MLB's Longest Home Run Blasts of the 2013 Season

The great Ted Williams said that the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball. 

How much harder than that is it to hit a baseball with such power that it flies hundreds of feet through the air? Exponentially harder, I imagine.

Home runs require a combination of strength and accuracy. Obviously, the power needs to be there, but if the ball is not hit right off the sweet spot of the bat, it might simply be a dribbler down the third base line.

Using an amazing tool from ESPN called the Home Run Tracker, I am going to pull out the 10 longest home runs of 2013 in terms of true distance. This is defined as the distance the ball would have traveled if it had continued traveling down to the field level without being impeded by bleachers or fans.

10. Mike Napoli, Boston Red Sox

Date: May 1, 2013

Ballpark: Rogers Centre, Toronto

Opposing Pitcher: Esmil Rogers, Toronto Blue Jays

True Distance: 467 feet

Fun Fact: Of all the home runs on this list, this one has the highest apex at 133 feet. That is undoubtedly a moonshot.

9. Colby Rasmus, Toronto Blue Jays

Date: April 6, 2013

Ballpark: Rogers Centre, Toronto

Opposing Pitcher: Alfredo Aceves, Boston Red Sox

True Distance: 468 feet

Fun Fact: The Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays are the only teams to have both a home run hitter on the list as well as a pitcher who surrendered one of the home runs.

8. Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds

Date: April 24, 2013

Ballpark: Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati

Opposing Pitcher: Jeff Samardzija, Chicago Cubs

True Distance: 470 feet

Fun Fact: This is the second of four home runs on this list that was hit in April. It was easily the most popular month for major home runs.

7. Mark Trumbo, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Date: September 7, 2013

Ballpark: Angel Stadium, Anaheim

Opposing Pitcher: Derek Holland, Texas Rangers

True Distance: 471 feet

Fun Fact: Mark Trumbo hit more home runs than any of the other hitters on this list this season with 34 at the time of writing.

6. Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds

Date: June 22, 2013

Ballpark: Chase Field, Phoenix

Opposing Pitcher: Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks

True Distance: 472 feet

Fun Fact: The Cincinnati Reds are the only team to have two players on this list (Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier).

5. Mike Napoli, Boston Red Sox

Date: May 1, 2013

Ballpark: Rogers Centre, Toronto

Opposing Pitcher: Mark Buehrle, Toronto Blue Jays

True Distance: 472 feet

Fun Fact: This was quite the day for Mike Napoli who put two home runs on this list three innings apart (this one came in the fourth inning while his 10th-place blast was hit in the seventh).

4. Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs

Date: April 18, 2013

Ballpark: Wrigley Field, Chicago

Opposing Pitcher: Alexi Ogando, Texas Rangers

True Distance: 475 feet

Fun Fact: Four of the home runs on this list were hit by a player in his own ballpark. Anthony Rizzo’s went farthest.

3. Mark Trumbo, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Date: April 29, 2013

Ballpark: O.co Coliseum

Opposing Pitcher: Dan Straily, Oakland Athletics

True Distance: 475 feet

Fun Fact: When the ball left Mark Trumbo’s bat, it was traveling at 120.1 mph. That was the fastest on this list and the fastest of the season in all of Major League Baseball.

2. Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants

Date: August 27, 2013

Ballpark: Coors Field, Denver

Opposing Pitcher: Chad Bettis, Colorado Rockies

True Distance: 476 feet

Fun Fact: This home run was hit in the first inning, and each of the top seven home runs was hit in the first half of the game while none of the top 10 were hit later than the seventh.

1. Evan Gattis, Atlanta Braves

Date: September 8, 2013

Ballpark: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia

Opposing Pitcher: Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies

True Distance: 486 feet

Fun Fact: While this was an incredibly impressive home run, it would have only been the third longest in 2012 behind Giancarlo Stanton and Edwin Encarnacion.

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