Todd Frazier hits the most unlikely home run of baseball's postseason
The New York Yankees led all of baseball with 241 home runs during the regular season. While some of that is due to having Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, a decent portion also has to do with the short porch in right field.
Don’t believe us? Well, take a look at Todd Frazier’s home run during Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. With two men on in the second inning, Frazier belted a three-run shot on one of the most awkward home run swings we’ve ever seen.
This, somehow, was a home run for Todd Frazier https://t.co/jQFt35hnvm
— Big League Stew (@bigleaguestew) October 17, 2017
At the moment of contact, it looked like Frazier just hit a weak fly out to the right fielder. At Yankee Stadium, that weird swing was enough to produce a home run.
Seriously, look at it!
This swing ended in a home run. pic.twitter.com/p9cZ3szMWe
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 17, 2017
If you saw the side view, and only the side view, we wouldn’t blame you for thinking there was no way that ball left the park.
In fact, it probably shouldn’t have.
Frazier's HR had an exit velo of 100.5 mph with a launch angle of 21 degrees. Balls hit at those numbers go for HRs 6% of time, per Statcast
— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) October 17, 2017
Six percent of the time, that results in a home run. That seems high, honestly, leading us to believe Yankee Stadium might be to blame for the majority of those weak dingers.
For what it’s worth, Houston Astros pitcher Charlie Morton was surprised Frazier managed to go yard on that pitch.
Morton on Frazier:: “If you were to show me a video of his swing, the pitch speed and the location, I would have never thought (home run)."
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) October 17, 2017
He went to add, however, that the three-run shot was “unbelievable” and “a great piece of hitting.”
We should also give Frazier some credit here. It takes a strong dude to muscle that pitch that far. In a normal park, it still would have gone much farther than expected. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised … Frazier does have a Home Run Derby title under his belt.
Last time we checked, home runs don’t need to look pretty to count. Frazier won’t get any style points, but the blast did give his team an early 3-0 lead. The team went on to win the contest 8-1, and Frazier kicked off the scoring with his home run.
Given all that, he probably doesn’t care whether it looked great. A win is a win.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
