Oneil Cruz almost broke Statcast with jaw-dropping Home Run Derby blast

The Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz showcased why the MLB invited him to partake in the 2025 Home Run Derby. Not only did the outfielder go yard early and often during the festivities at the Atlanta Braves' Truist Park, but he was mashing baseballs.

Cruz's strong first-round performance at the Derby was puncuated by a record-setting bomb. He utterly crushed a 513-foot, 118-mile-per-hour homer. The distance ties New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge for the longest dinger in event history outside of the Colorado Rockies' high-altitude Coors Field.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.

Oneil Cruz almost destroys Statcast with 513 foot homer in Derby

It was the first 500-plus foot long ball outside of Colorado or the Judgian blast in Miami in 2017. Knowing this, Cruz presumably locked himself into at least $100,000 for hitting the farthest big fly of this year's glorified batting practice. His power was apparent with one swing, courtesy of Statcast.

Even when factoring in the pre-Statcast era, Cruz's tater still ranks among the longest traveling balls the Derby has ever seen. Retired Chicago Cubs icon Sammy Sosa is the unofficial record holder at 524 feet. Pittsburgh's slugger entered rarefied air by getting unprecedently outstanding wood on the ball.

Accounting for four of the five deepest homers in Round 1, Cruz stole the show in Atlanta. Braves Country was in attendance to show support for their hometown participant, first baseman Matt Olson. Yet, the crowd was actively engaged and incredibly loud when the Pirates standout was up, and he fed off the energy.

At 6-foot-7, 240 pounds, Cruz's pop and bat-to-ball skills shouldn't come as much of a surprise. He combines his incredible size with a blend of raw power that is routinely demonstrated by otherworldly exit velos (EV). Nonetheless, fans in Atlanta got a firsthand experience of his capabilities at the plate.

Leading the Majors in adjusted EV and ranking third in hard-hit percentage at the All-Star break, Cruz's skill set meshes perfectly with the Derby. He leaves no doubt when smacking a ball over the wall. Pittsburgh may have already known that, but now the rest of the world does too; the cat's out of the bag.