Getting this HR ball was real longshot

OVER THE FENCE in dead centerfield. Over the shrubbery and the ivy. All the way over the brick batter's eye - all 31 feet, 6 inches of it - and then into Ashburn Alley on one hop.

There was never a doubt that Ryan Howard's mammoth blast off Reds starter Aaron Harang in the fifth inning last night would be a home run. The only question was how this shot compared to the virtual carbon copy he blasted off Florida's Sergio Mitre on April 23, 2006, until now the longest home run (estimated at 496 feet) in Citizens Bank Park history.

"This one was farther," said Matt Stewart, and he should know. He was on duty at the Turkey Hill ice cream kiosk near where the ball landed then and now. "And this one was higher. Did you see where he was when it landed? He was already at third base."

Sure enough, the Phillies subsequently announced that the unofficial distance on last night's homer was 505 feet.

Last year, the ball hit the concrete walkway in front of the Phillies Wall of Fame, which is closed during games since it overlooks the visitor's bullpen, and was retrieved by Phillies security guard Ken Brown.

Last night, the ball hit an estimated 13 feet behind that spot and jumped over the back wall and into the concourse, where a scramble ensued near the ATM. During the scrum of bloodied knees and spilled french fries, the ball rolled free and was picked up by Joe Ruffin, who didn't even have to put down his soda to make the play.

Ruffin was born and raised in Philadelphia, but was attending his first Phillies game since he was 12 and went to Veterans Stadium with his grandmother. He was at the ballpark as part of a company outing for Tenciplast, a washing-machine manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. He's a sales representative who lives in Summit, N.J., works in Exton, and has season tickets for the New York Giants.

He agreed to return the souvenir in exchange for a Howard-autographed ball that he plans to give to his son, a student at Clemson.

"If [Howard] wants the ball, he should have it," Ruffin said.

Even Howard didn't fully realize at the time just how much he would want that particular ball. He knew it was the 100th home run of his career. It also came in his 325th major league game, which, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, is the fewest for a big-league player to reach triple digits in career home runs.

"It's cool," he said. "I had honestly thought about it [Tuesday] that I had 99 home runs. Then I kind of forgot about it."

He shattered the previous mark of 385 by Ralph Kiner in 1948.

As he spoke after the Phillies' 9-6 loss to the Reds, he held the ball in his hand. It was already labeled and inside a plastic display case.

"It's going up in my house," he said. "I'm going to give it to my parents to take home, and then I might have to wrestle them for it.

"This is special. First hit. First homer. Now 100th homer. This is definitely going to be up there."

Howard said he knew he hit the pitch well, but acknowledged he was surprised at how far it traveled.

"It was one of those where you don't feel much off the bat, because it's on the sweet spot," he said. "But I remember that it was real loud. I was kind of shocked at how far it went, though."

Said manager Charlie Manuel: "He has all the power in the world. The fact that he's hit that many home runs in that short a period of time shows how good he is."

The Phillies lost, so it wasn't a fairy-tale ending for the team. Using a wider lens, the newest longest-home-run-in-Citizens-Bank-Park-history is still an encouraging sign for a team hoping to stay in contention.

Howard is still hitting .298 with nine home runs and 26 RBI in June. Before going on the disabled list with a strained left quadriceps, he was batting .204. Since being activated, he has 12 homers with a league-leading 33 RBI. And he's driven in 43 runs in his last 36 games.

It's no secret the Phillies need Howard to be productive under the best of circumstances, and that is magnified now that injuries and ineffectiveness on the pitching staff leave them needing to outslug opponents to have a chance to win on many nights.

In the meantime, Ruffin had a night he'll remember for a long time. He was sitting with his group when he decided to take a stroll.

"I never would have expected to see a ball coming that far away," he said. "I looked up and I saw it coming. I knew who had hit and I saw all the people running. There were about 12 people lying on the ground and then the ball rolled over to me and I picked it up."

Ruffin laughingly declined to give his age, so it's impossible to know exactly how long since his last Phillies game. But he said he loves the ballpark and plans to come back soon. And when he does, he'll probably keep his eyes open when Howard comes to the plate . . . no matter how far from the plate he happens to be standing at the time. *