The longest home runs hit at Comerica Park

Comerica Park is big enough all around that there are no cheap home runs. But that massive outfield makes it all the more majestic when sluggers crush tape-measure homers, making this ballpark somehow look small. Simply hitting the shrubs in straightaway center field used to be a big enough deal that those home runs were tracked in the Tigers media guide. Hitters have been going well beyond that for over a decade. While some memorable drives predate Statcast, such as Carlos Pena’s drive to the right-center-field concourse in 2005 or Wily Mo Pena’s estimated 454-foot drive to left in 2011, here are the five longest homers in Comerica Park since Statcast became the standard in 2015:

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1. J.D. Martinez, July 21, 2015 (467 feet)
This is the standard by which all Comerica Park homers are measured these days. Simply clearing the first row of shrubs beyond the center-field fence is a big deal. Miguel Cabrera later became known for reaching the camera perch above that. Martinez’s 113.1 mph drive off a Taijuan Walker fastball hit the roof of that perch, more than midway up the batters’ eye. Respect to the camera crew for not flinching and focusing on their work.

2. J.P. Arencibia, Sept. 7, 2015 (464 feet)
Sadly, there is no video archive of this launch by the then-Rays catcher off Tigers starter Randy Wolf. The drive to left had an exit velocity of 109 mph, according to Statcast, and reached the base of the brick wall behind the left-field seats.

3. Franmil Reyes, Aug. 14, 2020 (462 feet)
Reyes hit four of his nine home runs in 2020 off Tigers pitchers, but this was the memorable one. The massive slugger connected with a hanging breaking ball from Ivan Nova and crushed it, sending it nearly onto the concourse beyond center field. Sadly, the COVID pandemic denied fans the chance to marvel at this drive in person, save for the few fans enjoying dinner atop the Detroit Athletic Club across the street.

4. Miguel Cabrera, June 29, 2016 (459 feet)
Cabrera hit two tape-measure home runs to left-center field at Comerica Park in a nine-day span. This was the second, as he jumped on a 3-2 fastball from then-Marlins pitcher Dustin McGowan and hit it off the base of the brick wall behind the seats. McGowan didn’t bother looking.

5. Yoán Moncada, April 19, 2019 (458 feet)
The ball doesn’t normally carry well at Comerica Park during cold weather early in the season, but Yoán Moncada’s drive off Jordan Zimmermann had no regard for the 40-degree temperature at first pitch. The ball kept carrying as JaCoby Jones ran towards the wall, eventually clearing both rows of shrubs in straightaway center before bouncing back onto the field.