The longest home runs of the Giants season

On Friday, Mike Yastrzemski hit a baseball that, had it not hit a sign on the Coors Field balcony, might still be soaring across the skies of Denver.

It got me thinking about the biggest (in physical stature, not importance) home runs of the year for the San Francisco Giants. So here they are: the five longest home runs of the year.

Not featured is Evan Longoria’s fourth-decker against the San Diego Padres. It wasn’t even close to making the top five, which proves one thing: physics are stupid and should not be trusted.

With that out of the way . . .

5. Stephen Vogt - 442 feet

Pitcher: Jon Gray
Ballpark: Coors Field
Pitch: 95 mph four-seam fastball
Exit velocity: 106.8 mph
Launch angle: 25 degrees

I know I should be marveling at this majestic dinger, but every time I see it I pay attention to one thing and one thing only. I noticed it when I watched the game live, and when I watched the highlights the next morning, and then I forgot about it and noticed it again just now.

The video is delayed just a tiny bit too much, and as a result, Duane Kuiper gets excited about the powerful shot a little bit too early. Kuip yells, “VOGT!!!” as the burly catcher begins his swing.

Broadcasting is sadly not my forte. I assume that the monitors in the broadcast booth are ever so slightly delayed from the actual game, and that the broadcast duo, while watching the game live, is providing commentary based on what they see on the TV, and thus when a no-doubt thing happens live, it can cause moments like this.

But I’m not sure. If anyone knows how these things work, let me know. Because it isn’t off enough to bug me - just enough to make me curious.

Either way, it was a great home run, and I just adore the way Vogt always runs out of the batter’s box like a dog trying to find his footing on a wood floor, or a drag racer spinning its wheels before finding traction.

4. Brandon Crawford - 443 feet

Pitcher: Jesus Tinoco
Ballpark: Coors Field
Pitch: 93 mph slider
Exit velocity: 104.2 mph
Launch angle: 27 degrees

This was the second home run of the game for Crawford, and he would add a third later in the day, in the second game of the doubleheader.

It was a beauty, and, yes, if you couldn’t have guessed, Coors Field is a theme here.

3. Pablo Sandoval - 444 feet

Pitcher: German Marquez
Ballpark: Oracle Park
Pitch: 97 mph two-seam fastball
Exit velocity: 110.8 mph
Launch angle: 27 degrees

Oracle Park is not supposed to be on this list. San Francisco is where baseballs come when it’s that time of their life - time to settle down, take things slowly, and live out their final days.

It’s not where they come to be hit 444 feet to dead center. Then again, Pablo Sandoval has made a career by not doing what he’s supposed to on the baseball field.

2. Alex Dickerson - 458 feet

Pitcher: Taylor Clarke
Ballpark: Chase Field
Pitch: 88 mph changeup
Exit velocity: 110.9 mph
Launch angle: 21 degrees

If you want to highlight the most important play of the season, you could make a very strong case for this one. It was Alex Dickerson’s debut, and the team was 31-42. They had just lost three straight games to the Los Angeles Dodgers

They’d cycled through outfielders: Kevin Pillar, Steven Duggar, Tyler Austin, and Mike Yastrzemski had so far made the cut, but Mac Williamson, Mike Gerber, Connor Joe, Michael Reed, Gerardo Parra, Aaron Altherr, and Yangervis Solarte had not. Farhan Zaidi was searching for something.

Along came the big Dickerson energy. In his first at bat with the team, he singled. In his second at bat he hit a grand slam. It was, at the time, the longest home run of the season for the Giants. It gave them a 6-0 lead, en route to an 11-5 victory, en route to a series win.

Dickerson introduced himself in a loud way with that swing, and the introduction is still rippling down through the rest of the team. Since Dickerson joined the squad with that mammoth shot, the Giants are 35-23.

One play can’t turn a season around, but one play certainly can represent that turn.

1. Mike Yastrzemski - 472 feet

Pitcher: Peter Lambert
Ballpark: Coors Field
Pitch: 93 mph four-seam fastball
Exit velocity: 108.5 mph
Launch angle: 29 degrees

Mike Yastrzemski is the lightest player on the Giants roster. I’m not saying that as casual hyperbole based on how he looks. No, Mike Yastrzemski is literally the lightest player on the Giants active roster. He’s the second-lightest player on the 40-man roster, out-smalled only by one of the newest members, Mauricio Dubon.

According to a quick Google search, Mike Yastrzemski is 17.6 pounds lighter than the average American man.

And he just did . . . that. My word.

Mike Yastrzemski, folks: The most unexpected candidate for longest home run of the season.

I love baseball.