How Wade Jr.'s homer vs. Reds made Statcast-era history
How Wade Jr.'s homer vs. Reds made Statcast-era history originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
LaMonte Wade Jr.'s fifth-inning heroics in the Giants' thrilling 6-5 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday came in an unlikely manner.
Wade Jr. connected for a 321-foot, two-run home run to tie the game, and its 50-degree launch angle tied for the highest on an over-the-wall homer in Statcast-era history, per MLB's Sarah Langs.
LaMonte Wade Jr!
50 degrees!
that’s tied for the highest launch angle on an over-the-wall HR under Statcast (2015) https://t.co/26Kyg0qFXG— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) May 12, 2024
It was just the fourth home run with a degree launch angle of 50 or higher since 2015.
LaMonte ties it up with a two-run blast ‼️ pic.twitter.com/GzTNGjdLTa
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 12, 2024
The 321-foot homer just barely snuck over the right-field wall's distance of 315 feet. It wouldn't have been gone in any other ballpark and had a .020 xBA.
In his previous at-bat, Wade Jr. was robbed of a potential 398-foot homer with a 32-degree launch angle. Giants fans at Oracle Park rose out of their seats confident that they got one, but Stuart Fairchild had other ideas.
Stuart Fairchild does it again‼️@Reds pic.twitter.com/ouxu08PFKc
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) May 12, 2024
But Wade Jr. made up for it the following inning, and gave Giants fans even more to cheer about.
Wade Jr. has been one of the Giants' bright spots for a sluggish offense this year, slashing .340/.480/.457 in 94 at-bats this season. He also extended his on-base streak to 13 games in Sunday's win.
It appears it might be time to consider a nickname change from Late Night LaMonte to Launch Angle LaMonte.
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