On Saturday afternoon, Joey Gallo hit a baseball so far Statcast couldn’t track it.
The data tracking system – which was implemented in 2015 – measures everything from pitch break to exit velocity in a matter of seconds but Gallo’s three-run homer in an 11-1 rout of the Chicago Cubs was hit so far into the right-center deck that there was a delay in figuring out the specifics.
Joey Gallo just hit this ball so far that there’s no recorded distance yet pic.twitter.com/VPXIkVpXRU
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 13, 2023
Nearly 24 hours later, Statcast deemed that Gallo’s blast traveled 422 feet with an exit velocity of 110.6 miles per hour. Twins fans immediately cried foul and launched their own investigation on social media.
https://twitter.com/lsteva3/status/1657783454170218499https://twitter.com/FatDaunte/status/1657586631258304514
By comparison, Statcast measured Alex Kirilloff’s second home run of the game to center field at 422 feet. Jorge Polanco’s two-run blast in the seventh inning also measured at 409 feet, which landed into the seating above the right field wall.
The exit velocity on Gallo’s homer was registered at a ridiculous 110.6 mph, more than 9 mph faster than Kirilloff’s bomb that Statcast estimates went the same distance.
The only argument in favor of them achieving a similar length is that Gallo’s launch angle was 38 degrees, making it look like a much more aesthetically pleasing “moonshot,” but perhaps not as efficient a hit as Kirilloff’s.
𝘽𝘼𝘾𝙆-𝙏𝙊-𝘽𝘼𝘾𝙆!
Second homer of the day for Kirilloff! #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/ohNiMxVt2B— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) May 13, 2023
𝙋𝙊𝙇𝙊 𝙂𝙊𝙀𝙎 𝙔𝘼𝙍𝘿! 💣 💣
7-0 #MNTwins! pic.twitter.com/uSJqSfJdAa— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) May 13, 2023
Another reference point is the 496-foot home run that Miguel Sanó hit against the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 17, 2019 which is the longest hit at Target Field during the Statcast era.
Then there’s the Twins’ longest home run this season from Byron Buxton, who hit a 453-foot home run at Target Field against the Kansas City Royals on Apr. 30.
While all of these are impressive, they don’t come close to Harmon Killebrew’s 520-foot home run at Metropolitan Stadium on June 3, 1967. A revised estimate placed Killebrew’s home run at 522 feet but it’s possible that Statcast would have put it at 422 because it wasn’t hit by Aaron Judge.
Either way, Gallo’s home run will remain a mystery to Twins fans who will have a fun story to tell their grandkids or just something to argue about in the bleachers.
