Joey Gallo puts popcorn wagon on notice with the longest home run of 2017
Texas Rangers third baseman Joey Gallo has long been known for his prolific power.
That power was put on full display Friday night, as Gallo nearly broke Statcast and a Globe Life Park popcorn wagon with a pair of monstrous home runs in Texas’ 6-2 win against the Royals.
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In the second inning, Gallo turned on and absolutely demolished a 3-0 pitch from Royals right-hander Nathan Karns for a two-run homer. The only question at first was whether or not it would stay fair. It did, largely because it left the bat at 116.1 mph, which ranks as the hardest hit home run of the 2017 season.
The next question was how far it might travel. According to Statcast, the answer was 462 feet, which also ranked as the longest home run recorded so far in 2017.
Joey Gallo's HR tonight was hit 116.1 MPH… That's the hardest hit HR this season. Oh and also, the longest at 462ft. pic.twitter.com/mjn0biHnT4
— Daren Willman (@darenw) April 22, 2017
The only question that remained was how much damage Gallo did to the popcorn wagon that was parked a typically safe distance from home plate.
Joey Gallo's home run to right field one-hopped Rick's Popcorn Wagon.
— Brandon George (@DMN_George) April 22, 2017
Thank goodness for that hop. Otherwise Rick’s Popcorn Wagon may not have lived to see Saturday. Rest assured, there will be a heightened sense of awareness in that vicinity every time Gallo comes to bat from now on.
That included three innings later, when Gallo went deep again to right field. This time it was to straight away right, but it still got everyone’s attention as it soared into the second deck.
For his 2nd HR of the game, Joey Gallo launches this one into the stratosphere. #Crushed pic.twitter.com/COVyej4lPk
— MLB (@MLB) April 22, 2017
When that’s your second longest home run of the game, you’ve had a game to remember.
The same could be said of Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos, who also homered twice. On another night, that would be a bigger story. On Friday, it was all about admiring the damage inflicted by Joey Gallo.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
