Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
Trevor Story hit one of the most bizarre home runs in Fenway Park’s history
"I don’t think it should have been a homer. Maybe a double because of the situation, but not a homer.”
Alex Cora’s postgame presser after the Red Sox’s 6-4 win over the Guardians on Monday afternoon was loaded with sarcasm — especially when it came to Trevor Story’s sixth-inning home run.
“Trevor with that bomb,” manager Alex Cora joked.
Story’s 23rd home run of the season was one that could only be hit within the bizarre confines of Fenway Park — considering that the ball only traveled 306 feet down the right-field line.
Story’s big fly stood as one of the more puzzling homers hit within the 113-year-old ballpark.
Advertisement:
What initially seemed like a harmless fly ball sailing toward foul territory quickly turned into disaster for Cleveland right fielder Jhonkensy Noel. As Noel reached over the short wall in an attempt to catch the offering, the ball hit off his glove, clanged off of the Pesky Pole and then hit his glove a second time before hitting a fan.
The pinball sequence was initially ruled a foul ball, with Story at second base with what he thought was a ground-rule double.
But Cora and the Red Sox opted for an official review, with the umpires awarding Story with a jog around the bases. Speaking postgame, Cora gave plenty of credit to team replay coordinator Mike Brenly for opting to challenge the initial ruling.
Advertisement:
“Brenly was the one that saw the whole thing,” Cora said postgame, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “We screamed Pesky [from the dugout] and kind of took off [trying to see it], and then they had the call, and [bench coach] Ramon [Vázquez] called Mikey, and he was like, ‘We have to challenge this one’. And we did.”
“Yeah, I thought maybe a ground-rule double at first, because I saw him touch it fair and then it kind of hopped out foul, was what I thought at first,” Story added of the sequence. “But obviously it hopped out of his glove and touched the pole. Just a tricky one for sure, but glad it worked out.”
As noted by both Browne and the NESN broadcast, the replay official deemed Story’s fly ball as a home run because “all relevant angles showed the ball definitively struck the foul pole prior to the fielder demonstrating firm and secure possession.”
“I was trying to catch the ball, and I felt like I ran into a kid,” Noel said of the sequence, per Browne. “I had it in my glove. But then when I hit the kid, that’s when I felt the ball come out of the glove. How tough is this outfield.
Advertisement:
“I got a little upset about that play, because I know, ‘OK, maybe the ruling was that way.’ But I don’t think it should have been a homer. Maybe a double because of the situation, but not a homer.”
Story’s homer was one that is only possible in Fenway Park’s dimensions — and not in the other 29 MLB ballparks. According to baseball stats guru Sarah Langs, Story’s 306-foot shot was the second-shortest homer since Statcast started tracking home run distance in 2015.
The only shorter home run? A 302-foot homer by Kansas City’s Lorenzo Cain on July 29, 2017 — which was another Pesky Pole four-bagger at Fenway.
Cora is no stranger to bizarre homers at Fenway. He noted on Monday that his lone Red Sox home run at Boston’s ballpark was one that hit off Blue Jays outfielder Alex Rios before tumbling into the seats in right field.
“They showed a replay yesterday of my only home run at Fenway,” Cora said. “It was a fly ball to right field and Alex Ríos bobbled it like three times and the ball went out of it [and over the fence.’ They [Red Sox players] watched it. And Trevor was like, ‘Just like yours.’”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com