Saturday, October 24

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BOSTON – Sitting in my perch in the front row of the press box at Fenway Park, where I’ve been stationed for nearly a quarter-century, you sometimes see something extraordinary.

In Friday night’s 6-4 win over the Giants, my initial reaction was that Willson Contreras hit one of the most majestic home runs you will ever see at Fenway Park.

In today’s world of data, you can actually see if your eyes are telling you the truth. In this case, my 54-year-old eyes weren’t lying.

Per Statcast, the blast soared off the bat of Contreras at an exit velocity of 116 mph, a launch angle of 30 degrees and a projected distance of 452 feet. His bat speed was 82 mph.

There’s something more intriguing about baseballs that go over everything in left field at Fenway because it makes your imagination travel a little differently than when you can actually see it land at some far-away destination in the ballpark. 

Making this one even more interesting is that the ball disappeared into the darkness of night and none of the camera angles had a shot of it hitting the ground. The Green Monster is only 310 feet from home plate, which tells you the ball wasn’t nearly finished traveling when it left the yard.

“That was a crazy homer,” said Contreras. “I mean, that's one of the best swings I ever had in my career, and I'm happy it happened here.”

What is the feeling like when a player hits a ball that hard and that far?

“Nothing, you feel nothing. You feel like everything is light, nothing is heavy. Everything feels perfect,” said Contreras. “That's one of those feelings that you want to get back, and it happens once in a while, but I enjoyed it as much as I could.”

Contreras knew he got all of it, but didn’t know the full extent until he was briefed on the metrics.

“I knew I hit it well, and I knew I hit it hard, but I wasn't expecting it to be at 116 [mph] and 30 [degree launch angle],” said Contreras. “When I got to the dugout, the guys started joking around. I was like, ‘How hard did I hit that?’ They made me guess. ‘I was like I don't know, 110?’ But they told me 116. I couldn't believe it. I had to watch it myself.”

Only one other time in his career did Contreras hit a ball that hard, and it was on May 31, 2022. But that 116 mph shot against the Brewers at Wrigley Field went a mere 378 feet with an 18-degree launch angle. 

It was the sixth hardest-hit homer in MLB this season, not far behind the 116.9 mph rip by Pittsburgh’s O’Neil Cruz that currently tops the list for this season. His bad speed was also the 15th-highest on the nearly 4,500 home runs hit across the Majors this year.

Since the launch of Statcast in 2015, how many Red Sox players have hit a homer at a greater exit velocity?

Not many.

Franchy Cordero scorched one at 118.6 mph on May 23, 2021. Hanley Ramirez mashed a 117.5 mph special on April 11, 2018. Rafael Devers, who was in town this weekend to watch the missile by Contreras, had a 116.5 mph homer on Sept. 8, 2020.

Contreras ranks fourth over that span of nearly 12 seasons.

But the best career bolt for Contreras – particularly when you consider the stage – was a 491-footer in Game 4 of the 2017 NLCS at Wrigley against the Dodgers, the only game the Cubs won in that series.

Contreras is pretty fond of this one also. He has just one regret. 

“I mean, [491] feet is a long home run for sure,” Contreras said. “But I bet if it had been a day game, it would have gone further. I’ll take it though. It was a homer that helped the team to win, and that’s all that matters.”

The Red Sox could get key reinforcements back to their roster as soon as this week.

Of course, the return everyone is anticipating is Roman Anthony, who has played four games in his Minor League rehab assignment with Double-A Portland and will report to Triple-A for the start of a homestand for the WooSox on Tuesday night.

It isn’t out of the question that Anthony could be back in action when the Red Sox play their four-game rivalry series in New York against the Yankees, starting on Friday night. 

Anthony is coming off a partially torn tendon in his right hand/wrist that he suffered on May 4 in Detroit. The return of such an impact bat could be key to Boston’s hopes of a deep postseason run.

Shortstop Trevor Story (sports hernia surgery) and utility infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa (stress reaction, left forearm) both played for Triple-A Worcester in Syracuse this past week. They will come to Fenway Park on Monday while the Red Sox are in Miami and be evaluated by the team’s medical staff to determine next steps. It could be that Story and/or Kiner-Falefa are activated at some point while the Sox are in Miami. There’s also a chance one or both players could get more at-bats in the Minors.

Given how much Jahmai Jones struggled with the Tigers this season, when he slashed .137/.219/.221 with two homers and seven RBIs in 105 at-bats, it was fair to wonder what the Red Sox would gain when they acquired him for a player to be named later (who would end up being Minor Leaguer Jojo Ingrassia) at the All-Star break.

However, Jones has gained a new lease on life with the Red Sox, playing regularly against lefties and bashing the baseball. He is hitting .520 with four doubles, a triple, two homers and six RBIs in his first 25 at-bats with Boston.

“I’m just falling back on a lot of the minds that are in this room and this coaching staff, and that has been a really big help to me,” said Jones. “And just allowing me to stay consistent and really not trying to do too much while I'm hitting, then whatever happens after that kind of happens. But, just glad to be contributing to the team, and it's always fun when you're hitting.” 

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