‘It just feels like butter’: Brannon, Gladney trade 468-ft homers in AFL

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- While the Yankees and Dodgers were busy tagging home runs that carried significant weight during Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night, Brooks Brannon and DJ Gladney were sending their own prodigious wallops toward the Dodgers complex located just beyond the left-field wall at Camelback Ranch.

Both long balls in Mesa’s eventual 5-4 win over Glendale caromed off a fence that separates L.A.’s building from the field, far beyond the retired numbers of Hall of Fame sluggers from yesteryear -- Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella.

113 mph off the bat, 468 feet for Brannon.

117.2 mph off the bat, 468 feet for Gladney.

Hitting a ball that hard and that far almost never happens. Just eight home runs at the Major League level in 2024 hit both plateaus in terms of exit velocity and distance. In Gladney’s case, only Aaron Judge’s homer on Aug. 2 traveled further (477 feet) at a comparable speed (117.5 mph).

“That’s the farthest home run I’ve ever hit in my life,” Gladney said. “Honestly, it just feels like butter. You just see the pitch and you swing and then there it goes.”

When Gladney connected, the Glendale bullpen -- positioned beyond the left-field fence, giving them the best look in the house -- went wild. The Chicago prospect worked the count in his favor against lefty Houston Harding (Angels), and when he got a center-cut 3-1 changeup, he didn’t miss it.

“I had to watch that one,” Gladney said. “I definitely knew off the bat. It was fun to watch.”

Whereas Gladney went into admiration mode upon impact, Brannon took off down the first-base line after connecting off righty Eric Adler (White Sox). And considering where the pitch was, he couldn't be blamed for it.

Hitting a ball 468 feet is hard, hitting it that far with the ball up near your eyes makes it almost impossible.

“There's high tee drills and whatnot to work on staying through the ball,” Brannon said. “When you hit the ball, there's always doubt of whether it's going to go out or not. So I'm always just hauling out of the box as soon as I hit it just to make sure.”

Home runs have been a huge part of Brannon’s baseball life, dating back to his days as a record-making youngster on the North Carolina prep scene. But 468 feet? That’s got to be the longest ball the 20-year-old has ever hit, right?

Not quite. On June 7, three games back into his Single-A Salem tenure after missing the start of the season due to arthroscopic left knee surgery, the Red Sox No. 27 prospect recorded a 482-foot wallop, per Trackman.

OK, but surely 468-foot homers pace the 2024 Fall League circuit, right? Alas, bested again.

With the caveat that just three of the six primary AFL ballparks are fully equipped with official Statcast technology, Dodgers No. 11 prospect Zyhir Hope leads the way with a 470-foot moonshot that cleared the batter's eye in center field at Camelback Ranch on Oct. 10.

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Gladney’s laser beam was the second-hardest-hit homer thus far as well. Top honors currently go to Marlins No. 12 prospect Kemp Alderman, who sizzled out a 119.5 mph roundtripper on Oct. 18.

While the ball does have a tendency to fly in the dry Arizona air, the eye-popping metrics can also be attributed -- at least partially -- to offensive approaches and philosophies that emphasize launching the ball in the air, particularly to batters’ pull side.

When preparation meets a hittable pitch, power appears.

For the past two seasons, the Arizona Fall League has hosted a Home Run Derby, which streams live on MLB.com. This year’s event will take place on Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. local) at Sloan Park. Fans can purchase tickets to the event here, with other AFL jewel events -- and plenty of homers -- still to come.