Oneil Cruz Obliterates Hardest Hit Home Run of Statcast Era

Karl Rasmussen | May 25, 2025

Pittsburgh Pirates OF Oneil Cruz hits the hardest home run of the Statcast era / Screenshot via Pirates on X

The Pittsburgh Pirates' offense has struggled of late, but it's hard to put much of that blame on Oneil Cruz. After hitting two home runs in Saturday's win over the Milwaukee Brewers, Cruz added another to his tally early on Sunday.

This home run from Cruz was his 11th of the year, and it was a historic one.

In the third inning, Cruz took a pitch from Logan Henderson and deposited it into the Allegheny River. The ball left the bat at an absurd speed of 122.9 mph, which makes it the single hardest hit ball, and home run, in the Statcast era.

Have a look at just how quickly this ball leaves PNC Park.

Oneil Cruz's 122.9 MPH homer was the hardest-hit ball of the Statcast Era 😳 pic.twitter.com/VfzAcPLwg8

— MLB (@MLB) May 25, 2025

Previously, the hardest hit home run in the Statcast era was a 2018 bomb by Giancarlo Stanton that was registered at 121.7 mph. Cruz bested that with his solo shot in the third inning, by over a full mile per hour.

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