Oneil Cruz hits hardest ball ever recorded in Statcast era

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz managed to record the hardest hit ever in the team’s game against the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 24.

Oneil Cruz, one of the Pittsburgh Pirates‘ top prospects, was called up to the majors for the second time of his career this past June. This season, he has not exactly lit up the stat-sheet in terms of batting, but he did make some history in a summer matinee game against the Atlanta Braves.

On Wednesday, Aug. 24, Cruz recorded a hard single off Braves pitcher Kyle Wright to right field in the bottom of the third inning. That hit was measured at 122.4 mph, which is officially the hardest hit recorded in the Statcast era (2015).

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Pirates’ Oneil Cruz records hardest hit of Statcast era

That is quite the accomplishment for Cruz. As for what was the previous hardest hit baseball in the Statcast era, that was none other than Giancarlo Stanton on Aug. 9, 2021 , per Sarah Langs of MLB. In fact, Stanton holds four of the five hardest hits ever recorded by Statcast.

As for the game itself, Cruz’s hardest hit did not have much of an impact for the Pirates, as he was stranded on first base following Kevin Newman’s line out to Wright to end the inning. In fact, the Braves coasted to a 14-2 victory.

In the game, Cruz went for 1-for-4 at the plate, which included two strikeouts. Following this contest, Cruz holds a .199 batting average and .647 OPS while recording 10 home runs, 30 RBI, and 58 hits in 52 games this season.

When it come to who had the hardest hit recorded since 2015, you can now confidently say it was Cruz. Will anyone be able to pass him on the record list?