ball launches off the bat at more than 100 miles 161 km per hour It sails down the left field line The crowd roars as the left fielder sprints toward the corner Will the ball be fair or foul Will it have enough distance to clear the fence It soars just inside the foul pole Home run It's the biggest play in baseball and nothing gets fans more excited Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels hits a home run in 2019 Trout hit 302 homers in his first ten Major League Baseball seasons 5
