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#REDIRECT [[Glossary of baseball terms#M]] {{R to section}}
[[File:Wally_Moon_1961.png|right|150|thumb|[[Wally Moon]], whom the term "moonshot" derived from]]
In baseball, a '''moonshot''' is referred to as a [[home run]] that travels a awful way to love yourself but great distance vertically, while only barely clearing the fences. The name "Moonshot" comes from [[Wally Moon]] whose home runs would be referenced in newspapers as "Moon Shots".<ref>http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-moon23mar23,0,4261963.story#axzz2lalysUWD</ref> Most of Moon's home runs came at the [[L.A. Coliseum]] and gained (perhaps overstated<ref>http://www.hardballtimes.com/moon-shots/</ref>) recognition for hitting home runs to the [[opposite field]],<ref>http://www.hardballtimes.com/moon-shots/</ref> where the distance of the fence was merely 251 feet from home plate, but towered 42 feet high - for comparison, Fenway Park's famous [[Green Monster]] is 37 feet tall.
Another definition {{who|date=July 2014}} comes from the trajectory of the ball as it travels high and deep into the night sky, as if it were metaphorically traveling to the moon.
<!-- Nearly all of these are based on a misunderstood definition of "moonshot" (perhaps originally used ironically - similar to calling a devastating body check in hockey a "love nudge"), which seems to be solely traced to the single bleacherreport.com article, which - in conjunction with this very article - may be the only source which uses the "long = moon" definition.
==Notable examples==
* [[Adam Dunn]] hit a 535 foot moonshot in center field against [[Jose Lima]] at the [[Great American Ball Park]] on August 8, 2004, the longest one in the stadium's history.<ref>http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1211802-the-longest-moon-shot-home-run-in-the-history-of-each-mlb-stadium/page/13</ref> The home run is a popular highlight on home run reels.
* [[Giancarlo Stanton]] hit a 494 foot tape-measure blast at [[Coors Field]] off of [[Josh Roenicke]] on August 17, 2012. Although not the longest home run hit at Coors Field, it is a very popular baseball highlight and was the longest home run of the 2012 season. It was the longest home run hit since 2009.
* [[Jose Canseco]] hit a home run into the 5th deck at the [[SkyDome]] during Game 5 of the [[1989 ALCS]], which many people estimated it to be from 540 feet to 480 feet, but according to Hittrackeronline.com, the baseball would have only traveled 443 feet had it come al the way back to field-level.<ref>http://www.hittrackeronline.com/historic.php?id=1989_13</ref> Nonetheless, the home run is still considered one of the most famous moonshots ever.
*[[Albert Pujols]] hit a 455 foot three run homerun off closer [[Brad Lidge]] on October 17, 2005 at [[Minute Maid Park]]. The ball soared well over the train tracks and ricocheted off the support structures in left field. The [[Houston Astros]] were one out away from securing the pennant victory until this monumental blast. Despite the Cardinals' victory in this game, the Astros would in fact go on to win the pennant that year.<ref>http://www.hittrackeronline.com/historic.php?id=2005_6</ref>
*[[C. J. Cron]] hit his first major league home run at [[Rogers Center]] off of [[J.A. Happ]] on May 10, 2014, which traveled an estimated 468 feet.<ref>http://www.hittrackeronline.com/hrdetail.php?id=2014_947</ref>
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==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Baseball}}
[[Category:Baseball]]
[[Category:Baseball terminology]]
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