26-year old Dominican Pittsburgh shortstop Oneil Cruz has set a new record for the hardest-hit ball ever tracked by Statcast. He drove the ball 122.9 mph in Pittsburgh’s 6-5 series finale loss to the Brewers at the PNC Park. As reported by MLB, Cruz’s ball cleared the right-field wall with ease, traveling a projected 432 feet, and one-hopped into the Allegheny River, all by the time Cruz even left the batter’s box.
“It feels good. I was looking for a good pitch to hit and I connected really well,” Cruz said, through his interpreter and assistant coach Stephen Morales. “It feels even better just to know that it’s the hardest-hit ball in the history of Statcast.”
The blast was Cruz’s 11th of the season and marked the 83rd home run in the history of PNC Park (since its debut season in 2001) to reach the water, and was the sixth time in his career he’s done so.
Cruz broke his own record for hardest hit overall in Statcast history, surpassing a 122.4 mph base hit he drove off the outfield wall in Pittsburgh on 24 August 2022. The blast also broke the record for the hardest-hit home run previously held by Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (121.7 mph, Aug. 9, 2018).
Cruz finished the series 6-for-16 with three home runs, five RBIs, a double and a triple. His series puts him up to a .236 batting average and an .853 OPS, to go along with 18 stolen bases (third most in MLB).
26 May 2025