2019 Season in Review: The best Royals home runs

This was the year of the home run, and even the Royals were included in the homer parade, producing the first home run champion in franchise history, Jorge Soler. Not only did he have the most home runs, he had some of the longest as well. But others shared in the fun with some memorable slams of their own. Here are the top Royals home runs of 2019.

April 10 - Hunter Dozier and Jorge Soler destroy two baseballs in the same game

For years we have heard that Kauffman Stadium is a difficult place to go yard, but in 2019 that didn’t matter much. In an early April game, Hunter Dozier absolutely obliterated a pitch from Mariners pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, a 453-foot blast that hit off the facade of the Royals Hall of Fame in left.

Later that game, Jorge Soler slammed one 454 feet off Kikuchi, with the ball landing over the water spectacular in left-center.

That’s over 900 feet in home runs!

June 13 - Nicky Lopez’s first home run comes in Omaha

Nicky Lopez has never been a big home run hitter, but he has had to prove himself to those that might overlook his small stature. So perhaps it was fitting that his first big league home run came in the city where Lopez has enjoyed so much success - Omaha. Lopez had been a fixture in Omaha after a terrific career with the Creighton Blue Jays, then starred for the Omaha Storm Chasers once he became a pro. When the Royals visited Omaha for a game against the Detroit Tigers to celebrate the College World Series, Lopez rose to the occasion.

June 15 - Jorge Soler’s Minnesota blast sounds great

Buck O’Neil used to talk about the sound of the ball hitting the bat that he had only heard a few times - for Babe Ruth, Josh Gibson, and Bo Jackson. Perhaps the sound Jorge Soler made on June 15 would make Buck’s ears perk up. Soler had a no-doubt line-drive home run into the second deck of Target Field, but it was the crack of the bat that makes this home run so aesthetically pleasing.

June 25 - Hunter Dozier grand slam off Brad Hand

The Royals went into the ninth inning in Cleveland down 6-3 and facing one of the better closers in baseball, Brad Hand. The Indians were 15 wins better than the Royals already, and it seemed like “Royals Devil Magic” expired in 2015, so the odds of a comeback weren’t great.

But Martín Maldonado led off with a double and Whit Merrifield followed with a single and the Royals were in business. Nicky Lopez singled home a run to make it 6-4, and Alex Gordon followed with another single to load the bases. Hunter Dozier, who was already having a career year, punctuated his arrival as a star with a grand slam off Hand to give the Royals an 8-6 lead they would not give up.

August 3 - Jorge Soler hits the longest Royals home run of the season

Soler hit a number of long home runs, but none was longer than his August 3 blast in Minnesota off Twins starter Kyle Gibson. That ball landed in the third level of Target Field, 465 feet away, the longest home run of Soler’s career, and the longest home run hit by any Royals hitter this year.

August 6 - Jorge Soler hits it out of Fenway Park

Only a select few hitters in Royals history have ever hit the 30-home run mark, and Jorge Soler did it in style in Boston. Fenway Park was not big enough to hold Soler as he hit one not only over the wall, but out of the entire stadium. The ball then took a taxi to Boston Common and did a walking tour of the Freedom Trail.

September 3 - Jorge Soler sets the single-season club record

Steve Balboni held the franchise single-season home run record for 30 years, but it took just two years for Mike Moustakas’ record to fall. Moose hit 38 in 2017, but it took Jorge Soler just 139 games to break that record with his 39th home run of the year off Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris. With four weeks left to go, Soler would eventually extend the club record to 48.

Did I miss any memorable dongs? What was your favorite Royals home run of the season?