Cruz Hits Hardest MLB Ball This Season

0:00It's April 23rd. This is MLB News Today, baseball coverage powered by AI. Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop O'Neill Cruz unleashed the hardest hit ball in Major League Baseball this season, smashing a cut fastball at 100, 16.9 mph right off the top of the right field foul pole at 432 feet. This monster shot in the ninth inning sealed an 8-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night. Earlier Tuesday, Cruz got robbed of a three-run homer by a leaping catch from Ranger Center Fielder, Evan Carter. Then Wednesday, after striking out in three of his first four ad-bats in watching the Pirates tie the game, he told teammate Marcel O'Zuna he was, about to go deep right before delivering. Cruz froze in the batter's box, tracking the ball like a pro-gover, then flapped his arms rounding the bases. He later said through an interpreter that O'Zuna smacked him on the head for motivation after admitting his rough day. Pirates manager Don Kelly called it unbelievable, comparing it to the hardest blast he's seen.

1:05This mark is the second hardest ever at Globe Life Field since it opened in 2020, trailing only Jordan Alvarez's 117 mile per hour bomb last August. Overall, Cruz holds the Statcast error record at 122.9 mph from May 25th against Milwaukee. Pirates stay locked in the moment, and Cruz proved why he's a force-turning prediction into power and flipping the script on its half-night.