The farthest home runs in MLB are the swings that make a stadium go silent for a half second and then explode. They clear second decks, crash into concourses, and leave pitchers staring over their shoulders. Fans love them because they feel unreal. Scientists love them because they push the limits of speed, angle, spin, and air. If you are here to see who really launched the ball the farthest, you are in the right place.
This piece explains how distances are measured, why older “record” shots are often debated, and how far the average major leaguer actually hits a homer. Then we rank the 10 longest blasts that have official measurements. If you are searching for the farthest home runs in MLB by verified data, this gives you a clean list to use and share.
Statcast vs. pre-Statcast: why some numbers are firm and others are folklore
For decades, distance numbers came from tape measures, press-box guesses, and stadium lore. That is why you will hear stories like Babe Ruth hitting a 575-foot homer or Mickey Mantle sending a ball 565 feet. They might have been colossal, but there was no standard method to measure them. Some estimates even relied on where the ball was found outside the park and then traced backward. Wind, bounces, and shaky math could all creep in.
In 2015, MLB introduced Statcast, a tracking system that uses high-speed cameras and radar to measure the ball’s speed, spin, launch angle, and flight. For home runs that land in the stands or leave the park, Statcast calculates a projected distance based on the full flight or, if the ball hits something, on its trajectory to that point. It is consistent across all parks. Because of that, the Statcast era gives us the most reliable way to rank the farthest home runs in MLB.
So when you see the older distances below, treat them as fun history. When you see the Statcast distances, know that they are apples-to-apples.
How far do homers usually go?
Most home runs travel between 380 and 420 feet. A typical blast leaves the bat at 100–108 mph with a launch angle in the high-teens to mid-20s. Anything beyond 450 feet is a bomb. When you start getting past 480, you are in the very top fraction of one percent. The swings on our list are unicorns: elite exit velocity, ideal launch angle, and often a friendly environment like thin air or a helping wind. That is what separates these from the pack and makes them stand out as the farthest home runs in MLB.
What counts as the farthest?
For a clean ranking, we use official Statcast measurements and combine regular-season and Home Run Derby distances. If two or more homers share the same distance, we note the tie. This keeps the list simple and repeatable. Our list of the farthest home runs in MLB uses that standard so you can compare across seasons without guesswork.
Top 10 farthest measured blasts (Statcast era)
Below are the 10 longest swings with verified distances. These entries include the Derby, where hitters take max cuts and sometimes hit in altitude.
1) Juan Soto — 520 feet (Home Run Derby, 2021, Coors Field)
Soto’s first-round blast was the swing everyone in Denver felt in their chest. He got a belt-high pitch, cleared his front side, and stayed through the zone forever, sending a true moonshot into the right-field upper deck. The carry was cartoonish: perfect backspin, ideal launch, and thin air that turned a no-doubter into the longest Statcast-measured homer to date. He piled up enough 440-plus shots to bank bonus time, and that early statement changed the energy of the whole Derby. If you rewatch the clip, look for the outfielders taking two courtesy steps and then just watching.
2) Trevor Story — 518 feet (Home Run Derby, 2021, Coors Field)
At his home yard, Story timed a center-cut pitch and sent it screaming toward the left-field concourse. The swing had that classic Story finish: tall, balanced, and effortless, like he knew it the instant it left the bat. The ball tracked on a rising arc that never looked like it would land inside the park. Crowd noise told the story too; you can hear the volume jump before the ball even clears the second deck. It was the perfect fusion of hometown adrenaline and a park that rewards clean contact.
3) Pete Alonso — 514 feet (Home Run Derby, 2021, Coors Field)
Alonso’s Derby rhythm is its own brand. He locked into a metronome tempo, kept the ball middle-in, and launched skyscrapers. This 514-footer was the apex of a night when he stacked multiple 500-foot drives and looked completely unbothered by the clock. What makes his long balls different is the combo of brute force and high, towering trajectories that seem to grab a thermal and ride it. In a field full of superstars, he looked engineered for the format.
T-4) Oneil Cruz — 513 feet (Home Run Derby, 2025, Truist Park)
Cruz’s left-handed whip produced the most “did that just leave the stadium?” moment Atlanta has seen in a Derby. He got extended to right-center, cleared the stands, and sent the ball entirely out of Truist Park. At 6-foot-7 with elite bat speed, he does not need perfect contact to do damage, but this one was centered and loud. Matching the longest Derby shot outside Denver, he announced that his raw power belongs in every farthest-ever conversation.
