By Dominic Konareski
Voice Writer
Home runs in bulk and long distance were rare as Major League Baseball was coming out of the dead-ball era in the early 20s. By the 1930s, there were a handful of players going yard at a consistent rate.
Overall, by 1933 the total number of home runs had increased to 1,067 compared to the 980 homers recorded during the 1923 season. It is merely a small number though compared to the 4,000 to 6,000 that are hit yearly now.
Babe Ruth was no stranger to the long ball, hitting 714 home runs during his multi-decade long career which spanned 22-years. Still, more than a century after some of Ruth’s seasons, the Babe still holds or is top five in MLB record books.
By 1933, Ruth was nearing the end of his career despite racking up over 100 RBIs and smashing more-than 30 homers. The Bronx hero was a frequent barnstormer during the offseason and was very fond of West Haven’s Donovan Field. Ruth attended numerous games while also playing in several himself.
Ruth visited Donovan Field in 1933 for an exhibition barnstorming game. To this day game logs are lost and there is no evidence who Ruth played, but there are eyewitness accounts that saw something spectacular.
Eyewitness accounts, along with the New Haven Register, claim that Babe Ruth hit a ball during batting practice that cleared Marsh Street, a parking lot and bike path before being lost forever in the depths of Long Island Sound. It was likely high tide at Savin Rock, but is it even possible to hit a ball that far?
Using image measurement software and aerial photos of Donovan Field with the beach view in clear sight, it is estimated that the ball traveled between 530-560 feet. If it went 560 feet that would just miss Ruth’s estimated blast from 1921, which is considered to be the longest home run in MLB history from the pre-Statcast era at 575 feet.
Overall, hitting 500-foot home runs are not impossible, but they’re also not common. The last 500-plus shot came in 2022 from CJ Cron and the longest (505 feet) was in 2019 off the bat of Nomar Mazara.