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Home Run Derby participants Juan Soto, Sammy Sosa, and Pete Alonso
It’s been more than 40 years since Major League Baseball added the Home Run Derby to the All-Star Game festivities. Dozens of superstars have gotten the chance to show off their power over the decades, including the players who are responsible for the longest dingers in the history of the event.
These are the longest home runs MLB players have hit while competing in the Home Run Derby
The MLB held its first-ever All-Star Game in 1933, and while it was initially slated to be a one-and-done event, the “Midsummer Classic” ended up becoming a beloved annual tradition that gave fans the chance to watch the best baseball players on the planet face off on the diamond.
The league also managed to strike gold when the Home Run Derby was added to the mix in 1985. The event essentially sold itself, as most fans didn’t need any motivation to tune into a showdown where competitors are tasked with hitting as many bombs as they can into the stands.
The league has tinkered with the format since it was introduced, but the core draw—watching guys try to hit the guts out of baseball—remains the same. The Home Run Derby has resulted in some massive drives over the years, but none of them have traveled as far as these.
It’s worth noting the StatCast Era didn’t arrive until 2015, but I’m also going to include unofficial measurements on home runs hit prior to that point.
Pete Alonso: 514 Feet
There are five different guys who’ve had a home run of exactly 513 feet, so I’m setting the minimum threshold for this list at exactly one more.
That means we’re kicking things off with Pete Alonso, who was hoping to defend the title he claimed in 2019 when the Home Run Derby headed to the haven that is Coors Field in 2021 (it had been called off the previous year due to the pandemic).
He was one of three men on this list who earned a spot by taking advantage of the thin air in Denver with a 514-footer, and he outfoxed all of them to win it for a second time.
Bobby Abreu: 517 Feet (2005)
Bobby Abreu not only won the Home Run Derby in 2005 but did so in unprecedented fashion: his 24 homers in the first round and the total of 41 he hit across all three were both records at the time.
He also came close to setting a record on the distance front, as his longest one went 517 feet.
Trevor Story 518 Feet (2021)
Trevor Story is the second player here who capitalized on the altitude at Coors Field, which he was already very familiar with as a member of the Rockies. He also had the crowd on his side, and they got to watch him hit the second-longest moon shot of the night at 518 feet.
Josh Hamilton: 518 Feet (2008)
It was hard not to root for Josh Hamilton at the Home Run Derby in 2008, which also marked his first of five straight All-Star selections he received after he overcame the addiction issues that threatened to derail his career.
He may not have won (the title went to Justin Morneau), but he had the longest home run at Yankee Stadium that night thanks to the one that unofficially went 518 feet.
Frank Thomas: 519 Feet (1994)
Frank Thomas was known as “The Big Hurt,” and he put a hurting on some of the baseballs that were thrown his way at the Home Run Derby in Pittsburgh in 1994.
None of them traveled further than the one that was pegged at 519 feet after it bounced off the front of the upper deck, and while Thomas lost to Ken Griffey Jr., he topped the field the following year.
Juan Soto: 520 Feet (2021)
Juan Soto may not have been able to win the Home Run Derby in 2021, but the third man whose appearance here comes from his performance at that year’s event was able to brag about the longest hit thanks to the 520-footer that is second only to the one that came off the bat of…
Sammy Sosa: 524 Feet (2002)
Sammy Sosa put on an absolute show at the Home Run Derby in Milwaukee in 2002, as he had seven home runs that went farther than 500 feet. (including 514′ and 520′). However, none of them traveled longer than the 524-foot bomb that he managed to hit into left field and literally out of the ballpark.
He’d previously claimed the crown in 2000, but Jason Giambi ended up topping him that year.