It's Outta Here!: The Might and Majesty of the Home Run
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
In 2019 Miguel Sanó was one of five Minnesota Twins players to hit at least 30 home runs
1 THE LONG HISTORY OF THE LONG BALL With home runs flying out of ballparks at a record pace baseball had never seen anything like the 2019 season Baseball's modern era stretching nearly 120 years has seen its highs and lows It has witnessed power surges and power outages But 2019 was special it was the year of the home run From opening day it was clear that 2019 would be a standout season The standing record for team home runs in a season was 267. Four teams overtook that mark in 2019. The Minnesota Twins broke the record on August 31 with a full month to go in the season And the Twins kept slugging They didn't just break the home run record They destroyed it Minnesota went on to set a new record with 307 home runs and they did it in a home ballpark long considered pitcher friendly The New York Yankees were close behind slugging 306 big flies Individual records fell by the wayside as well New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso hit 53 long balls the most ever by a rookie Major League Baseball MLB struggled to explain the remarkable season Had something changed with the materials that made up the balls Were the hitters that much better or had they made changes to their swings that helped them hit long 7
