Historically, Target Field tends to be a pitcher-friendly ballpark, but it’s also a place that has played host to some mammoth home runs over the years.
In this list, we’re counting down the 10 longest home runs at Target Field through June 24, 2023. 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 four entries from one Twins slugger, one from an ageless wonder and one from a former big leaguer who once drew comparisons to David Ortiz. (All videos appear courtesy of MLB.)
Here’s a look at the 10 longest home runs at Target Field in Minneapolis.
10. Byron Buxton — 466 feet
June 22, 2023, was a memorable day for Minnesota’s Byron Buxton. The Twins slugger hit a pair of home runs against Boston that each traveled more than 460 feet, becoming the first hitter in the Statcast era to achieve this feat. His first inning long ball off Justin Garza traveled 466 feet, earning him a spot on this list. The blast left Buxton’s bat at 112.2 mph and landed on the second level in left field. In his next at-bat, Buxton drilled a 465-foot home run that fell just short of making this list.
8 (t). Byron Buxton — 469 feet
The 2022 season was a good one for Byron Buxton, who earned his first All-Star Game roster spot and also had career highs in home runs and RBIs. He hit 28 long balls, with the longest coming in front of a home crowd on April 24. Buxton launched a fastball from Liam Hendriks 469 feet into the upper deck in left-center field, giving him three of his 51 total RBIs in a single swing. The home run had an exit velocity of 111.8 mph.
8 (t). Miguel Sanó — 469 feet
Miguel Sanó’s first of several appearances on this list is thanks to a big fly he hit against Silvino Bracho on August 18, 2017. Sanó hit 28 home runs that year, but none flew farther than this one — a 469-foot blast that left Sanó’s bat at 110 mph. The no-doubt home run, the slugger’s final of the season, landed in the upper deck in left-center field.
6 (t). George Springer — 473 feet
Outfielder George Springer has top-10 home runs at multiple major league parks, including Rogers Centre and Minute Maid Park. His longest bomb in Minneapolis came on May 31, 2017, when he was a member of the Astros. Springer ripped a fastball from Ryan Pressly 473 feet into the second deck in left-center field. The home run had an exit velocity of 112.6 mph and was Springer’s longest of the season.
6 (t). Miguel Sanó — 473 feet
In 2021, Miguel Sanó hit 30 home runs for the second time in his career. While there was plenty of talk about the 495-foot blast that he hit at Fenway Park, one shouldn’t overlook a home run that he hit at Target Field on July 28. This one, his 17th of the year, was a towering shot that came off a Joe Jimenez fastball. It left Sanó’s bat at a whopping 114.8 mph and flew 473 feet into the ballpark’s upper deck.
5. Miguel Sanó — 475 feet
Miguel Sanó makes yet another appearance on this list, thanks to a 475-foot home run that he clubbed on August 18, 2021. This time, Sanó went to the opposite field against Cleveland’s Zach Plesac. The baseball entered the first section of the upper deck to the right of the Delta Sky360° Suite above the batter’s eye. It was Sanó’s 20th home run of the season and had an exit velocity of 113.9 mph.
4. Nelson Cruz — 478 feet
Nelson Cruz’s 29th home run of the 2019 season came at Target Field, and in addition to being one of the longest homers at the Minneapolis park in the Statcast era, it’s also the longest of Cruz’s career. The memorable shot came on August 3 against Danny Duffy, who threw an inside slider that Cruz sent 478 feet into the upper deck in left-center field. The home run had an exit velocity of 110.1 mph.
3. Kennys Vargas — 483 feet
Although Kennys Vargas hit only 11 home runs in 2017, one of them still holds up as one of the longest homers at Target Field. The three-run shot on June 20 came off a changeup from Derek Holland. Vargas cracked the pitch with an exit velocity of 114.1 mph, driving it deep to left-center field, where it landed just a few feet short of the upper deck. It was the seventh home run of the season for Vargas.
2. Pete Alonso — 489 feet
Although he hasn’t been a big leaguer all that long, New York’s Pete Alonso has hit tape measure blasts at several parks around baseball — Citi Field and Petco Park, among them. His longest at Target Field came on July 17 of his 2019 rookie season, when he drilled a slider from Matt Magill into the upper deck. The home run traveled 489 feet and had an exit velocity of 110.9 mph. It was Alonso’s 31st home run of a 53-home run season.
1. Miguel Sanó — 496 feet
Given his constant presence throughout this list, it seems only appropriate for Miguel Sanó to lay claim to the top spot. He earned this position on September 17, 2019, with a memorable shot against Chicago’s Ross Detwiler. With two runners on base, Sanó lifted a low fastball high into the Minneapolis night, sending the ball into the — you guessed it — upper deck in left-center field. The home run swing had an exit velocity of 113.5 mph, and the long ball was the second-longest home run hit in the big leagues in 2019.
The 10 Longest Home Runs at Target Field are:
1. Miguel Sanó — 496 feet
2. Pete Alonso — 489 feet
3. Kennys Vargas — 483 feet
4. Nelson Cruz — 478 feet
5. Miguel Sanó — 475 feet
6 (t). Miguel Sanó — 473 feet
6 (t). George Springer — 473 feet
8 (t). Miguel Sanó — 469 feet
8 (t). Byron Buxton — 469 feet
10. Byron Buxton — 466 feet