T-4) Shohei Ohtani — 513 feet (Home Run Derby, 2021, Coors Field)
Ohtani’s 513-footer was part of a breathtaking run that included a stack of 500-foot-class drives during his swing-off duel with Juan Soto. The swing itself is a masterclass: quiet gather, violent turn, and a finish that keeps the barrel on plane forever. The ball jumped to the right-field upper deck and vanished into a sea of hands, the kind of blast that looked machine-made even in slow motion.
T-4) Aaron Judge — 513 feet (Home Run Derby, 2017, Miami)
Before the Coors Field eruption in 2021, Judge’s Miami show rewrote what fans thought possible at sea level. His 513-footer cleared everything in left and felt like it was testing the limits of the building. The clip is pure awe: a short load, a direct path, and a follow-through that barely moves him off balance. He owned the non-Coors distance marks for years and did it while cruising to the title.
T-7) Nomar Mazara — 505 feet (Regular season, 2019, Globe Life Park)
Mazara’s drive is the gold standard for regular-season distance in the Statcast era. It was a low-spin missile that never ballooned, just kept carrying to the back of the park. What set it apart was how fast it got deep; there was no towering arc, just ridiculous exit speed and a perfect angle that split the difference between line-drive and loft. Since tracking began, no game homer has topped it.
T-7) Trevor Story — 505 feet (Regular season, 2018, Coors Field)
Story shows up again with a game-day blast that matched Mazara’s mark. Even at altitude, 505 during a live at-bat is rare air. He caught it out front, stayed through the ball, and launched a no-doubt shot that landed deep beyond left. It is the swing that made people realize his Derby power was not just a show setting; the juice plays when it counts.
T-9) Giancarlo Stanton — 504 feet (Regular season, 2016, Coors Field)
Stanton has made a career of scalded baseballs, and this 504-footer is the prototype. He got a pitch he could hammer, turned on it with that compact, violent move, and produced one of those exit velocities that make broadcasters laugh. Even in Denver, not many balls reach this far in a game. The carry looked endless and the sound off the bat had that unmistakable “uh-oh” tone.
T-9) C.J. Cron — 504 feet (Regular season, 2022, Coors Field)
Cron’s swing is shorter than most sluggers on this list, but the barrel lives in the zone and the contact is heavy. This one jumped to left and kept traveling until it neared the back of the concourse. It tied Stanton for second-longest in a regular season game and reminded everyone that Rockies hitters with real thump can produce cartoon distances when they square one.
Why does Denver show up so often
Coors Field sits a mile above sea level, where air density is lower and the ball faces less drag. When a hitter produces elite exit velocity and a clean launch angle, the reduced resistance can add dozens of feet of carry. The regular season humidor moderates some of that advantage, but on warm nights and during showcase events like the Derby, the environment still helps turn perfect contact into the kinds of shots that dominate any list of the farthest home runs in MLB.
The legends before lasers: pre-Statcast tales worth knowing
When people argue about the farthest home runs in MLB history, the old stories always come up. They are fun, but remember the measurement caveats.
- Babe Ruth, 1921: You will often see 575 feet cited at Navin Field in Detroit. It was likely enormous, but the number comes from where the ball was reportedly found, not from a measured flight path.
- Mickey Mantle, 1953: The famous “565-foot” blast at Griffith Stadium supposedly left the park and was found blocks away. It might have bounced or rolled after clearing the roof.
- Reggie Jackson, 1971 All-Star Game: A towering shot off a light tower in Detroit is often listed at 539 feet. The visual is iconic either way.
- Ted Williams, 1946: Fenway Park’s red seat in right field marks a 502-foot estimate. It honors a laser that shocked everyone in the park.
These are part of baseball’s charm, and they may indeed have been longer than many modern shots. But they are not measured the same way as the Statcast entries. That is why our ranked list relies on verified data while still tipping the cap to the past.
Every epic homer is a perfect storm of physics and skill:
Exit velocity. The ball needs to leave the bat at extreme speed, usually 112–120+ mph for the shots on our list. That level of speed is rare.
