Home runs are part of the baseball spectacle and on Sunday spectators at PNC Park were treated to a record-breaking hit by their outfielder Oneil Cruz, who set a record by sending the ball flying at 122.9 mph (197.6 km/h), on a 432-foot journey into the Allegheny River, during the Pittsburgh Pirates‘ 6-5 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Pirates were trailing 3-0 when Cruz came to bat in the third inning and waited for nothing to connect on the first pitch from rookie Logan Henderson, to send it over the wall in a solo home run that brought Pittsburgh closer.
“I connected very well. I feel even better knowing that it is the strongest ball in Statcast history,” said the Dominican through an interpreter and added, “No matter how strong it was connected. I just go out and make good contact. Sometimes I don’t even try to make the strongest contact.”
The Pirates’ Bomber
While there are likely to be stronger bombs in MLB history, the one hit by Cruz is the strongest in the Statcast era since 2015, the previous mark belonged to him, with 122.4 mph in August 2022, in a hit that crashed into the wall, while the strongest home run mark belonged to Giancarlo Stanton with 121.7 against Gio Gonzalez in Washington on August 9, 2017.
Oneil Cruz reached 11 home runs in the 2025 season and has hit six of the 83 home runs that have reached the river since PNC Park opened in 2001.
“The reason for my at-bats is simply to make good contact. Whatever happens, happens,” said the 6-foot-7, 240-pound outfielder, adding, “It’s just about the concentration and the work that I’ve been doing lately. That’s the main key, it always feels good as a player to be able to achieve that in a series.”
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