Among the most memorable events for me this season was an exchange I had at Rogers Centre with a couple of grizzled fans. I overheard them assert that the Jays "didn’t know how to create offence." When I pointed out that Toronto led the league in runs by a large margin, one of them shrugged the notion off, retorting: "That’s just because they’ve hit a lot of home runs."
I would have thought that this regard for the round tripper would be universal, though it never completely surprises me to hear fans occasionally minimizing the importance of power, while emphasizing the importance of a team’s ability to nudge and bump players around the bases, "manufacturing" runs while consuming all-important outs.
I know it sounds far too obvious to express this, but I love home runs.
To my mind, there is no moment in sports that captures the same feeling as a ball leaving the park. From the swing — violent yet graceful — to the sound of the ball off the bat. From the held-breath anticipation of the possibility that this ball may be gone, to the elation of the moment when it sails over the fence. A home run is a damn beautiful thing.
That being the case, it’s a good time to be a fan of both dingers and the Toronto Blue Jays, who lead MLB in that stat with 202 to this point of the season. That’s already seventh most in team history. After unlikely taters by Ben Revere and Cliff Pennington this past weekend, the Jays have now had 18 different players go yard for them this year.
Here are a few of the more notable homers from the 2015 season:
Longest Home Run
Edwin Encarnacion – 477 feet, Aug. 5 off Minnesota’s J.R. Graham at Rogers Centre
At the time, the Blue Jays were still in the midst of scraping and clawing through the pack towards a playoff berth, having pulled ahead of the Twins with a win the day before. This mammoth blast over the signage on the centre-field patio section put an exclamation point on the Jays’ supremacy over the Twins.
Hardest Hit Home Run
Josh Donaldson – 120.5 MPH off the bat, April 23 off Baltimore’s Chris Tillman at Rogers Centre
There won’t be many pity parties thrown for Chris Tillman on this side of the border this year, though the greater humanitarians among us might be tempted to sympathize with him after the Jays have victimized him for nine long balls so far this season.
None were hit harder than this epic two-run, 469-foot blast by Donaldson, his fourth of the season. In fact, no home run hit by any major leaguer this season has been measured with a faster exit velocity off the bat.
Highest Drive
Jose Bautista – 150 feet, June 5 off Houston’s Roberto Hernandez at Rogers Centre
At its apex – as recorded by Hittrackeronline.com – this towering shot reached 150 feet in the air before glancing just under the facing of the fifth deck.
Most Win Probability Added, Single Swing
Edwin Encarnacion – 0.80 WPA, June 9 off Miami’s A.J. Ramos at Rogers Centre (Walk off)
Trailing 3-2 with one out and Josh Donaldson on first with a leadoff single, Encarnacion swung on this pitch and turned the fates dramatically. Hammering this shot 411 feet to centre, Encarnacion memorably pointed to his sore right shoulder before teammates could impose a congratulatory assault on him at home plate.
Most Win Probability Added, Consecutive Nights
Josh Donaldson – 0.57 and 0.47, May 26 and 27 off Chicago’s David Robertson, Rogers Centre
Josh Donaldson’s MVP case began here, with a walk-off on Tuesday night and a game-tying dinger on Wednesday, both off the White Sox’s newly acquired big-money closer.
At the time, the Blue Jays were languishing somewhat, sputtering in fourth place and losing games they should have won. Though the Jays ended up losing the second game, they would turn their season around the next week with the first of two 11-game win streaks.
Grandest Slam
Justin Smoak, August 8 off New York’s Ivan Nova, Yankee Stadium
Smoak’s first career grand slam decisively put the Jays out in front in the sixth inning of a scoreless tie in the Bronx. With the eventual 6-0 win, the Jays pulled to within 2.5 games of the Yankees at the top of the AL East, and helped create the realistic perception of the Jays as potential pennant contenders. They would complete the sweep the next day, and two games later would slip ahead of the Yankees by a half game.
After last week, Smoak also holds the ignoble title of having the Jays’ two shortest homers of the season, with a 334-foot Yankee Stadium Special on Sept. 11 off Luis Severino, as well as a 341-foot Fenway Park fluke off Rick Porcello on Sept. 7.
Unlikeliest Homers and Seasonal Tipping Points
Kevin Pillar, June 2, two off Nationals’ Max Scherzer, Nationals Park
The Blue Jays lost the opening game of a doubleheader on this day, slipping to 23-30 on the season, their lowest mark of the season. Heading into the second game against all-world Cy Young laureate Scherzer, all matters looked grim.
This included the fate of Kevin Pillar, who sat the first game. Though he had played stellar defence, Pillar was posting a .585 OPS at the time, and seemed close to exile before launching two utterly improbable, dumbfounding dingers off the Nationals’ ace, helping to salvage a split.
From that point on, the Blue Jays posted a 58-31 record, the best in baseball.