Christin Stewart smacked a game-winning home run in the bottom of the seventh inning of the Mud Hens’ 2-1 victory over Durham at Fifth Third Field on Tuesday.
There was only one question about Stewart’s second home run of the season: Was it actually a home run?
The moonshot certainly had the distance, with an exit velocity of 113 miles per hour according to the TrackMan system at the ballpark. But the mammoth home run was hit so high into the air that television cameras lost sight of the ball in flight.
Unfortunately, so did the umpires, who congregated on the infield before calling the ball fair. That prompted a discussion with Durham manager Jared Sandberg about the call, which stood.
Mud Hens manager Doug Mientkiewicz, standing in the third-base coaching box, said he had a good look at the home run.
“The vapor trail? Yeah, I saw the vapor trail,” Mientkiewicz joked, adding that he seriously believed the ball was fair.
VIDEO: Christin Stewart visits his home run ball from Tuesday night
Wednesday afternoon, Blade reporter John Wagner and Stewart walked out to the party deck above “The Roost” seating section where the ball eventually came to rest and talked about the prodigious blast, Stewart’s second home run this season.
Stewart is considered the No. 10 prospect in the Tigers organization by MLB.com after batting .256 with 28 home runs and 86 RBIs with Double-A Erie last year. The Georgia native, who was the 34th overall pick in the 2015 draft, was named to the Eastern League’s postseason all-star team and also was Detroit’s minor-league player of the year.
In his first 10 games with Toledo this season, Stewart is batting .206 with two homers and five RBIs.
Contact John Wagner at jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481, or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.
First Published April 18, 2018, 6:54 p.m.
