didn't Reggie once hit a spec-tac-ular HR at Tiger Stadium? Imagine a full season there
Reggie Jackson, 1971 All-Star Game, Tiger Stadium, July 13,
On July 13, 1971, Reggie Jackson blasted what almost certainly is the longest home run ever hit in an All-Star game, and one of the longest of all time. Jackson's home run came at Tiger Stadium in Detroit off the NL pitcher, Dock Ellis from the Pirates. Jackson hammered a slider on a line to right-center field, clearing the roof and slamming into an electrical transformer about 100 feet above field level, at a distance from home plate of about 380 feet. Timing the home run was impossible to do directly, but with some physics, we have arrived at a reasonable estimate. The ball disappeared out of frame as the camera focused on the right field upper deck (a reasonable place to look for a normal home run at Tiger Stadium), and dropped back into frame after about 4.8 seconds, at a height of 60 feet above field level. The time required to drop 40 feet, with some small amount of downward velocity at impact, was determined using equations of motion to be about 1.35 seconds, leaving a time in flight of 3.45 seconds. As for atmospherics, the temperature at the time was about 90 degrees, and the wind was recorded as varying from 17 to 31 mph out to right field, so a value of 24 mph was chosen. To approximate the shielding effect of the high stadium walls at Tiger Stadium, a "floor" of 70 feet was chosen, removing the wind effects below that height above field level. When combined together, we get a result that is quite impressive: a speed off the bat of 122.4 mph at an angle of 31.5 degrees (slightly on the line drive end of the spectrum). This hit, combined with the atmospherics, would have propelled the ball an incredible 532 feet if the ball had not impacted the transformer. Reggie Jackson's '71 All-Star Game homer will be remembered forever as one of the most awesome feats of power in baseball history!