Launch angle. Too low and it is a laser that hits the wall. Too high and it dies in the air. The sweet spot for the farthest home runs in MLB is often around 25–30 degrees, though elite backspin can change that.
Spin. Backspin keeps the ball aloft by adding lift. But too much spin adds drag. The longest balls often have tight, efficient backspin.
Environment. Altitude, wind, temperature, and even humidity matter. Coors Field’s thin air helps. Warm air also reduces drag slightly. A wind blowing out can add extra feet.
Contact point. Hit it slightly below the center with a square barrel. That is where big league power meets the sweet spot.
Regular season vs. Derby: why both lists matter
You might ask, “Should the farthest home runs in MLB be from games that count?” It is a fair question. Derby swings happen with no pitcher, a predictable toss, and a batting practice ball. Still, the Derby is an MLB event with official tracking and a level playing field for all eight hitters. It shows the outer limits of what a human can do with a bat and ball.
Regular-season monsters carry their own charm. The stakes are real, the pitch could be anything, and the crowd reaction feels different. That is why the Mazara and Story 505-footers are so beloved. Both lists tell the full story of power in today’s game.
Park effects and why Coors shows up so often
Denver’s altitude is the biggest outlier. Air density is lower a mile above sea level. Less drag means more carry at the same launch conditions. Coors also has generous power alleys and, during some events like the 2021 Derby, settings that favor distance. But remember, not every long shot happens there. Aaron Judge reached 513 feet in Miami, and Oneil Cruz matched that number in Atlanta. Even outside Denver, the farthest home runs in MLB can still approach the 500-foot mark when everything lines up.
The average hitter vs. these unicorns
Most MLB players will never hit a ball 480 feet, let alone 500. The typical big leaguer’s maximum “best” might live around 440–460. A handful of sluggers—think Judge, Stanton, Ohtani—can touch 470–490 a few times a year. The top of the list requires a perfect collision and helpful conditions. That scarcity is why the farthest home runs in MLB stay in highlight packages for years.
What these distances say about modern hitters
Strength and bat speed across the league have climbed. Players train for rotational power, fast hips, and barrel speed. They also care about launch angle more than older generations did. When a hitter like Giancarlo Stanton or Oneil Cruz matches a 115+ mph swing with a perfect angle, you get a ball that looks like a comet. Today’s stars have the tech and training to chase the outer edges, which is why we keep seeing entries added to the list of the farthest home runs in MLB.
How to spot a potential record in real time
If you want to catch a new entry as it happens, watch for three clues:
- Sound and trajectory. The crack is different, and the ball holds a rising line instead of peaking early.
- Scoreboard numbers. Ballpark boards now show exit velocity and projected distance quickly. Anything over 115 mph with a mid-20s angle can turn historic.
- Outfielder reactions. When outfielders take two steps and stop, you know it is headed farther than usual.
Follow those cues, and you will know when you just witnessed one of the farthest home runs in MLB before the number even pops up on the screen.
Why fans argue about records
Baseball is a sport that loves its myths. People grew up with stories about Mantle clearing a roof or Ruth sending balls to faraway streets. That nostalgia is part of the joy. The Statcast era did not erase it. It gave us a new way to appreciate distance while keeping the legends alive. When someone says, “I still think Mantle hit one 560,” smile, tell the story, and then pull up the Statcast leaderboard.
Quick recap: what you should remember
- Statcast distances are verified and comparable across parks.
- Older distances are estimates and should be treated as lore, not lab results.
- The farthest home runs in MLB come from a perfect mix of speed, angle, spin, and environment.
- Derby shots give us the absolute outer limits. Regular-season bombs give us the drama.
- Only a tiny set of swings in any season make it past 480 feet, and very few touch 500.
If you love power, tracking the farthest home runs in MLB is a great way to see how the game keeps evolving. Better training, better bats, and better data have pushed distances to places that once felt impossible. Whether it is Soto’s 520-foot moonshot, Judge’s skyscraper in Miami, or Mazara’s game-day rocket, these are the swings fans tell their friends about the next day.
And if you want to keep up as new blasts happen, watch the exit velocity and launch angle in real time. When you see 118 mph at 28 degrees, lean forward. You might be about to witness another entry on the list of the farthest home runs in MLB.
