Jake Arrieta hits a 465-foot moonshot off Zack Greinke (Video)

Jake Arrieta is making sure #pitcherswhorake is getting some love in Spring Training with a massive home run off Zack Greinke.

Of all the pitchers in Major League Baseball who take pride in their hitting, Jake Arrieta is up there with the best of them. Last year, he openly requested a spot in the Home Run Derby. Arrieta holds the record for longest home run by a pitcher since the adoption of Statcast — 440 feet off Shelby Miller last April in Arizona.

Arrieta was back in the box in Arizona on Thursday afternoon, and he provided some fireworks and then some, victimizing Zack Greinke with an absolute bomb that obliterated his old record by over 20 feet. Arrieta’s moonshot was measured at 465 feet, and it came in his first at-bat of Spring Training.

Most pitchers stepping in for their first at-bat of the meaningless exhibition season would have been content to see three pitches and walk back to the dugout, but not Arrieta. Casual 465-foot dinger like you read about.

There aren’t many pitchers in baseball capable of hitting bombs like Arrieta. Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgarner are hit equals in terms of raw power. Last season, Arrieta won the NL Silver Slugger for pitchers and batted .262/.304/.415 with two doubles and two home runs. His efforts at the dish were worth 0.8 WAR according to the Baseball-Reference formula. That’s quite impressive considering he only had 70 trips to the plate on the year.

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With his free-agent date fast approaching at the end of the year, Arrieta will have to decide just how important it is to find a contract with a team that will allow him to bat in most of his starts. He clearly enjoys the craft of hitting, and we all enjoy watching him absolutely embarrass opposing pitchers with 465-foot bombs.