Nothing I can say is going to prepare you for what you're about to see. And let's be honest, you don't want to hear from me right now.
Let's get to the destruction.
Nomar Mazara's home run went an estimated 491 feet. 3rd longest ball hit in the Statcast era. pic.twitter.com/9bkzqegjFI
— Baseball Fam (@ShtBallPlayrsDo) May 25, 2016
Come for the obliteration of a baseball. Stay for the fun numbers.
With a nice, smooth swing, Texas Rangers' rookie outfielder Nomar Mazara crushed a 491-foot bomb, per Statcast, on an 83 mile-per-hour curveball from Los Angeles Angels' lefty Hector Santiago (#RIP). The pitch velocity is the slowest for any home run among the top 10 longest jacks of the year, meaning Mazara had to provide a good bit of the power by his lonesome. The tape-measure shot was the longest home run of the season and surpassed Josh Hamilton's 490-foot tater from 2010 as the longest blast in the history of Globe Life Park.
| Batter | Distance (feet) | Exit Velocity (mph) | Launch Angle (degrees) | Height (feet) | Victim | Pitch Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nomar Mazara | 491 | 107.8 | 26.9 | 102 | Hector Santiago | 83.4 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 475 | 112.8 | 21.9 | 80.2 | Hector Neris | 87.2 |
| Franklin Gutierrez | 473 | 112.1 | 29.4 | 106.4 | John Lamb | 89.9 |
| Hanley Ramirez | 468 | 113.6 | 22.7 | 83 | Sean Manaea | 93.7 |
| Jordy Mercer | 466 | 105.7 | 25.4 | 82.8 | Patrick Corbin | 86.1 |
| Miguel Sano | 464 | 110.4 | 29.1 | 117.3 | Josh Tomlin | 90.7 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 462 | 116.8 | 23.5 | 89.1 | Chase Anderson | 82.4 |
| Nolan Arenado | 462 | 104.6 | 28.6 | 102 | James Shields | 84.6 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 462 | 110.7 | 25.1 | 91.9 | Mike Wright | 94 |
| Carlos Correa | 462 | 113.6 | 23.8 | 79.3 | Michael Pineda | 86.3 |
Mazara said he "put a good swing on it," which is like saying Aaron Rodgers throws a decent spiral or Stephen Curry can shoot it a little bit.
A very hard-working field reporter from Fox Sports Southwest abided by his hashtag and tracked down the recipients of Mazara's missile.
@statcast said Nomar Mazara's home run went 491 feet! All the way up here!!! #NeverEverQuit pic.twitter.com/ywDFNNW5p3
— FOX Sports Southwest (@FOXSportsSW) May 25, 2016
A pair of things about this photo amaze me. The two fans are alive, and they're so incredibly far away from home plate. I mean, look at the players in the background! I've looked outside of an airplane window and seen bigger people.
This moonshot gives us a chance to highlight Mazara's stellar season, which, honestly, is long overdue. The 21-year-old is going straight scorched-earth policy on the American League since making his debut on April 10.
He owns a .320/.365/.500 triple-slash line with a .371 wOBA, 8 homers and 27.4% line-drive rate. His 7.2% walk rate and 18.0% strikeout rate are both promising for a young player. Mazara has racked up 1.2 Wins Above Replacement, per FanGraphs, in just 39 games, which puts him on pace for a 5-win season over a full 162-game campaign. He's been the second-best player on a good Rangers team.
Byung-Ho Park is putting up a fight, but Mazara is threatening to run away away with Rookie of the Year honors in the American League, leading the race in wOBA, runs and RBI.
Mazara's quick start and Ian Desmond's resurgence are two big reasons Texas has been able to succeed despite getting very little production from Prince Fielder (.246 wOBA) and Mitch Moreland (.293 wOBA). The Rangers were 3-4 before calling up Mazara, and they're 24-16 since. At 27-20, Texas occupies the top wild card spot in the American League and sits just 1.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the American League West.
With Cole Hamels (25.3% strikeout rate) doing his thing and the impending return of Yu Darvish scheduled for this weekend, the Rangers may be the team to beat in the American League West, especially if Fielder's recent signs of life signal a turnaround in his play. For now, our team rankings have Texas ranked 20th with a 39.4% chance of making the playoffs and 21.9% odds of winning the division.