10 Shortest Home Runs in MLB History, Ranked

Short home runs don’t attract the same attention as the longest home runs, yet the outcome is the same. It doesn’t matter if a ball travels 550 feet or 320 feet; it’s a home run so long as it makes it over the outfield fence.

Ceddanne Rafaela knows that better than anyone. On June 4, 2025, the Boston Red Sox outfielder hit the shortest walk-off home run in Statcast history when the ball made its way around Pesky Pole in right field at Fenway Park. 

With its unique dimensions, Fenway is responsible for nine of the 10 shortest home runs in MLB history. 

10 Shortest Home Runs in MLB History, Ranked

What Were the Shortest Home Runs in MLB History?

1. Lorenzo Cain – 302 Feet

A great contact hitter at his peak, Lorenzo Cain was never one of the baseball betting favourites to hit a home run. In 2017 at Fenway Park, Cain hit one of his 15 home runs for the season with what would usually be a looping flyout. 

The ball left the bat at 90 mph with a launch angle of 39 degrees, yet snuck over the fence in right field to become the shortest home run in MLB history. 

2. Stephen Vogt – 307 Feet

Facing Jhoulys Chacín in the first inning of a game at Fenway Park in 2019, Stephen Vogt hooked the ball down the right field line for the second-shortest home run of the Statcast era. 

It was one of 10 home runs for Vogt in the season as he compiled the best OPS of his career. 

3. Ceddanne Rafaela – 308 Feet

With the game tied 9-9 in the bottom of the ninth, Ceddanne Rafaela was facing Los Angeles Angels reliever Brock Burke with a runner on base.

Rafaela looked to be late on an 87 mph changeup from Burke, but the ball snuck just inside Pesky Pole to give the Red Sox a historic walk-off win. 

T-4. Andrew Benintendi – 310 Feet

Up against CC Sabathia with no runners on in the second inning, Andrew Benintendi pulled a ball down the right-field line for a home run.

T-4. Rafael Devers – 310 Feet

Facing Colorado Rockies starter Chase Anderson in 2023, Rafael Devers hit his 68th home run at Fenway Park. It was by far the shortest, with a projected distance of 310 feet. 

T-6. Luis Robert Jr. – 311 Feet

Three months and 10 days after Devers’ 310-foot home run, Luis Robert Jr. snuck a ball over the wall at Fenway Park. 

Coming in the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Robert’s big fly off Josh Winckowski was the only run of the game in a 1-0 win for the Chicago White Sox. 

T-6. Christian Vazquez – 311 Feet

With Red Sox starter Hector Velázquez allowing five runs to the Houston Astros in the first inning, Christian Vázquez’s 311-foot solo shot in the fourth inning did not have an impact on the outcome of the game, but it secured Vázquez’s place on this list. 

T-6. Buster Posey – 311 Feet

While I believe Buster Posey deserves to make the Hall of Fame, he wasn’t often in my MLB betting picks to hit a home run. The former San Francisco Giant had only two seasons with more than 20 home runs.

Facing the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park, Statcast estimates the ball Posey hit to have travelled 311 feet. It’s the only home run on this list not hit at Fenway Park. 

9. J.J. Hardy – 314 Feet

In April 2016, J.J. Hardy benefited from the Pesky Pole twice in one game. Hardy hit two home runs in a 9-5 win for the Baltimore Orioles, with the longest of the two home runs travelling an estimated 328 feet. 

His first home run came off Clay Buchholz in the fourth inning and was the shortest big fly of the Statcast era at the time at 314 feet.

10. Yuli Gurriel – 315 Feet

Four home runs were hit in the Red Sox’s 12-8 win over the Astros in 2021. 

Yuli Gurriel’s was the shortest by a considerable margin, as he managed to get the ball just inside Pesky Pole off Eduardo Rodríguez.