Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz, owner of the record for the hardest-hit ball in the Statcast era, displayed his tremendous power on baseball's biggest stage Monday night at the 2025 MLB Home Run Derby at Truist Field in Atlanta.
Batting fourth in the eight-player field, Cruz put on a show in the first round of the derby and hit 21 balls out of the park to tie Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays for the lead. He also hit the longest homer of the night so far (513 feet).
Cruz hit the longest home run of his career (472 feet) on July 27, 2024, off Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt at Chase Field.