Home Run That Changed Baseball - Hot Springs, AR
N 34° 30.912 W 093° 04.367
15S E 493318 N 3819285
Located in front of the Arkansas Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo, marker #11 on the Hot Springs Historic Baseball Trail notes Babe Ruth's home run on March 17, 1918 as baseball's first 500-foot-plus drive, something not thought possible at the time.
Waymark Code: WMQ5WZ
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 12/26/2015
Views: 6
The Historic Baseball Trail Marker says:
Ruth trained here nine times and became a very familiar face around Hot Springs. He hiked the mountains, took the baths, played golf, patronized the casinos, and visited the racetrack.
On March 17, 1918 (St. Patrick's Day), he launched a mammoth home run from Whittington Park that landed on the fly inside the Arkansas Alligator Farm. It has been measured at 573 feet, baseball's first 500-foot-plus drive.
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Roadside America's website provides some background (see first link):
On St. Patrick's Day 1918, Babe Ruth was pitching in a Spring Training game in Hot Springs. The team needed someone to bat, and Babe -- who wasn't considered a hitter -- promptly belted a pitch over the fence, out of the ballpark, across the street, over a wall, and into farthest pond of the neighboring Hot Springs Alligator Farm. It changed Babe's career, and baseball in general, since no one had ever imagined that a ball could be hit that far.
Exactly how far was unknown until 2011, when modern technology concluded that the ball traveled 573 feet on the fly (It helped that the alligator pond had remained unchanged through all those years). The spot formerly occupied by home plate was marked on the parking lot where the ballpark used to stand, a historical marker was erected across the street outside the alligator farm wall, and there's a sign inside the gator farm where the ball landed.
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The Arkansas Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo is located at 847 Whittington Ave, Hot Springs, AR.
Price of Admission: 8.00 (listed in local currency)
Weekend Hours: From: 9:30 AM To: 5:00 PM
Roadside Attractions Website: [Web Link]
Location Website: [Web Link]
Weekday Hours: Not listed
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