Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Jul 3, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz (15) reacts after hitting a game winning walk off single to win the game against the St. Louis Cardinals in ten innings at PNC Park. The Pirates won 5-4 in ten innings.

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By TJ French | Last updated May 25, 2025 5:17 PM ET

The Pittsburgh Pirates have an absolute freak athlete on their team in the form of shortstop Oneil Cruz.

Cruz is in the midst of his fifth MLB season, and he has had no trouble hitting some of the longest, hardest-hit home runs that we've ever seen.

Most recently, on Sunday, the 26-year-old from the Dominican Republic wowed the baseball world once again with the hardest-hit ball in the Statcast era. And it went for a home run at nearly 123 mph off the bat into the Allegheny River. It came against the Milwaukee Brewers starter Logan Henderson.

Take a look at the blast here:

Oneil Cruz just hit this ball 122.9 mph.

That is the hardest hit ball in the Statcast era. pic.twitter.com/dZYilTHie1
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 25, 2025

Cruz now holds three of the six hardest hit balls in the statcast era, and to no surprise, it is he and Giancarlo Stanton that hold all six spots.

Cruz and Stanton are the only two players with multiple 120-plus mph batted balls. They're responsible for 22 between them, with Cruz now having six to his credit following Sunday's home run.

Statcast was implemented in 2015, and now all Major League Baseball teams have access to data tracking technology.

While Cruz still has trouble sometimes being a highly productive player that he once sought to be, there's no doubt he can put an absolute charge into a baseball.

He entered Sunday hitting .229 with 10 home runs, and a National League leading 18 stolen bases.

Here is the clip one more time for good measure: