Carlos Guillen: The Strongest Man in the Majors
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by user Timothy Moreland (Bball3345)
If you were to wander over to a great site called HitTracker, then you would find the most extensive, accurate recording of home run distances. No surprise, the longest homerun hit this year was by the monster Ryan Howard at 491 feet. However, this shot was assisted tremendously by the wind blowing out. If altitude, wind, and temperature are factored in, then the longest home run in standard distance goes to Reggie Abercrombie's first major league home run earlier this year. That blast traveled halfway up the upper deck in the Great American Ballpark.
While these two players have hit the farthest homers, the Sultan of Swat this year has been none other than the Detroit Tigers' Carlos Guillen. His six homeruns averaged a standard distance (accounting for atmosphere) of 425.3 feet, the longest such average in the majors. Guillen's longest bomb was to the deepest corner of rightcenter in Comerica Park on April 29th. It traveled 438 feet, but would have traveled 463 if it had not lost 23 feet to the wind and 7 to temperature. Guillen may only have 6 HRs but sits at the top of the Top 5 in home run distance ahead of Jeff Francoeur, Barry Bonds, Torii Hunter, and Jim Thome.
Date
Thu 05/25/06, 12:42 pm EST
