Reds Longest Homers of 2021: #4 Tyler Naquin

Back-to-back weeks for outfielder Tyler Naquin on the countdown of the Top 10 longest home runs of the 2021 season for the Cincinnati Reds. This week’s homer was nearly identical to last week’s as they happened just days apart and both went 454 feet. Today we’ll take a look at the one he hit on April 9th against Taylor Widener.

The Video

The Metrics Behind The Blast

Tyler Naquin showed a few days earlier that he liked the ball down and in. Arizona’s catcher called for the ball down, but on the outside corner of the plate. Taylor Widener missed. His 88 MPH change up came over the plate and ran to the inner third and Naquin hit a ball to the desert at 111 MPH off the bat.

Distance Metrics

Distance: 454 feet

Reds Rank: 4th

Major League Baseball Rank: 109th (tie)

Tyler Naquin Rank: 2nd (tie)

Other Metrics

Launch Angle: 32°

Exit Velocity: 111.3 MPH

Reds Exit Velocity Rank (home runs only): 9th (tie) out of 222

MLB Exit Velocity Rank (home runs only): 320th (tie) out of 5935

The Story Behind The Blast

Cincinnati had a 1-0 lead heading into the top of the 4th inning. After two quick outs, Tyler Naquin came to the plate looking for his 5th home run in his last five games and Redleg Nation readers let me just spoil it for you: He found it. On a 1-1 count Arizona’s Taylor Widener missed his spot with a change up. Naquin didn’t miss it. He didn’t miss any of it. The lefty dropped the bat head through the zone and sent the ball deep into the night and nearly cleared the stands in right-center.

That home run capped off a stretch where he slugged 1.105 over a five game stretch where five of his six hits went over the fence. After that night, though, Naquin slowed down for the next month, hitting just one home run over the next 19 games.

You can follow along the entire series here