Coors Field hosted an extended home run derby this week, setting the stage for some of the longest blasts since the beginning of August. But hold on to your measuring tapes — because, much like this year’s official Derby, a few of these shots even went the same distance.
Here are the MLB’s top five farthest home runs of the week.
5. Oneil Cruz, 451 Feet (8/1)
Oneil Cruz plus Colorado altitude? A match made in heaven.
Last Friday, the hard-hitting Pittsburgh outfielder stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs in the top of the first inning. He pounced on Antonio Senzatela’s 1-1 changeup at the bottom of the zone, crushing a 451-foot grand slam into the visiting bullpen beyond center field that gave his club a quick four-run lead.
The drive marked Cruz’s 18th blast of the season, a 114.7 mph laser that would have left the yard in all 30 ballparks. It sparked a nine-run first inning, though the Pirates ultimately fell to the Rockies in a 17-16 rollercoaster.
4. Hunter Goodman, 451 Feet (8/3)
It was only fair that at least one of these got hit by an actual Rockie. Catcher Hunter Goodman has been on fire, crushing three home runs in the last week and extending his total to an impressive 22.
The 25-year-old All-Star’s deepest shot was No. 21, which came against the Pirates on Sunday. Down 8-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Goodman caught hold of an 0-1, hanging sweeper from former All-Star Mitch Keller and sent it careening to the left field seats.
The 451-foot bomb didn’t alter the final score, but it marked his longest homer of the year.
3. Daulton Varsho, 451 Feet (8/4)
Sidelined with a hamstring injury since the end of May, Daulton Varsho finally returned to the Blue Jays lineup this month and is making his presence known.
On Monday, Varsho worked himself into a hitter’s count with one out, runners on second and third, and a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Right-hander Tanner Gordon tried to pull the string on a changeup down in the zone — but Varsho was ready for it, swatting a 451-foot jack into the seats beyond the visiting bullpen.
The bomb tied his career long and helped drive the Blue Jays to a 15-1 thrashing of the Rockies.
2. Davis Schneider, 454 Feet (8/6)
Utilityman Davis Schneider hit a bomb off one of the top pitchers in the game…’s brother.
The Blue Jays demolished the Rockies this week. They held an 11-run lead heading into the ninth inning on Wednesday, when Colorado waved the white flag and handed the ball to a position player — catcher Austin Nola.
Unfortunately, he didn’t quite have the same stuff as his brother, Aaron, a former All-Star with the Phillies. Nola surrendered eight hits, eight runs, and two home runs in the inning. One of the long balls came off the bat of Schneider, who crushed Nola’s 3-1 offering — a 52 mph eephus — to dead center for a three-run shot.
Schneider’s shot, a 454-foot missile, marked his seventh of the season and second of the game. The Blue Jays tacked on one more run for good measure, putting a stamp on a 20-1 thumping and a historic three-game sweep of the Rockies.
1. Daulton Varsho, 467 Feet (8/5)
Not to be outdone by himself, Varsho added two more homers to his tally Tuesday afternoon — including his farthest yet.
In the top of the fourth, he connected on a middle-middle fastball from Rockies right-hander Anthony Molina, launching a go-ahead, two-run shot. Two innings later, with a runner on first, Varsho clobbered Molina’s hanging changeup off the facing of the third-level seats — a 467-foot moonshot that rocketed off the bat at 108.3 mph — to give the Blue Jays a five-run lead in a game they ultimately won, 10-4.
Varsho’s no-doubt blast, his 11th homer of the year, set a new career benchmark and ranks among the farthest hit all season.
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