This day in Los Angeles Dodgers history saw Mike Piazza hit what once held as the longest home run at Coors Field. Piazza’s blast on September 26, 1997, was hit off Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Darren Holmes and traveled 496 feet.
Piazza’s home run hit off the left-center field billboard that is located between the scoreboard and Rockpile display. However, the distance was a postgame estimate by the Rockies and ultimately was a point of contention, particularly once the Statcast era began in 2015.
Piazza’s homer in the sixth inning extended the Dodgers lead in what became a 10-4 victory over the Rockies. He went 2-for-3 with two RBI in the win.
Since then, the longest home run at Coors Field is 504 feet. The record is shared by Giancarlo Stanton (2016) and C.J. Cron (2022).
Also ahead of Piazza is Christian Yelich’s 499-foot home run hit at Coors Field on Sept. 6, 2022. Jesús Sánchez equaled Piazza’s 496-foot distance with his home run on May 30, 2022.
The 1997 MLB season was Piazza’s fifth of six consecutive All-Star campaigns. He finished the year batting .362/.431/.638 with 32 doubles, 40 home runs and 124 RBI.
Dodgers trade Mike Piazza
Piazza remained with the Dodgers until getting traded along with Todd Zeile to the then-Florida Marlins for Manuel Barrios, Bobby Bonilla, Jim Eisenreich, Charles Johnson and Gary Sheffield on May 14, 1998..
The Marlins then traded Piazza eight days later to the New York Mets in exchange for Geoff Goetz, Preston Wilson and Ed Yarnall.
Burt Hooton franchise record
On Sept. 26, 1975, Burt Hooton set a Dodgers franchise record for starting pitchers with a 12th consecutive win.
He accomplished the feat against the Houston Astros in a 3-2 victory at Dodger Stadium. Hooton tossed a complete game to earn his 18th win of the season.
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