Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras cranked a *massive* dinger during Monday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves.
In the top of the seventh with a runner on second base and the Cubs trailing 8-5, Contreras sent a Tyler Matzek pitch deep into the left-center field seats at Truist Park. The blast has an estimated distance of 491 feet, with an exit velocity of 114.3 mph.
4️⃣9️⃣1️⃣‼️@WContreras40 #CubTogether pic.twitter.com/9ec7sNp40m
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 27, 2021
Willson Contreras off LHP Tyler Matzek – 114.3 mph, 24 degrees (491 ft Home Run)
94.8 mph 4-Seam Fastball#Cubs @ #Braves (T7)— MLBBarrelAlert (@MLBBarrelAlert) April 27, 2021
UPDATE: Nevermind. An inning later, they updated the distance to 456 feet. Still a big bomb, but pretty far off from 491.
For some clarification:
Contreras’ home run was originally projected at 491 feet, based on Statcast tracking. As is often the case on especially long home runs, that distance was reviewed for accuracy. It was subsequently determined that the correct distance was 456 feet.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) April 27, 2021
That’s one heck of a bomb, and it’s good for the longest home run in MLB this season, topping a 485-foot dinger that Chicago White Sox breakout rookie Yermín Mercedes hit on April 8. And it’s the longest home run hit by a Cubs player since Aramis Ramírez crushed a 495-foot blast vs the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007.
Per @ESPNStatsInfo: 491 ft HR for Willson Contreras is the longest home run by a Cubs player since Aramis Ramirez hit one 495 feet in 2007 off Pittsburgh's Paul Maholm.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) April 27, 2021
Contreras has seven homers on the season, tying him with nine other players for the MLB lead.