Rockies pitcher Jon Gray hit one of the longest home runs of the season
Home run totals are up across both leagues, with young players like Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger leading in many power statistics old and new. In June, more home runs were hit than in any month in the history of baseball, with the 30 teams combining for 1,101 four-baggers in just 30 days.
But even with all this power, on Wednesday night one player showed off a bit of unexpected strength in Colorado, and while it happened a bit too late for Home Run Derby consideration, it does deserve to be appreciated.
Taking the plate against Scott Feldman of the Cincinnati Reds, Rockies pitcher Jon Gray hit the first home run of his major league career, crushing the ball a whole 467 feet, the longest hit by a pitcher since MLB's Statcast began tracking distances in 2015.
You can watch video of the monstrous smash below, complete with a smooth shuffle step from Gray as he realizes just how good the contact he made was.
According to ESPN's "Home run tracker," the true distance of the home run was 457 feet, but that was still good enough to be the 32nd longest home run of the season.
When Gray got back to the dugout, his teammates were somewhat awestruck.
"They really didn't say much, just, 'Man, that was crushed,'" Gray said after the game. "I told them the same thing." ESPN also noted that the home run Gray hit was longer than any he had given up to a batter so far in his three years of major league pitching.
The home run was not just the longest by a pitcher since we began tracking the stat, it was also apparently the longest ball hit out of Coors Field so far this season by any player.
In addition to his career night at the plate, Gray also had a solid night on the mound, pitching into the sixth while allowing just two earned runs and doing enough for the Rockies to take home the win.