Reminiscing About Mets’ Five Longest Homers of 2021

Now that the World Series is over and the Atlanta Braves have been crowned as champions (harumph), MLB’s offseason is officially upon us. It should be an interesting few months for our New York Mets, but you know what? I miss hearing the best booth in baseball on the call during some exciting moments by the boys in orange and blue.

So before things get hectic and the Hot Stove starts heating up, let’s take a stroll down memory lane and enjoy the five longest homers hit by the Mets during the 2021 regular season.

5. Francisco Lindor, 436 feet, September 12th vs. New York Yankees

Ah, yes — Francisco Lindor‘s signature Mets moment thus far. With New York essentially out of the playoff hunt by the time the final installment of the Subway Series rolled around, this was the closest the Mets would be getting to a postseason atmosphere in 2021.

Thankfully, the Amazins’ superstar shortstop showed up for his best single-game performance of the year. He went 3-for-5 with three homers, five RBI, and three runs scored. Lindor’s 769 wRC+ for this particular game was his highest mark of the year. The 27-year-old’s cumulative distance on these three dingers was 1,229 feet, with his second round-tripper off Wandy Peralta being the 436-footer that put him on this list.

4. Jonathan Villar, 437 feet, July 9th vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Similar to Lindor, Jonathan Villar‘s longest homer of the season came during an overall memorable single-game performance, as he hit a dinger from each side of the plate. The 437-foot bomb came as a right-handed hitter, and it ended up being one of three homers that traveled at least 430 feet in 2021 for him. The one difference between these dingers was that his longest was the only one to not come off a four-seam fastball (it was a slider).

Some of Villar’s general statistics on fly balls from this past season were the best he produced in quite some time. His 216 wRC+ for this batted-ball event was the highest it’s been since 2016 (241). His 37.8% hard-hit rate was the highest it’s been since 2018 (42.3%), while his 27.6% pull rate was the highest it’s been since 2015 (35.0%).

Only three of Villar’s 18 homers from 2021 came from the right side of the plate, but he certainly made this one count.

Javier Báez, 444 feet, August 29th vs. Washington Nationals

Javier Báez only spent a couple of months with the Mets after he was acquired at the July trade deadline, but he made an impact during his limited time with the club. And, when he gets ahold of one — as he does in the above video — the slick-fielding infielder enjoys admiring his work. I don’t blame him one bit.

Two of his three longest homers of 2021 came with the Mets. The other being a 438-footer on September 9th, and his longest came with the Chicago Cubs — a 455-foot dinger on May 31st. Interestingly enough, he didn’t need a ton of velocity from opposing pitchers to blast these mammoth homers — that 455-foot homer came on a changeup, while the other two he hit with the Mets were on curveballs.

I’d say he generated plenty of velocity on his own, though. The exit velocities for each of these three dingers were at least 107 mph.

In just 186 plate appearances in New York, Báez slashed .299/.371/.515 with nine homers, 22 RBI, and 32 runs scored, all good for a 143 wRC+. His 1.7 fWAR nearly matched what he did in Chicago through 361 plate appearances (2.0 fWAR).

Pete Alonso, 453 feet, July 29th vs. Atlanta Braves

Pete Alonso hitting a ball more than 450 feet? That sounds like a story we’ve heard a few times before. The Mets’ premier slugger hit two dingers at least 450 feet this year, and both had an exit velocity in excess of 111 mph. Looking back on his short career thus far, these two bombs from 2021 were the 10th and 11th homers that have traveled at least that far off Alonso’s bat.

This particular blast was on the heels of the first baseman nabbing his second Home Run Derby title, and it also put a cap on the most powerful month of his season. Through 112 plate appearances, Alonso slashed .250/.304/.577 with 10 homers, 22 RBI, and a 136 wRC+. Those homers and RBI were the most of any month in 2021, and his .327 ISO during this time was also the highest.

Michael Conforto, 469 feet, September 29th vs. Miami Marlins

Michael Conforto didn’t have the year he was hoping for in 2021, but it also seemed as if he was more like himself as the season wore on. One of the indicators could be that some of his longest homers didn’t come until the end of the year. In addition to the above 469-footer, Conforto hit three other balls at least 420 feet, with all four of these dingers coming from August 7th to the end of the season.

This was only the second time Scooter eclipsed the 460-foot mark during his MLB career, with the last one coming in 2018. On August 27th that year, he took Jon Lester of the Cubs deep for 472 feet.

If we use August 1st as a marker for Conforto’s season, it displays two very different performances. Through July 31st (264 plate appearances), he slashed .198/.322/.324 with six homers, 25 RBI, and an 88 wRC+. From August 1st through the end of the season (215 plate appearances), he slashed .272/.372/.457 with eight homers, 30 RBI, and a 128 wRC+.