I have a bit of a semantics issue here.
These may have been among the shortest-distance HR of the year, but they may not have been the cheapest. It's quite possible that a number of Yankee Stadium HR this year were hit less well but traveled further in the wind tunnel to the relatively short RF area. And "lucky" may not quite be the word either. If a batter is being pitched relatively tough low outside or high outside but is able to get enough of the bat under the ball and loft it near the opposite-field line and out (whereas a weaker or less skilled hitter would, say, foul out to the 1B or 2B) that might be considered a quality HR of a sort, with some type of tools and skill involved.
"Lucky" HR, or "unlucky" non-HR for that matter, come in all shapes and sizes, especially in a quirky ballpark like Fenway, where a foot or two one way or the other gets you into a much deeper or shallower part of the park, or a much lower or higher wall to clear.
These may have been among the shortest-distance HR of the year, but they may not have been the cheapest. It's quite possible that a number of Yankee Stadium HR this year were hit less well but traveled further in the wind tunnel to the relatively short RF area. And "lucky" may not quite be the word either. If a batter is being pitched relatively tough low outside or high outside but is able to get enough of the bat under the ball and loft it near the opposite-field line and out (whereas a weaker or less skilled hitter would, say, foul out to the 1B or 2B) that might be considered a quality HR of a sort, with some type of tools and skill involved.
"Lucky" HR, or "unlucky" non-HR for that matter, come in all shapes and sizes, especially in a quirky ballpark like Fenway, where a foot or two one way or the other gets you into a much deeper or shallower part of the park, or a much lower or higher wall to clear.
