Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz has consistently been one of baseball's hardest hitters throughout the 2024 season, but his latest blast was impressive even for his standards.
During the Pirates' first game back from the All-Star break, Cruz came to the plate against Philadelphia Phillies starter Aaron Nola and uncorked a ridiculously hard-hit double which scored Pittsburgh's first run of the game.
Cruz smacked the ball out to deep center field at a speed of 120.5 mph off the bat, one of the hardest hit balls this season. In fact, only Cruz himself has hit one harder. The 25-year-old is the owner of this year's hardest hit at 121.5 mph, according to Statcast. The next highest max exit velocity came from New York Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton at 120.0 mph.
A 120.5 MPH double off the bat of Oneil Cruz!
— MLB (@MLB) July 19, 2024
That ball was SMOKED 😯 pic.twitter.com/RWg2o2wsgk
Cruz also owns the hardest recorded hit in the Statcast era (since 2015), when he, back in 2022, crushed a baseball 122.4 mph off the bat.
His double against the Phillies was just another example of his extraordinary power. Even if this one didn't escape the wall in center field, there's no doubting that Cruz got absolutely all of the pitch from Nola.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pirates' Oneil Cruz Laces Jaw-Dropping 120.5 MPH Double vs. Phillies.
