Rangers infielder Joey Gallo can hit the ball a long way. It’s what he’s known for and the reason he has a Major-League career.
But there’s hitting the ball far, and then there’s what Gallo did Sunday afternoon off Angels pitcher Garrett Richards. Just check out where this ball lands:
See that grass, way up there?
Yeah, @JoeyGallo24 just hit it THERE. 490 feet away! pic.twitter.com/8SzyVoDMRJ
— MLB (@MLB) September 17, 2017
That was a moonshot of the tallest (and farthest) order, the type of gargantuan blast you might expect if, say, Aaron Judge faced a high-school pitcher. Hitting the ball that distance off a solid pitcher like Richards should be impossible.
Angels beat writer Jeff Fletcher tweeted that the shot was the farthest he had ever seen to center field at Angels Stadium.
Joey Gallo just hit the farthest ball I've ever seen anyone hit to CF at Angel Stadium. It's 3-0 Rangers in the 2nd.
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) September 17, 2017
According to Statcast, the blast was the third farthest in the Majors this season.
The longest HRs in MLB this year:
1. Aaron Judge: 495
2. Gary Sanchez: 493
3. Joey Gallo: 490 https://t.co/14CVGI5m2y— David Adler (@_dadler) September 17, 2017
Gallo’s home run put the Rangers up 3-0, as they cling to rapidly diminishing wild-card hopes. It was Gallo’s 38th home run of the year, moving him into a tie for third in the American League. Sure, it’s not great that he has only 22 singles on the season and is hitting just .213. When you can hit the ball 490 feet, no one much cares.
