When baseball announcers refer to a home run as leaving the ballpark, they usually mean that the ball has left the field of play. At Wrigley Field in Chicago, however, the longest home runs actually leave the ballpark and become souvenirs for fans who are positioned on either West Waveland or North Sheffield avenues.
In this list, we’re counting down the 10 longest home runs at Wrigley Field through the 2022 season. It’s important to note that these home runs are only from 2015 onward, when MLB’s Statcast began to officially track the distance of each MLB home run. This list includes some North Side fan favorites, a player with single digits in career home runs and a lot of baseballs landing on the streets outside of the ballpark. (All videos appear courtesy of MLB.)
Here’s a look at the 10 longest home runs at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
10. Anthony Alford — 469 feet
Through 2022, outfielder Anthony Alford has hit just eight career home runs. The longest of his career came on September 3, 2021, when he was with the Pirates. Alford made good contact with a fastball from Alec Mills, connecting with an exit velocity of 110.9 mph. He drove the well over the left field bleachers onto West Waveland Avenue, 469 feet from home plate.
9. Kyle Schwarber — 470 feet
Before he was hitting towering shots at Citizens Bank Field as a member of the Phillies, outfielder Kyle Schwarber was pounding baseballs on Chicago’s North Side as a Cub. His longest at Wrigley Field came on May 23, 2017, against Johnny Cueto. Schwarber ripped a slider with an exit velocity of 114.2 mph (highest on this list) 470 feet, sending the baseball over the right field seats and onto North Sheffield Avenue.
7 (t). Anthony Rizzo — 472 feet
Anthony Rizzo hit 27 home runs with the Cubs in 2019, but none traveled farther than his early-season blast on April 12. Rizzo hit the first pitch he saw from Tyler Skaggs in the fifth inning 472 feet, driving the baseball over the right-center field seats. The ball deflected off a railing and ended up on the concourse, rather than tumbling down to the street below. Rizzo’s third home run of the season had an exit velocity of 111.2 mph.
7 (t). Michael Conforto — 472 feet
Michael Conforto’s 19th home run of the 2018 season — and the longest of that campaign — came off Jon Lester at Wrigley Field on August 27. The Mets outfielder ripped the first pitch he saw from Lester 472 feet to straightaway center field, with the baseball clearing the batter’s eye and landing in the seats above it. The home run left Conforto’s bat at 109.8 mph.
6. Ian Happ — 474 feet
Ian Happ has hit more than 100 home runs for the Cubs, but one that stands among the most impressive is the long ball he hit on August 5, 2019. In what was his first home run of an injury-shortened season, Happ sent a pitch from Blake Treinen 474 feet over the right-center field seats and onto North Sheffield Avenue.
5. Matt Davidson — 476 feet
Matt Davidson was playing for the White Sox in 2017 when he hit what is still his longest home run to date — but it came on the North Side, not the South Side of the city. Davidson’s blast, which came against Koji Uehara, occurred on July 24 and was his 19th of the season. The baseball left the slugger’s bat at 110.9 mph and traveled 476 feet, soaring over the left field seats onto West Waveland Avenue.
3 (t). Kris Bryant — 477 feet
Kris Bryant smacked 160 home runs in his seven years on the North Side, and many Cubs fans will remember the third baseman’s tape measure shot on May 26, 2016 against Washington. Bryant crushed a slider from Aaron Barrett at an exit velocity of 107.3 mph, lifting the baseball high into the Chicago night all the way to the video board in left-center field.
3 (t). Franmil Reyes — 477 feet
With a 3-0 count against Jon Lester during a game on August 5, 2018, San Diego’s Franmil Reyes got the green light and found a spot in the Wrigley Field record books. Reyes lifted a low fastball high into the air, sending it 477 feet to straightaway center. The baseball left Reyes’s bat at 111.2 mph and smacked off the batter’s eye. Reyes also owns top-10 home runs at Petco Park and Comerica Park.
2. Javier Báez — 481 feet
The best season of Javier Báez’s career to date was 2018 — a year in which the infielder had career highs in home runs and RBIs, while also finishing second in the National League MVP race. Báez also hit the longest home run of his career that year, and had the fortune of doing it at the friendly confines. The 481-foot shot, which came against Cincinnati’s Anthony DeSclafani, left Báez’s bat at 110.5 mph and soared over the seats in left-center field.
1. Willson Contreras — 491 feet
The longest home run of Willson Contreras’s career to date is also the longest blast in the Statcast era at Wrigley Field. The catcher hit the memorable long ball on October 18, 2017, during Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Dodgers starter Alex Wood left a slider high in the zone, and Contreras clubbed it with an exit velocity of 110.6 mph. The baseball smashed off the video in left-center field, 491 feet from home plate, and helped the Cubs to their lone win of the series.
The 10 Longest Home Runs at Wrigley Field are:
10. Anthony Alford — 469 feet
9. Kyle Schwarber — 470 feet
7 (t). Anthony Rizzo — 472 feet
7 (t). Michael Conforto — 472 feet
6. Ian Happ — 474 feet
5. Matt Davidson — 476 feet
3 (t). Kris Bryant — 477 feet
3 (t). Franmil Reyes — 477 feet
2. Javier Báez — 481 feet
1. Willson Contreras — 491 feet