NL ROTY Baldwin Announces Comeback With Season-Long 473-Foot HR

Drake Baldwin's 473-foot blast caps stellar return for Braves

Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin hit a 473-foot home run Tuesday, the longest in MLB for the 2026 season. It was his first at-bat back after a right oblique strain.

Baldwin returns with a bang, 473-foot HR is MLB's longest of 2026...

Drake Baldwin made a statement in his return: the Braves catcher crushed the longest home run of the 2026 MLB season Tuesday. He sent Adrian Houser’s pitch 473 feet to center field at Oracle Park.

That blast came in Baldwin’s first at-bat since hitting the IL. He’d been out since May 18 with a right oblique strain before coming back Tuesday.

Before landing on the IL, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year was raking. Baldwin entered Tuesday hitting a team-best .303, tied with Michael Harris II. Harris also exited Tuesday’s game with an injury.

He’s now up to 14 homers and 39 RBI through 49 games this season, continuing the breakout he started last year.

Baldwin wrapped his 2025 rookie year with 19 home runs, 80 RBI, and a .274/.341/.469 slash line across 124 games. He earned 21 of 30 first-place votes to take NL ROTY honors.

Even without counting Tuesday’s result, Atlanta leads all of MLB at 46-25.