The Boston Red Sox walked off the Los Angeles Angels thanks to a two-run walk-off home run by Ceddanne Rafaela off of Brock Burke. It was one of the shortest home runs since Statcast started tracking home run distance.
Rafaela’s walk-off home run, measured at 308 feet by Statcast, was the third shortest home run since Statcast started tracking in 2015. Only Lorenzo Cain in 2017 and Stephen Vogt in 2019 hit shorter home runs. Both of those homers were also Pesky Pole home runs at Fenway Park.
Rafaela’s home run became the shortest walk-off home run since 2015 when Statcast started tracking home run distance data. Fenway Park and the Pesky Pole are no strangers to short home runs, but Rafaela’s home runs could serve some more importance for the Red Sox. The team is 3-17 in its last 10 games and 30-34 overall.
Injuries to Triston Casas and Alex Bregman have left the Red Sox in a tough spot. Fans are clamoring for the team to call up Roman Anthony as they continue to drop in the standings.
However, Rafaela’s home run could be the spark they need. Rafaela is slashing .295/.321/.505 in his last 30 games and has four home runs in his last seven.
He went 1-for-5 in the win against the Angels, but that one hit proved to be the decisive blow. He needed every foot of that 308 feet to get it over the short fence. His home run made it to where nine of the 10 shortest over-the-wall home runs have occurred at Fenway Park. The lone home run in the top 10 was hit by Buster Posey at Truist Park in 2022.
