Busch Stadium in St. Louis is primarily known as a pitcher-friendly park, but there have been plenty of times in the park’s history in which a hitter has gotten the best of a pitcher and launched a baseball deep.
In this list, we’re counting down the 10 longest home runs at Busch Stadium through the 2022 season. It’s important to note that these home runs are only from 2015 onward, when MLB’s Statcast began to officially track the distance of each MLB home run. This list includes two entries from a slugger called Goldy, some players who hit their longest career home runs in St. Louis and one player who has a pair of home runs of the same length. (All videos appear courtesy of MLB.)
Here’s a look at the 10 longest home runs at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.
10 (t). Tommy Pham — 454 feet
Tommy Pham kicks off our list as part of a four-way tie for 10th place. Pham’s longest home run at Busch Stadium took place on May 1, 2018, against the White Sox. With a full count against James Shields, Pham got a high fastball that he drove high and deep to left field. The baseball sailed to the right of the second deck, 454 feet from home plate. The home run, Pham’s fourth of the year, had an exit velocity of 110.5 mph.
10 (t). Harrison Bader — 454 feet
Harrison Bader’s ninth home run of 2019, which he hit on September 15 at Busch Stadium, was his longest of the season. Bader drilled a fastball from Chase Anderson 454 feet midway up the bleachers in left-center field. The ball left Bader’s bat at 109.1 mph.
10 (t). Brandon Moss — 454 feet
Brandon Moss has achieved the unusual feat of having two top-10 home runs at Busch Stadium that measure the same distance. The first of them came on September 2, 2015, against Washington’s Max Scherzer. Moss turned around a fastball with an exit velocity of 111.7 mph, sending the ball deep into the seats in right-center field. The 454-foot shot was his 19th of the season.
10 (t). Brandon Moss — 454 feet
The more recent of Brandon Moss’s 454-foot home runs in St. Louis took place on May 30, 2016. Moss smacked a fastball from Chris Young deep to right field with an exit velocity of 111.5 mph. The baseball narrowly missed the second deck and, instead, landed behind the cross-aisle of the field level seats. The home run was Moss’s longest of the season.
8 (t). Marcell Ozuna — 455 feet
Of the 29 home runs that outfielder Marcell Ozuna hit for the Cardinals in 2019, none traveled farther than his first home run of the season. The long ball in question came on April 6 against San Diego. Ozuna crushed a low slider from Robert Stock 455 feet into Big Mac Land — the second-deck seating section that pays tribute to former St. Louis slugger Mark McGwire. Ozuna’s home run has an exit velocity of 112.3 mph. Ozuna also has top-10 home runs at several other MLB parks, including Tropicana Field, Truist Park, and American Family Field.
8 (t). Yangervis Solarte — 455 feet
Another player who hit his longest home run of a particular season at Busch Stadium is Yangervis Solarte, who did so in 2017 as a member of the Padres. With his team leading 10-4 in the eighth inning, Solarte hammered a low slider from Josh Lucas with an exit velocity of 107.7 mph. The baseball landed in the cross-aisle behind the home bullpen in right-center field, 455 feet from home plate.
5 (t). Jay Bruce — 456 feet
Former first-round draft pick Jay Bruce had a successful 14-year career, hitting more than 300 home runs and winning a pair of Silver Slugger awards. Bruce’s home run in St. Louis off John Lackey on September 22, 2015, missed being his longest of the season by just a foot. The outfield slugged a slider from Lackey with an exit velocity of 108.8 mph, driving the ball 456 feet into the right-center field seats for his 25th long ball of the campaign. (No video available.)
5 (t). Mitch Moreland — 456 feet
First baseman Mitch Moreland hit nearly 200 home runs during his career, with the longest one coming at Busch Stadium on June 19, 2016. Moreland blasted a fastball from Mike Leake with an exit velocity of 110.6 mph, sending the baseball 456 feet over the bullpen in right-center field and into the seats, where it caromed all the way to the top of the section.
5 (t). Jedd Gyorko — 456 feet
Infielder Jeff Gyorko had his best offensive season in 2016, hitting a career-high 30 home runs in his first year with the Cardinals. His 28th homer of the campaign is not only one of the longest home runs hit at Busch Stadium, but is also the longest of Gyorko’s career. The 456-foot shot came off Cincinnati’s Dan Straily, who left a fastball in the center of the strike zone that Gyorko pummelled into the bleachers in left-center field with an exit velocity of 108 mph.
4. Justin Ruggiano — 461 feet
Justin Ruggiano hit just two home runs as a Met, and die-hard fans of this franchise may remember the tape measure blast that occurred at Busch Stadium on August 23, 2016. Ruggiano connected with a fastball from Jaime Garcia and drove the ball 461 feet to the bleachers in left-center field. The blast had an exit velocity of 107.4 mph.
3. Yoenis Céspedes — 463 feet
Yoenis Céspedes hit nine home runs with the Mets in 2018, shortly before his eight-year MLB career concluded. His three-run shot at Busch Stadium on April 24 remains one to remember. Céspedes crushed a Luke Weaver changeup 463 feet to left field, sending the ball past the edge of the second deck. The home run swing had an exit velocity of 115.1 mph, which is the highest of any EV on this list.
2. Paul Goldschmidt — 464 feet
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt hit at least 30 home runs in each of his first three seasons with the Cardinals, including some memorable tape-measure blasts at home. His longest of the 2019 season came on April 20 against the Mets. Goldschmidt lifted a fastball from Paul Sewald high and deep, driving the ball to the upper half of the bleachers in left-center field. The 464-foot shot had an exit velocity of 109.1 mph.
1. Paul Goldschmidt — 470 feet
A little over two years after his home run that ranks second on this list, Paul Goldschmidt was at it again. This time, his blast traveled 470 feet, which was his longest of the 2021 season and the 10th-longest home run hit in the big leagues that year. Goldschmidt smacked a high fastball from JT Brubaker deep to center field, soaring over the grass berm and bouncing high off the concrete behind it. The June 26 home run had an exit velocity of 108.9 mph.
The 10 Longest Home Runs at Busch Stadium are:
1. Paul Goldschmidt — 470 feet
2. Paul Goldschmidt — 464 feet
3. Yoenis Cespedes — 463 feet
4. Justin Ruggiano — 461 feet
5 (t). Jedd Gyorko — 456 feet
5 (t). Mitch Moreland — 456 feet
5 (t). Jay Bruce — 456 feet
8 (t). Yangervis Solarte — 455 feet
8 (t). Marcell Ozuna — 455 feet
10 (t). Brandon Moss — 454 feet
10 (t). Brandon Moss — 454 feet
10 (t). Harrison Bader — 454 feet
10 (t). Tommy Pham — 454 feet