Mets History: Michael Conforto’s 472-foot bomb at Wrigley Field

Records are made to be broken. On August 27, 2018, New York Mets outfielder Michael Conforto set a new short-lived record by hitting the longest home run in franchise history; at least in the Statcast era.

Say what you want about Statcast—your grandchildren will thank you for being able to show a reference for some of the hardest and furthest hit balls in MLB history. Dating back to 2015, it’s a good lesson in speed, elevation, and distance. For the New York Mets, one absolute blast in 2018 set a new standard for the furthest hit since Statcast came around.

On August 27, 2018, Michael Conforto ripped a pitch from Chicago Cubs starter Jon Lester into dead center at Wrigley Field. In the Babe Ruth-type shot traveled an estimated distance of 472 feet. In the Statcast era, it became the longest hit by any Mets player.

With great power comes great responsibility. Scooter showed off the former in this at-bat.

This home run could be thought of as more than one long dinger. Despite many claiming Conforto had an excellent second-half in 2018, his monthly numbers were nothing special. He slashed just .247/.366/.455 during July with four home runs. In August, he hit .236/.325/.409 with five dongs.

It was in September when Conforto finally heated up for real. In the final month of the season, Mets fans were treated to nine home runs from his bat and a .286/.365/.616 slash line. Conforto drove in as many runs in September as he did in July and August combined. Count them all. He had 29.

This absolute blast from Conforto put him on the Mets crush list. Even though it was an August bomb, it may have set him up for the better month ahead in September.

Whether it has any deeper meaning or not doesn’t matter much. What does matter is that a few Cubs fans sitting in deep center field with no intention of having a ball swatted at them got their chance to catch one and throw it back in disgust.

The place atop the list of longest Mets home runs didn’t last too long. Pete Alonso has since passed it and will possibly knock a few further in the coming years.

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Fortunately for Conforto, his power stroke remains present. Alonso may have the title belt at the moment. Put one up in the zone for Conforto on a windy day in an even windier city, things may change.