- Babe Ruth hit the longest home run in MLB history.
- Adam Dunn’s 2004 blast is the longest homer of the 21st century.
- Home run measurements have become more accurate in recent years.
Long home runs have always made highlight reels. Power at the plate is captivating, and that’s not going to change any time soon. While any homer is an exciting play, some players are capable of sending the baseball way over the fence.
Naturally, many of the players with the longest homers in MLB history would have been among the favourites in MLB odds to lead the league in homers. Others didn’t have such successful careers but possessed the raw power to hit mammoth shots.
10 Longest MLB Home Runs
| Rank | Player | Ballpark | Distance | Year |
| 1 | Babe Ruth | Navin Field | 575 | 1922 |
| 2 | Mickey Mantle | Griffith Stadium | 565 | 1953 |
| 3 | Reggie Jackson | Tiger Stadium | 539 | 1971 |
| T-4 | Adam Dunn | Great American Ball Park | 535 | 2004 |
| T-4 | Willie Stargell | Olympic Stadium | 535 | 1979 |
| 6 | Dave Kingman | Wrigley Field | 530 | 1976 |
| 7 | Darryl Strawberry | Olympic Stadium | 525 | 1988 |
| 8 | Jim Thome | Progressive Field | 511 | 1999 |
| T-9 | Nomar Mazara | Globe Life Field | 505 | 2019 |
| T-9 | Mo Vaughn | Shea Stadium | 505 | 2002 |
1. Babe Ruth — 575 Feet
Facing Bert Cole in 1921, Babe Ruth hit the longest verifiable home run in MLB history.
Ruth took Cole 575 feet over the low-profile bleachers in the outfield. Some suspect it was closer to the 600-foot mark, and there was speculation that Ruth hit a ball over 600 feet at Artillery Park in 1926.
2. Mickey Mantle — 565 Feet
Chuck Stobbs threw a high fastball to Mickey Mantle at Griffith Stadium in 1953. Mantle, using a teammate’s bat, unleashed a ferocious swing, resulting in a 565-foot homer to left field.
Not only one of the longest homers in MLB history, this swing also introduced the term “tape-measure home run” to the baseball lexicon.
3. Reggie Jackson — 539 Feet
Mr. October was already a perennial candidate for MVP by 1971. Reggie Jackson was part of an Oakland Athletics team, which was among the baseball betting favourites to win the World Series, and he was an integral part of their offence. He was named an All-Star for a second time.
Hitting for Vida Blue in the third inning of the 1971 All-Star Game, Jackson took a pitch from Dock Ellis out of Tiger Stadium. The ball hit the roof of the stadium. It was a truly jaw-dropping piece of hitting in the Midsummer Classic.
T-4. Adam Dunn — 535 Feet
Facing Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher José Lima in 2004, Adam Dunn hit the longest homer in the history of Great American Ball Park.
August 10, 2004: Adam Dunn hits a baseball 535 feet. 💪 #RedsVault pic.twitter.com/3BIBR3qiM3
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) August 10, 2020
Dunn, who was sitting on a changeup, got a fastball from Lima. He launched the ball out of the stadium to centre field. After bouncing on the road, it eventually settled on the banks of the Ohio River, meaning Dunn technically hit the ball into another state.
T-4. Willie Stargell — 535 Feet
Willie Stargell hit plenty of long homers in his Hall of Fame career. It was against the Montreal Expos in 1978 that he hit his longest, however, registering a whopping 535 feet.
To honour the longest homer in Olympic Stadium history, the Expos painted the seat where the ball landed in a shade of Pittsburgh Pirates yellow.
6. Dave Kingman — 530 Feet
In a high-scoring thriller with the Philadelphia Phillies, Dave Kingman hit three home runs. An all-or-nothing hitter who twice led the National League in homers, Kingman had immense power.
His 530-foot blast at Wrigley Field landed on the roof of a porch three houses down.
7. Darryl Strawberry — 525 Feet
Darryl Strawberry hit the longest homer of his career off the Montreal Expos’ Randy St. Claire on Opening Day of the 1988 season.
Receiving a belt-high fastball from St. Claire, Strawberry clattered the ball high and deep to right. It collided with Olympic Stadium’s concrete service ring, leaving Strawberry and others bewildered. He even briefly paused at second base, wondering if it was a ground-rule double.
8. Jim Thome — 511 Feet
Jim Thome would’ve regularly been among the best online sportsbook favourites to lead the league in homers. Thome clobbered 612 long balls in his career, with the longest coming in 1999 at Progressive Field.
Working the count to 3-1, Thome obliterated a pitch to left-centre field. It bounced once on the concourse before landing on Eagle Avenue.
T-9. Nomar Mazara — 505 Feet
Nomar Mazara mashed a 482-foot home run on Opening Day of the 2019 season. In June of the same year, he set the Statcast record with a 505-foot shot off Reynaldo López.
Exploding off his bat, Mazara sent a fastball into the upper deck in right field. While the ball was obviously hit very hard, Mazara seemed to benefit from some damage to the windscreens at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Despite his elite power, Mazara could never put it together to become a league-average hitter. He played his final MLB game in 2022.
T-9. Mo Vaughn — 505 Feet
Mo Vaughn hit a pitch from Atlanta Braves reliever Kevin Gryboski off the Budweiser sign at Shea Stadium in 2002. It was an estimated 505-foot blast from Vaughn, who had been acquired by the New York Mets in the prior offseason.
While Vaughn’s career as a Met was underwhelming, this was an unforgettable moment for everyone in attendance that day.