On June 4, Ceddanne Rafaela gave the Boston Red Sox a walk off victory over the Los Angeles Angels with one of the shortest home runs ever recorded. The outfielder snuck his winning blast just inside the Pesky Pole in right field.
The two-run homer broke the 9-9 deadlock and saved the Red Sox from suffering a sweep at home. It also gives Rafaela exceedingly unique bragging rights.
Where does Ceddanne Rafaela’s home run rank all-time?
In terms of home runs by a Red Sox player, no one has gotten it shorter than Rafaela. The previous team record holder was Rafael Devers in 2023 with a 310-foot homer.
Three of the seven shortest home runs on record were hit by Red Sox players: Rafaela, Devers and Christian Vazquez. That's no coincidence, as all but one of the 10 shortest have come at Fenway.
Rafaela was shy of the shortest over-the fence home run ever tracked, though.
Who hit the shortest home run in MLB History?
According to Statcast, Lorenzo Cain's 302-foot home run off the Pesky Pole at Fenway Park is the shortest homer on record.
Player | HR Distance (ft) | Date | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
1. Lorenzo Cain, Royals | 302 | 2017-07-29 | Fenway |
2. Stephen Vogt, Giants | 307 | 2019-09-18 | Fenway |
3. Rafaela Ceddanne, Red Sox | 308 | 2025-06-4 | Fenway |
4. Andrew Benintendi, Yankees | 310 | 2019-07-27 | Fenway |
5. Rafael Devers, Red Sox | 310 | 2023-06-13 | Fenway |
6. Luis Robert Jr., White Sox | 311 | 2023-09-23 | Fenway |
7. Christian Vazquez, Red Sox | 311 | 2019-05-18 | Fenway |
8. Buster Posey, Giants | 311 | 2017-06-22 | Truist Park |
9. JJ Hardy, Orioles | 314 | 2016-04-12 | Fenway |
10. Yuli Gurriel, Astros | 315 | 2021-06-10 | Fenway |
Statcast has only been tracking home run distance since 2015, so there have surely been shorter home runs in MLB history. We just can't verify them definitively.
Older ballparks like the Polo Grounds and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum had outfield lines significantly shorter than the 302-feet in the Fenway right field. So technically, the crown could go to Wally Moon's 1959 dinger that just cleared the 251-foot left field line at the Coliseum. Or Dusty Rhodes' homer that hit at an estimated 258-feet at the Polo Grounds in the 1954 World Series.
Here's one other wrinkle I can't smooth out. In 2017, Statcast credited Didi Gregorious with a 295-foot home run for the Yankees against the Red Sox. However, that blast just inside the right field pole is no longer credited with a distance.