CHICAGO -- No one was quite sure where the ball landed after seeing Chicago Cubs rookie Kris Bryant hit a game-tying mammoth home run in the bottom of the eighth inning of his team's eventual 3-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.
It actually hit the new video scoreboard in left-center at Wrigley Field and then dropped into the recently opened bleachers. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the home run ball would have landed 463 feet from home plate.
"Everyone just stood up to see how far it would go," teammate Addison Russell said after the game. "When he hits balls he hits them far. We're used to seeing it. It's cool the world gets to see what he has to offer."
Russell won the game with a ninth-inning double that drove in a run, but it'll be Bryant's blast that will generate the most buzz from the evening. The at-bat started out 0-2 before Bryant worked it full and then blasted a slider for his seventh home run of the season.
"That was a good one for me," Bryant said nonchalantly. "And there was a little wind blowing out here, too."
This ball didn't need any wind. It was the eighth-longest home run in baseball this season and the longest of Bryant's short career. He was asked if it was the farthest one he's ever hit.
"Uhh, I don't know," he responded. "I've hit some good home runs in my short time on this Earth."
Bryant might not have a lot of perspective on the matter, but his teammates and manager do. The dugout jumped up to watch how far it would go.
"I just wonder, what does it feel like to hit a ball that hard, that far?" catcher Miguel Montero asked, only half-kidding. "That would be an awesome feeling."
Cubs manager Joe Maddon added: "We thought it was over the board. Kind of got everyone stirring."
Russell and starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks also thought it went over the scoreboard. It was so high no one knew until it ricocheted into the bleachers. Was it at least his best since being called up in early April?
"Yeah, I guess so," Bryant said. "Most meaningful one."