Baseball is a difficult game — a ball slapped lightly down the third base line could be a hit, while a 400-foot blast that falls short of the centerfield wall could be an out.
As a general rule, however, good things will happen if you hit the ball hard. Pirates 2B Oneil Cruz knows that better than just about anyone.
Cruz still has work to do to become a complete hitter, but few players, if any, consistently hit the ball harder than he does — and the record books reflect that after a laser of a home run against the Brewers on Sunday.
Here’s a look at how Cruz broke his own MLB record on Sunday and how many times he appears on the list of hardest-hit balls of the Statcast era.
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Oneil Cruz breaks record for hardest-hit ball with 122.9-mph home run
Cruz hit a 122.9-mph home run against the Brewers on Sunday, breaking his own record for the hardest-hit ball since MLB began tracking exit velocity in 2015.
The ball came off the bat like a missile, rocketing to right field and ending up in the Allegheny River, as so many home runs to right at PNC Park do. None have ever gotten out as quickly as Cruz’s, which was measured at 432 feet.
Oneil Cruz just hit this ball 122.9 mph.
That is the hardest hit ball in the Statcast era. pic.twitter.com/dZYilTHie1
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 25, 2025
The home run came against Brewers rookie starter Logan Henderson, who otherwise didn’t allow a run. The Pirates saw the full Cruz experience in Sunday’s loss, as the 26-year-old struck out three times in five plate appearances.
When Cruz does make contact, he can be lethal. He now owns three of the six hardest-hit balls since data was first tracked in 2015 despite only arriving in the majors in 2022, and the top two now belong to him. Cruz previously set the record with a 122.4-mph single in his rookie season.
Before Sunday, Giancarlo Stanton owned the hardest-hit home run in the Statcast era at 122.2 mph in 2018.
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MLB hardest-hit balls
Here’s a look at the hardest-hit balls of the Statcast era (since 2015), with Cruz and Stanton the only players to hit a ball 121.5 mph or harder.
| Player | Exit velocity (mph) | Outcome | Date |
| Oneil Cruz | 122.9 | Home run | May 25, 2025 |
| Oneil Cruz | 122.4 | Single | Aug. 24, 2022 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 122.2 | Double play | Aug. 9, 2021 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 122.2 | Single | Oct. 1, 2017 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 121.7 | Home run | Aug. 9, 2018 |
| Oneil Cruz | 121.5 | Double | May 21, 2024 |
A hard-hit ball is never guaranteed to be a hit, but the results speak for themselves. Five of the six hardest-hit balls from the past 11 seasons went for hits, and two were home runs.
As long as Cruz is making contact, the 123-mph mark is in his sights.
