Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Oneil Cruz hits baseballs harder than almost anyone else in the sport, so fans were excited to see what he could do in his first Home Run Derby on Monday night.
The 26-year-old slugger didn’t disappoint, launching several balls into the Atlanta night that still haven’t landed. Cruz crushed 34 dingers in his Derby debut (a Pirates record), tying Tampa Bay Rays slugger Junior Caminero for most long balls in the first round (21) before losing to eventual champion Cal Raleigh in the second round.
Cruz had fans buzzing during his first-round performance, especially after this jaw-dropping 513-foot moonshot.
Cruz’s eighth homer of the night rocketed off his bat at 118 mph and traveled 513 feet — both Derby highs on Monday. It also set a Truist Park record, surpassing Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 495-footer from 2020, and tied the longest Derby homer outside of Coors Field since Statcast began tracking in 2016.
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Armed with a Donkey Kong-themed bat and with Paul Skenes cheering him on, Cruz put on a show. Nine of his 34 homers went at least 475 feet as he became the first Pittsburgh player to advance out of the first round.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t able to keep pace with Raleigh, who outhomered him 19-13 in the second round. There’s no shame in that, however, as the Seattle Mariners catcher was the betting favorite to win and leads the Major League in homers this year with 38 — the second-most ever before the All-Star Break behind only 2001 Barry Bonds (39).
Cruz, who owns the record for the fastest recorded exit velocity of the Statcast era (122.9 mph), lived up to the hype, becoming the only National League slugger to survive the first round en route to a third-place finish.
Cruz leads the Pirates with 16 homers this season, putting him on pace to eclipse last year’s career high of 21.
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Featured image via Jordan Godfree/Imagn Images