Remember that video from a few years ago of Mike Trout at TopGolf, where he launched a golf ball to the moon? Remember the velocity on that drive, and the sound it made, to the point where you almost felt bad for the golf ball as you watched it over and over again?
Well, Trout just did something similar in a game against the Chicago White Sox.
The Angels are in Chicago for some daytime baseball on a getaway day before heading to Houston to take on the Astros tomorrow night. Trout came to the plate with a runner on first in the top of the first inning, and was served an 82-mph breaking ball by White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn, right over the heart of the plate.
Lynn might want this one back:
Again, I’m no pitching expert or anything like that, but this seems like less-than-ideal execution here.
Interestingly enough, in terms of exit velocity, according to Baseball Savant this home run tracked at 110.8 mph off the bat, which is just middle of the pack this season. Matt Olson of the Atlanta Braves leads the way in that category, with 118.6. But in terms of distance, the 476 feet this home run traveled puts Trout up into the top three on the season, behind only Jarred Kelenic of the Seattle Mariners, and C.J. Cron from the Colorado Rockies.
Here is the current top ten in that category for reference, before Trout’s is added:
Almost brings to mind this scene from Bull Durham.
However, Trout would not be in third place for long.
You see, Trout was not the only one launching rockets out of Guaranteed Rate Field today. His teammate Shohei Ohtani has a pair of home runs on the day, and believe it or not his second eclipsed Trout’s, traveling 478 feet:
My goodness.