Celebrate the longest day of the year with the 10 longest home runs of 2017 so far
At exactly 12:24 ET this morning, the sun moved directly above the Tropic of Cancer, and the summer solstice arrived -- making Wednesday the longest day of the year (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway).
And really, what better way to honor the longest day of 2017 than with the 10 longest dingers of 2017 so far? Besides, some of these baseballs might have actually reached escape velocity and are hurtling towards the sun right now.
10.
Over his two-plus years in Boston, Hanley Ramirez has bestowed a bounty of souvenirs unto the Red Sox fans atop the Green Monster. But what about those who aren't lucky enough to snag a seat on top of a giant green wall? What about those who can only drive past Fenway Park? Ramirez understands your plight -- so, against the Cubs back in April, he launched a ball that may or may not have made it onto the Massachusetts Turnpike:
9.
With a .347/.387/.661 slash line, Ryan Zimmerman has been one of the best stories of the first half. But none of his 19 homers have been more impressive than the one he nearly launched onto the left-field concourse against the Mets back in April. Less impressive, however, was his attempt at the
8.
Kyle Schwarber has endangered all manner of structures with his home runs, from the Shea Bridge to the Budweiser sign. Against
7.
The Yankees and Orioles combined for a whopping eight home runs during their 14-11 slugfest back in April -- but none of them were as gargantuan as the Manny Machado blast that ended up on top of the restaurant in dead center.
No, not even the one hit by
6.
It's important to note that AT&T Park has long been one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in baseball. Now, let's watch Kennys Vargas make it look like a Little League field.
5.
George Springer hit two home runs against the Twins on May 31. The first was a laser, a line drive that just carried into the seats in left. The second home run was ... not that.
4.
Jake Lamb has a career .557 OPS against left-handed pitching. Rockies lefty
3. Kennys Vargas, June 20 - 483 feet
Vargas is the only player to appear on this list twice, and given that he's 6-foot-5, 290 pounds and holds a baseball bat like it's a twig, it's not hard to see why:
Apparently
2.
Hitting a ball 489 feet is a remarkable testament to one's sheer strength:
If you for some reason remained unconvinced, however, Broxton came prepared with more visual aids:
1. Aaron Judge, June 11 - 495 feet
At this point, we've said just about all we can say about Judge. He is an unbelievably large human who hits baseballs an unbelievable distance with unbelievable regularity, and he's also one half of baseball's most adorable friendship. So, with that being said, let's just sit back and watch his most gargantuan blast of the year -- one that cleared not only the left-center-field bullpen, but the left-center-field bleachers: