Luis Robert adds to myth before measurements arrive
There are two ways a White Sox player can be compared to Joe Borchard without requiring a hefty amount of sarcasm or cynicism.
- A canny trade salvaging an individual disappointment.
- Reaching the concourse at Sox Park on the fly.
Borchard holds the unofficial distance record at New Comiskey Park/U.S. Cellular Field/Guaranteed Rate Field with the 504-foot homer he launched off then-Phillie Brett Myers on Aug. 30, 2004:
It remains an indelible moment, although it’s lost some of its grounding over the years. The stadium still had blue seats at the time, which tells you that it’s a decade before Statcast and other trackers emerged on the scene. And once you clear the seats, there’s no architecture to provide some context for what the ball actually reached on the fly. The 504-foot measurement, while possible, is a standard deviation above what Statcast shows is done at 35th and Shields.
Still, the reason the memory endures is because time has shown that reaching the concourse is damned difficult. It’s a big year if it happens once, although the juiced ball might have doubled that number in 2019. Here’s Nelson Cruz off Lucas Giolito …
… and here’s George Springer off Dylan Cease’s first pitch of the game about three weeks later.
The White Sox haven’t done it in a while, at least to left or right field. Eloy Jimรฉnez reached the concourse over the shrubbery with a stair-climber against Washington’s Patrick Corbin last June, which is more visually dramatic, but closer to home plate. Here’s how the distances compare:
- Cruz off Giolito: 473 feet
- Springer off Cease: 467 feet
- Jimรฉnez off Corbin: 462 feet
It’s not surprising that visiting teams own the Statcast leaderboard at Guaranteed Rate Field, because they’ve certainly looked more comfortable hitting there as of late. Opponents held a 141-90 edge in homers against the White Sox at 35th and Shields in 2019. The White Sox needed to fix this problem in order to stand a chance in 2020, and Rick Hahn did what he could to put a dent in that column.
And that’s why it was satisfying to see Luis Robert put a couple dents in the backdrop of Guaranteed Rate Field during Saturday’s intrasquad game. First, he hit a rocket off Kelvin Herrera that bounced off the shrubbery in center and back on the field.
And then he came one row short of pulling a Borchard on a Steve Cishek spinner.
Watching games at Guaranteed Rate Field without the benefit of Statcast and PITCHf/x over the last week, it’s taken me back to New Comiskey Park or the pre-renovation Cell. This time-travel aspect of these intrasquad affairs makes it a little easier to hyperbolize, because nobody can tell me Robert didn’t get to 120 mph on that first laser. (It’s also a little easier to relax, because I don’t know Carlos Rodรณn’s radar-gun readings, and the way his fastball is finding the seats even when hitters fail to stay on their feet, I don’t think I want to.)
These games also mark the last week that Robert’s game is automatically more art than science. The White Sox might have the Trackman data for most things he’s done, but we don’t, and the numbers took a backseat for those calling his games on the way up.
โThe one he hit at our place was even more impressive because our ballpark is bigger,โ [Birmingham broadcaster Curt] Bloom said. โThe one that he hit at our place was legendary, legendary. Over the scoreboard. It was one where for whatever reason I was able to see the first bounce and I went out there the next day and you could barely see home plate. This is ridiculous. This is absolutely ridiculous that you could hit a ball that far.โ […]
Robert hit two homers in his first game (again) and finished with 16 home runs in 47 games in Charlotte. Comparing the impressive power he flashed at the highest minor-league level compared to the rest of his similarly gonzo season is complicated by the juiced Triple-A baseballs. Unless youโre of the belief that Robert was simply beyond the margin of error.
โHis just went a lot further,โ [Knights broadcaster Matt] Swierad said. โIf itโs a regular baseball and weโre not playing with a ball that we think has been a little juiced up, itโs still going. I mean, he hit balls that were going close to 500 feet. Just tape-measure shots that looked effortless. I donโt think it would have any difference if it was a couple of years ago.โ
Statcast has a way of flattening baseball’s physical achievements, like when “the farthest home run I’ve ever seen” turns out to be a 448-footer topped by scores of other blasts that year. It doesn’t ruin the experience, but it shifts a hitter’s impressiveness from a thing he did one time to how often he can do it. It can’t help but spoil a bit of the myth surrounding Robert.
Nevertheless, I remain curious to see how Robert’s talents translate to the measurables, because there’s chance it’s prodigious enough that it’s somehow more fun knowing the analytics underneath everything. The home runs are that long. The exit velocity is that high. He went from home to third that fast. He covered that much ground in so little time. I’m not counting on it, but maybe the lesson is that I shouldn’t get caught up the count if the event jumps off the screen. The concourse doesn’t really need a number.
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It gets a little more serious tonight when the White Sox play the Cubs at Wrigley Field, as three different networks will be on hand to broadcast it.
Watch: ESPN, NBC Sports Chicago, Marquee
Lineups:
It’s a 1981 Wrigley crowd…
Nobody to throw Engel’s epic blast back to the field, though maybe someone caught up to the ball bouncing down the street.
Can Ian Happ play center against the Sox the entire season?
Making Robert look good on both sides of the ball.
Leury’s also appreciative.
A pre-Harry Caray era crowd, when season totals were under a million. Like 1982 with 10,672 per game…Was it a good thing that Harry turned Wrigley into Chicago’s biggest bar? Lol… I do not know…
Tim Anderson just razzed ESPN on ESPN for forgetting about the White Sox. Even up 6-2, that might be my favorite moment of this game.
ESPN’s amnesia continues anyway. Boog Sciambi just called Jimmy Lambert a new pitcher in the 7th even though he pitched last inning.
Zack Collins scoring as a pitch goes past Josh Phegley is poetic.
Carson Fulmer in midseason form with the walks.
He’s the poor man’s Jace Fry.
Fulmer is versatile. He can throw balls to anyone.
Please let there be space on Charlotte’s roster for him…
How is Jace looking these days?
Heuer then cleaned up his mess and made fast work of the Cubs to end the game.
That’s a fun evening on national television.
Heuer looked pretty damn good. Think that’s the first I’ve seen him. 96-98 with good movement. Didn’t see a ton of the breaking ball, but if that’s even decent he looks like a decent MR arm. Have to think he’s called up to the active roster pretty quickly if they’re serious about this season. I can’t image he’s not better than Fulmer and some of the fringe arms that will make the initial roster.
Carson Fulmer? More like Carson Full Count, am I right?
Heuer came in and immediately proved that he should be ahead of Carson in any roster cut-downs.
What’s the deal with Mazara?
“A little bit under the weather,” per Renteria.
Thanks. Let’s hope that’s actually as innocuous as it sounds.
I have high hopes for Nomar. He impressed me last year, the few times I saw him. I was quite pleased Texas gave up on him. And I am glad he is here.