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The 2018 Yankees hit a lot of home runs. The Bronx Bombers lived up to their name by breaking the MLB record for most team home runs in a single season with 267 long balls. It all started when Giancarlo Stanton made his Yankee debut in exciting fashion and the fun never stopped.
Obviously the offense was a source of frustration at times this year, especially when the season finally ended for the Yankees in the ALDS, but it’s still fun to look back at all the absolute bombs that were hit this year. These moonshots happened often, which is normal on a team consisting of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gary Sanchez, but they never cease to amaze. It’s also no surprise that the five longest ones of the year were hit by those three.
5. Giancarlo Stanton - 6/4/18
Distance: 456 ft. | Against: Mike Fiers, Tigers
Video:
We start off our list with Giancarlo Stanton’s 13th home run of the year. This game was the second of a split doubleheader that the Yankees could’ve won but frustrating play led to a loss, a recurring theme in 2018. Stanton’s home run came in the sixth inning off Mike Fiers, who was actually the pitcher that hit him in the face when he was with the Marlins. Fiers also hit Stanton earlier in the game, so getting his revenge this way must’ve been satisfying for the big baseball boy.
4. Giancarlo Stanton - 4/4/18
Distance: 458 ft. | Against: Blake Snell, Rays
Video:
Stanton’s second entry on this list came a day after boos rained down on him during his first series as a home player in Yankee Stadium. As Matt Ferenchick said in the game recap, this game was exactly what Yankees fans dreamed of when the team acquired Stanton. He led off the dinger party, but Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez each had two-run home runs of their own in this game.
3. Gary Sanchez - 9/10/18
Distance: 460 ft. | Against: Kyle Gibson, Twins
Video:
Gary Sanchez’s struggles this year were well documented, but it was games like these that gave Yankees fans hope. Games like these were when it felt like he was finally going to break out. The Kraken led the offense in this game with three hits, including this mammoth, which helped the team to a 7-2 win.
2. Gary Sanchez - 5/4/18
Distance: 461 ft. | Against: Josh Tomlin, Cleveland
Video:
This was a wild game from the start. It included Gleyber Torres’ first career home run and a walk-off hit from Rookie of the Year contender Miguel Andujar thanks to a bullpen meltdown. Lost in all the shuffle was this absolute bomb from Sanchez, but I was there in person and I can tell you that it was an absolute delight to witness.
Aaron Judge - 5/23/18
Distance: 471 ft. | Against: Tony Barnette, Rangers
Video:
There was no way we’d have a list of longest Yankee home runs without an appearance from the team’s MVP, right? Aaron Judge gets the honor of hitting the team’s longest home run of the year. This towering missile gave the Yankees a 10-5 lead that they would eventually relinquish in a 12-10 loss to the Rangers. To sum up: this game was dumb, but oh my goodness Aaron Judge.
These home runs were all impressive in their own right, but we shouldn’t limit our review to just those. Instead of watching that terrible movie tonight, spend two and a half hours and relive all 267 home runs of the 2018 season:
These were all just the regular season home runs, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the longest of the entire season at 479 feet (!), courtesy of Gary Sanchez. The distance was enough to impress, but that it came in the postseason against the stupid Red Sox at Fenway was just the icing on the cake, even if the Yankees ended up losing the series.
At least we know we have more of these monster dongs to look forward to in 2019.
*Statistics provided courtesy of Baseball Savant