Correa hits longest HR ever tracked at Camden
Zachary Silver
@zachsilverBALTIMORE -- The bullpens at Oriole Park at Camden Yards are in left-center field and stacked on top of one another. Plently of home runs have landed in the lower 'pen, while that number is lower for the upper tank, where the visitors throw. But few have been able to clear both.
A ball off Carlos Correa's bat in the third inning Saturday kept sailing towards the bullpens. A few Astros relievers jumped up from their seats to see just exactly where it would land.
¡°A few guys scattered to try and catch it,¡± said reliever Chris Devenski. ¡°Then we realized it was going way over us.¡±
Correa¡¯s 474-foot blast during Houston's 23-2 win over the Orioles was the longest ever tracked at Camden Yards. The ball that cleared both bullpens was the longest home run of Correa¡¯s five-year career and it also tied for the longest Astros homer since Statcast began tracking in 2015, matching a blast from Yordan Alvarez -- 23 days ago.
¡°You just don't see balls, even on TV, ever go up there,¡± said Astros manager AJ Hinch.
¡°I don't think I can hit a ball there unless I hit from second base,¡± said Jose Altuve.
Correa¡¯s historic night was one-upped by Alvarez, who launched his first career three-homer game in the Majors. But while Alvarez owned two of the three hardest-hit balls on the night, none sailed farther than Correa¡¯s moonshot.
¡°He was joking with me that he has more power than me because it went farther,¡± Alvarez said through team interpreter Oz Ozcampo.
It was Correa¡¯s 16th home run of the year, which comes during a season riddled by injuries. He¡¯s already surpassed his total from last season in 161 fewer at-bats. Houston has 45 remaining games for Correa to try to reach his career high of 24.