Do you remember the longest home run hit in Wrigley Field? There have certainly been a lot of memorable homers in the Friendly Confines, like the David Bote immaculate slam, the Kyle Schwarber on top of the video board homer, there was that huge grand slam Miguel Montero hit in the NLCS. There was that Rick Sutcliffe homer in the 1984 NLCS. Remember that Kerry Wood home run in the 2003 NLCS in game seven? But, while those might be memorable, little has been more mammoth than these homers.
Glenallen Hill Rooftop Blast
Back in the 2000 season, Glenallen Hill hit a blast that landed on top of the left field rooftop. This blast was incredible and estimated at a ridiculous 490-510 feet. In retrospect, Schwarber’s top of the scoreboard blast was estimated at a mere 419 feet.
It is believed that Hill’s blast is likely the fourth-longest, in-game homer in Wrigley Field history.
Dave Kingman
King Kong has two blasts that traveled well past 500 feet. Once was as a Chicago Cub and the other as a New York Met. There isn’t much information on the homer he hit as a Met in Wrigley, but some have estimated that it traveled between 500 and 525 feet.
The real blast is the home run he hit in a marathon game against the Philadelphia Phillies. A game that would end 23-22, Kingman would hit a tank job that some estimated that it traveled nearly 600 feet. After some cooler heads prevailed, this mammoth home run would travel between 525 and 550 feet. The homer has had many nicknames, but my favorite has always simply been, 3705 Kenmore. That’s the address of where is supposedly landed.
When your tank has an address, you know you’ve crushed one.
Roberto Clemente
This is arguably the longest, and the most controversial home run in Wrigley Field history. While no one has an official statement on the length of the home run, everyone can agree that the ball traveled just to the left of the historic Wrigley Field scoreboard in centerfield as it traveled out of the stadium and across the street.
There are multiple accounts that suggest that the ball traveled to the pinpoint I marked with red in centerfield. Here is a screenshot with the Kingman (blue) and Clemente (red) markings as to where the ball landed.
If the Clemente accounts are accurate, and Ernie Banks himself finds them to be true, Clemente’s blast traveled an estimated 535 to 555 feet.
Whether Roberto’s homer or Kingman’s is the longest can be argued over some friendly beers. But both of them are incredible feats of power. Power we can hopefully see at Wrigley again this summer.
