Sports

Oneil Cruz Records Hardest Hit Ball In MLB’s Statcast Era

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By
James Boutros
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James Boutros Sports Editor

Growing up, James was fascinated with watching sports. This led to an interest in research and stats and writing betting analysis for a variety of sports. James has graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business.

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Sports Editor

Published26 May 2025

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The Pittsburgh Pirates had some pre-season hype with players like Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz, and Bryan Reynolds. Some thought they could challenge for the NL Central division title.

However, the Pirates currently sit at 19-35 and last in the division. The only team in the NL with a worse record is the Colorado Rockies.

The offense has been horrendous for Pittsburgh. They are last in runs, RBIs, and SLG, and second last in home runs and OPS.

The only offensive category the Pirates are thriving in is steals. They are in the top five in the league in stolen bases.

Despite having an ace in Paul Skenes, the Pirates have been average in pitching categories.

Paul Skenes and Oneil Cruz are two cornerstones for a franchise.

Oneil Cruz Records Hardest Hit Ball In MLB’s Statcast Era

One of their stars, Oneil Cruz, did something on Sunday that has yet to be done in at least 10 years.

In the third inning, Cruz smashed a high fastball from Logan Henderson deep to right field. The ball went over the stands and out of PNC Park. A ball hit as hard as Cruz hit it was the hardest hit ball recorded since Statcast began tracking batted balls in 2015.

Cruz’s home run was measured at a whopping 122.9 mph off his bat. Here is the video of his home run.

Henderson’s pitch was recorded at 92.2 mph. This was not a case of Cruz belting a pitch that was 100 mph. Cruz provided massive force to launch the home run literally out of the ballpark. He went 1-4 on the day with a walk and struck out three times.

This is not the first time Cruz lit up Statcast. He already recorded the hardest hit ball by Statcast with a 122.4 mph single on August 24, 2022. Before his home run on Sunday, the previous hardest hit home run was clocked at 121.7 mph from Giancarlo Stanton on August 9, 2018.

With 11 home runs on the season, Cruz has almost doubled the home runs of the next closest Pirate (Bryan Reynolds with six). Cruz also has 18 stolen bases on the year.

His missile came on the same day as Tarik Skubal throwing the hardest pitch ever recorded by a starting pitcher in the ninth inning.

Tarik Skubal Throws Complete Game Shutout

Tarik Skubal allowed just two hits and zero walks over nine innings while striking out 13 in a complete game shutout on Sunday against the Cleveland Guardians.

Skubal leads the American League with 92 strikeouts.

He needed just 94 pitches, 74 of them for strikes, in his first-ever complete game of his career.

The Southpaw had 26 swing and misses on Sunday, and he saved the best for last. Skubal hit 102.6 mph on his final pitch to Gabriel Arias, getting him to swing and miss to end the contest. That is the fastest pitch thrown by a starter since pitches began being tracked in 2008.