http://www.hittrackeronline.com/inde...=sob&sort=desc
I would say it's probably Justin Upton right now.
Printable View
http://www.hittrackeronline.com/inde...=sob&sort=desc
I would say it's probably Justin Upton right now.
Dave Winfield.
Richie Allen, aka Dick Allen, hit the ball very hard. Another player from my childhood who was diminutive in size but hit the ball really hard and far was Cincinnati's own Jimmy Wynn, "The Toy Cannon."
Dick Allen is a great choice. Others who hit the ball hard consistently: Al Oliver, Bill Madlock, Billy Wiliiams, Rico Carty, Tony Oliva and Steve Garvey.
People who only remember the old man looping singles into the opposite field won't believe it, but a young Pete Rose hit the ball hard 7 or 8 times out of 10.
Guys like Bench, Foster and Eric Davis hit it hard when they squared it up, but guys who consistently hit the ball hard were usually not the big home run guys. If we're looking for guys who occassionaly hit it hard, heck Wily Mo Pena might be high up the list.
Wily Mo
Indeed, he used to kill balls.
At a game in Philly a while back, he hit a ball during BP that seriously must have went 500+ to dead center. It landed in a place that is simply not feasible and was probably he greatest display of strength I've ever seen at a ballpark.
I really thought he was going to be something special.
Sheffield was quickest bat I've seen. Currently I think Bryce Harper has the strongest cut and would make me most afraid to be an infielder. Attacks the ball like no one else right now.
I agree about Sheffield, also Jack Clark never got cheated.
(Non-roid only guys, not sure about Sheffield, but from the day he arrived he had tremendous bat speed)
From years ago, Mantle, Killebrew, Allen, Mays, McCovey, & Reggie Jackson.
For the Reds, George Foster.
I never got to see him play but I've gotta believe Teddy Ballgame deserves mention. He regularly drilled hits through an extreme shift while hitting .340+ with power. To hit for that high an average while always pulling the ball into the teeth of the defense Williams had to have hit the ball hard.
Frank Thomas used to crush the ball. And, even though he didn't hit it as a far as others, Paul Molitor's hits seemed to get where they were going faster than anyone else. The crack of the ball off his bat was something special.
Though, if I'm being honest, Barroid Bonds hit the ball harder than any human ever. He was terrifying.
Ron Gant jumps to mind. Guy was like a mini-dynamite keg when he made contact.
Wily Mo could put on a show in batting practice. In Cleveland I saw him hit a ball that would've flown over the truck parked in left field (similar to that Toyota promo they run at GABP where nobody actually hits the truck), but it curved a couple of feet foul.
The other memorable shot I saw from a Red was actually from a Bat in a AAA game. For those familiar with 5/3 Field in Toledo, Ruben Mateo crushed a ball so hard that it likely would've make it completely over Monroe St. had it not hit the scoreboard.
Gary Sheffield, Cliff Floyd (dude crushed line drives like I crush coke) and Willie Greene.
George Foster hit the single hardest line drive I've ever seen in my life in 1977.
It looked like the shortstop might have been able to catch it with a well timed leap but it ended up a line drive HR that got out faster than I've ever seen in 40 years of watching baseball.
Bonds. He was pretty ridiculous. Bagwell too.