
While there are some hot stove rumors beginning to circulate (*cough* Francisco Lindor *cough*), we’ve hit a lull in MLB’s offseason calendar. What’s more concerning is that it’s likely just the beginning of what is sure to be a long winter of a slow-moving free-agent market.
This would’ve sounded oxymoronic at any point over the past 10 years or so, but we can expect the New York Mets to provide us with some entertainment. Steve Cohen is officially in charge, the entire front office got their respective pink slips, and there’s a desire to make splashy roster moves. Until that starts happening, though, we’re kind of stuck in no-man’s land.
Players aren’t signing and there’s no on-field action to keep us occupied. With that in mind — and fighting off my own boredom as I impatiently wait for things to happen — I decided to look back at some of New York’s longest home runs from 2020.
We’ll spend time oogling the four longest distances a ball was hit by Mets hitters this past year. Thanks to a couple ties, that leaves us with six different instances (and players) to remember.
Pete Alonso, 456 feet, September 27th vs. Washington Nationals
The 2020 season didn’t go how Pete Alonso wanted. Every time it looked like he was about to kick things into high gear, it just didn’t happen…or the season ended. As he and the Mets entered their final regular-season series of the year against the Nationals in DC, I wrote about how his struggles didn’t worry me moving forward.
He clearly saved his best for last, with the below homer coming in the regular-season finale as part of a three-hit, two-homer performance. This capped a 24-plate-appearance span where he slashed a ridiculous .500/.583/1.200 with a 353 wRC+ before the season finished.
Not sure what’s better: the sound off @Pete_Alonso20’s bat for this 456-foot tater or @keithhernandez’s reaction to it.
Let’s go with both. #Mets #LGM (via Mets/YT) pic.twitter.com/3ut0YaBVul
— MLB Daily Dingers (@MLBDailyDingers) November 3, 2020
Robinson Canó, 441 feet, August 17th vs. Miami Marlins
After a rough first half of 2019, Robinson Canó found a way to keep his second-half hot streak alive for the duration of 2020. His 141 season-long wRC+ was a huge improvement over the prior year’s mark of 93, and while he stepped to the plate 241 fewer times, his 1.3 fWAR outpaced what he produced in his first season with the Mets (0.8).
He actually hit two homers on this particular night against the Marlins (as did Alonso), with the second one being the tape-measure shot. If we solely measure by single-game wRC+, his performance on August 17th (3-for-4 with two homers, four RBI, three runs scored) was easily his best night of the short season (692 wRC+, second-best game was 511 wRC+)
The below game recap was a fun one to watch in its entirety, but the Canó blast we’re discussing starts at the 1:42 mark.
Dominic Smith, 441 feet, September 23rd vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Any way you slice it, Dominic Smith‘s 2020 campaign was terrific. He hit 10 homers in 199 plate appearances, and the below game-tying solo shot was the final dinger of his stellar season. Don’t you love the immediate cursing reaction from Tyler Glasnow after he hung that curveball to Dom? Just priceless.
Between 2018 and 2020, Smith’s overall performance and power numbers have continually improved against right-handed pitching. He took a .200 ISO and 86 wRC+ in this situation during 2018 and improved it to .250 and 133 in 2019 before improving it again to .331 and 173, respectively, this past season.
Wilson Ramos, 440 feet, September 26th vs. Nationals
Wilson Ramos had a terrible year at the plate for the Mets in 2020. He entered in the final guaranteed year of his contract, but New York held a team option for 2021. Unfortunately for Ramos, who certainly felt the impact of COVID protocols, declining that option was too easy of a decision.
Like Alonso and Smith before him on this list, The Buffalo found a way to save his most powerful display for the last week of the regular season. It also wasn’t too shabby that it came off Max Scherzer.
.@WRamosC3 to the deepest part of the park. 💪 #LGM pic.twitter.com/cYfK0qmsri
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 26, 2020
This was Ramos’ last homer of 2020, and it was the first time he had gone deep in a couple weeks — his most recent dinger prior to this one came on September 11th against Ken Giles of the Toronto Blue Jays. That’s notable because of the five balls he sent over the fence this past season, his last two were the longest and had the highest exit velocity for that specific batted-ball event, according to his Statcast page.
Amed Rosario, 434 feet, August 18th vs. Marlins
If the Cleveland Indians reportedly have their way this winter, Amed Rosario won’t be manning shortstop for the Mets in 2021, but it remains to be seen if that actually happens (or, you know, another scenario comes into play that makes such a thing possible).
Between the length, exit velocity (107.8 mph), and launch angle (26 degrees), this definitely wins the title of Rosario’s most majestic home run of the year.
W👀W. #LGM pic.twitter.com/kAMAN91yvo
— New York Mets (@Mets) August 19, 2020
Three of his four homers came against right-handed pitchers, but he didn’t do much else outside of that in this specific matchup. He slashed .209/.218/.337 against righties this past year, which sussed out to a 49 wRC+. However, this particular homer did happen on the road, which was a much better situation for Rosie (104 wRC+, .764 OPS) than hitting at Citi Field (40 wRC+, .493 OPS).
Michael Conforto, 434 feet, July 27th vs. Boston Red Sox
Unlike everyone else on this list, Michael Conforto didn’t wait when it came to launching his longest homer of 2020. The below dinger at Fenway Park came in his fourth game of the season and was his first of nine he’d eventually hit.
One of Conforto’s best qualities as a hitter is his ability to take the ball to all fields with power. This is perfectly displayed when looking more closely at where his homers landed in the stands this year. Out of the nine times he went yard, Scooter pulled three, hit another three out to center field, and provided us with three oppo tacos.
Now, that’s some equal-opportunity slugging.





