Since it began in 2015, Major League Baseball's Statcast era has brought all new ways to measure and, by extension, appreciate home runs.

To help pass time during the coronavirus pandemic, we thought we'd pause to appreciate eight home runs that should have been impossible.

These home runs were hit under extraordinary circumstances, whether it was because of the pitch that was hit or the angle at which the ball left the bat. To these ends, these dingers are all truly one of a kind.

Let's take it away.

When Rafael Devers Refused to Be Overpowered

In 2017, Rafael Devers was playing in only his 15th game with the Boston Red Sox when he came up against New York Yankees closer and noted velocity maestro Aroldis Chapman for the first time.

On a 1-2 count, Chapman unbleached a 102.8 mph fastball that, by all rights, should have been strike three. Instead, Devers whacked it for a 105.8 mph drive that landed 424 feet from home plate. At least one fan in Yankee Stadium was utterly stunned.

That's still the fastest pitch hit for a home run since the Statcast era began in 2015. It's also one of a very few hits, period, against pitches of at least 102 mph. Off those, the league has hit a collective .138 with a .190 slugging percentage.

That home run was a tease of things to come for Devers. He was a rookie dripping with potential when he hit it, and that potential was realized when he led MLB in hard-hit balls and total bases in 2019.

When Mark Trumbo Demolished an Eye-Level Fastball

After blasting an MLB-high 47 long balls in 2016, Mark Trumbo flopped in 2017 by hitting only 23 total home runs for the Baltimore Orioles.

Yet Trumbo did hit one homer worthy of a spit take off Gio Gonzalez on May 8. The Washington Nationals left-hander made a bid for a strikeout on a 1-2 count by throwing a fastball 4.6 feet off the ground, but Trumbo was able to get under it and send it over the left field wall.

That's the highest pitch hit for a homer during the Statcast era. It's a wonder that Trumbo even swung at it, given that pitches that are more than 4.5 feet high have drawn swings only 1.4 percent of the time.

That Trumbo also managed to hit it is downright mind-boggling. His home run is one of just 10 hits against pitches of at least 4.5 feet in height, not to mention one of only two extra-base hits.

When Odubel Herrera 9-Ironed a Ball over the Fence

A few months after Mark Trumbo reached for the proverbial skies for a home run in 2017, Odubel Herrera practically went underground for one of his own.

On August 8, Atlanta Braves right-hander Julio Teheran threw an 0-2 slider that spooked Herrera into moving his back foot out of its path. Yet the then-Philadelphia Phillies outfielder—he was suspended for violating MLB's domestic violence policy and later designated for assignment in 2019—still swung at the pitch and somehow sent it 396 feet from home.

At 0.7 feet off the ground, that's the lowest pitch hit for a home run during the Statcast era. Pitches that low and lower are typically swung at only 1.0 percent of the time, and they're hit for just a .019 average.

In fact, pitches that have gone that low have indeed registered far more hit-by-pitches (1,167) than hits (344) over the last five seasons.

When Avisail Garcia Reached into the Opposite Batter's Box for a Dinger

Once you skip to the 0:60 mark of the above video, you'll see Avisail Garcia needing every last inch of his reach to hit a home run for the Chicago White Sox in 2015.

With the count in his favor at 1-2, Detroit Tigers left-hander Kyle Ryan missed his spot with a changeup that a more patient hitter would have taken for a ball. Garcia, however, took a whack and poked it 376 feet over the right field fence.

At 1.6 feet from the middle of home plate, Garcia's tater is essentially tied with one by Christian Villanueva in 2017 for the most outside pitch hit for a home run since 2015. One key distinction, however, is that Villanueva's was ruled a home run courtesy of fan interference.

It's not that uncommon (8.0 percent) that right-handed batters swing at pitches that far outside. But when they have, they've hit for just a .047 average with four extra-base hits.

When Daniel Castro Achieved His Claim to Fame

If Daniel Castro's name doesn't ring a bell, it's probably because he's hit only three home runs in 98 career games in the major leagues.

He does have one claim to fame, though. By turning on a pitch that was 1.8 feet from the center of home plate, he wears the crown for the most inside pitch hit for a home run in the Statcast era.

The event took place when Castro and the Braves were taking on the St. Louis Cardinals on October 2, 2015. Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia tried to go inside with a fastball on an 0-1 count, but Castro got his bat around and lofted it 364 feet over the left field wall.

Frankly, the video doesn't do this one justice. Pitches as far inside as the one that Castro hit are swung at by right-handed batters just 0.1 percent of the time. Including his, those swings have also produced a grand total of four hits.

When Giancarlo Stanton Hit a Home Run That Only He Could Hit

No list of absurd home runs would be complete without at least one from Giancarlo Stanton. So behold, here's one from Giancarlo Stanton.

This particular dinger is from April 2015, when Stanton and the Miami Marlins were facing the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Justin De Fratus served up a 3-2 fastball at 91.8 mph, only to have Stanton send it back out at 13.5 degrees and 118.5 mph off the bat for a home run.

The former of those figures qualifies Stanton's laser as having the lowest launch angle of any over-the-fence (i.e., not inside-the-park) home run since 2015. Balls hit at 14 degrees or lower have gone for a solid .332 batting average, but with just a .379 slugging percentage.

For your further viewing pleasure, Stanton has also hit the fastest (121.7 mph in 2018) homer since 2015. Though it predated Statcast, he also hit one at the 2014 Home Run Derby that traveled 510 feet.

When J.D. Martinez Hit One That Somehow Wasn't Too High

Had the fans from Major League been in the stands to see J.D. Martinez's home run on May 15, 2015, they might have been onto something in thinking that it was "too high."

Standing in the box opposite Cardinals right-hander Mitch Harris, the then-Tigers slugger found himself looking at an 89.0 mph fastball over the inside edge. When Martinez turned on it, he hit a ball that was 49.7 degrees off his bat and which eventually landed 327 feet away.

That launch angle is the highest of any over-the-fence homer since 2015. As you can imagine, batted balls with a launch angle of at least 49 degrees almost always result in outs.

To wit, their batting average is a microscopic .014. They've also produced only 316 extra-base hits, and to call many of those "hits" (see here, here, here and here) is putting it charitably.

When Lorenzo Cain Met Pesky's Pole

Setting aside those of the inside-the-park variety, the shortest possible distance for a home run in a major league stadium resides at Fenway Park, where the "Pesky Pole" sits only 302 feet down the right field line.

During a tilt between the Red Sox and Kansas City Royals on July 29, 2017, Lorenzo Cain hit a ball that just barely made it to the Pesky Pole. Its official distance, naturally, was 302 feet.

That's the shortest distance that an over-the-fence home run ball has been hit since 2015. It's a record that will surely stand unbroken forever, and not necessarily just for reasons mentioned above.

Cain's clout came off the bat at just 90.4 mph with a 38.7-degree launch angle. Batted balls with similar measurements have yielded an average distance of 216 feet, not to mention just an .034 average.

Stats courtesy of Baseball Savant. All videos courtesy of MLB, via YouTube.