Did you hit it with a 122.9 mile bat? Ohtani, the emperor of batting speed, has as many as six 120-mile balls that he has never hit before

May 26, 2025

Did you hit it with a 122.9 mile bat? Ohtani, the emperor of batting speed, has as many as six 120-mile balls that he has never hit before
Pitzburg Pirates O'Neill Cruise. ImagesYonhap News



Did you hit it with a 122.9 mile bat? Ohtani, the emperor of batting speed, has as many as six 120-mile balls that he has never hit before
The Pittsburgh Pirates O'Neill Cruz is looking at the ball after hitting a 122.9-mile home run, the highest batting speed ever, in the bottom of the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on the 26th (Korea time). Photo = MLB.TV Capture
Pittsburgh Pirates O'Neill Cruz is a representative hitter who hits a powerful ball.

He set another new record in major league history. Cruz fired a home run at a high-speed speed of 122.9 miles (197.8 kilometers), the fastest ever, in a home game against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on the 26th (Korea time).

Cruz, who played in leadoff center field, took the leadoff batter in the bottom of the third inning, trailing 0-3, drawing a 92.2 mile fastball through the high strike zone in the first pitch of Milwaukee right-hander Logan Henderson to draw a large arch behind the right stands.




The ball, which flew at a launch angle of 23 degrees and a batting speed of 122.9 miles, fell on the road outside PNC Park, was one-bound, and entered the Allegheny River, a tributary of the Ohio River. It is the sixth home run on the cruise and the 83rd in the history of PNC Park, which opened in 2001, with a flying distance of 432 feet.

It is the fastest flying ball since Statcast began tracking the ball in 2008. Cruise also held the previous record for fastest batting. He pulled right-hander Kyle Wright's slider in the bottom of the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at the same venue on Aug. 25, 2022, for a 122.4 mile hit that hit the right fence.

Did you hit it with a 122.9 mile bat? Ohtani, the emperor of batting speed, has as many as six 120-mile balls that he has never hit before
New York Yankees Aaron Judge. AP Yonhap News
Did you hit it with a 122.9 mile bat? Ohtani, the emperor of batting speed, has as many as six 120-mile balls that he has never hit before
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani hits a superior solo home run in the top of the first inning against the New York Mets. AP Yonhap News
In other words, Cruz finished first and second in the fastest batting in the Major League. For reference, there were a total of 26 hits with a batting speed of more than 120 miles, 16 of which were attributed to New York Yankees Giancarlo Stanton, and Cruz has six, including first, second, sixth, 14th, 16th and 18th. In addition, Cruz has five of the top 10 batting speeds this season.

Usually, Yankees Aaron Judge and LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani are considered the best power heaters in existence, but they fall short of Cruise when it comes to batting speed. Cruise ranks first overall with an average batting speed of 97.0 miles this season, Ohtani ranks second with 96.1 miles, and Judge ranks third with 95.4 miles.

Judge hit more than 120 miles once. On June 11, 2017, the left-handed home run hit in the bottom of the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles has a batting speed of 121.1 miles, which is the highest personal speed.

Ohtani's right-handed hit against Yusei Kikuchi in the top of the second inning in an away game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Center on April 28 last year is 119.2 miles, his personal record. Ohtani's highest speed record is 118.7 miles for a 461-foot solo home run that pulled Houston Astros Ronel Blanco's fastball in the middle of the right fence at Minute Maid Park on July 28 last year.




Did you hit it with a 122.9 mile bat? Ohtani, the emperor of batting speed, has as many as six 120-mile balls that he has never hit before
O'Neal Cruise is a career high-speed this season. AFP Yonhap News
Cruz, convinced that it was a home run, did not leave the batter's box until the ball disappeared, and later started running on the base. He said "I feel good. I was aiming for a good ball to hit, but it hit really well. I'm surprised and happy that it's the fastest ball in Statcast history."

He then said "It doesn't matter how hard you hit the ball. I just focus on getting it right. You don't always have to try to hit the ball strongly and accurately. I'm just hitting him to be in-play."

Cruz, a right-handed lefty from the Dominican Republic, made his big league debut in 2021, batting .248 with 51 home runs and an OPS of 0.778. As of today, he is heading for career high with a batting average of 0.236, 11 homers, 23 RBIs, 30 points, 18 steals, and an OPS of 0.853. He is No. 1 in stolen bases in the NL and tied for 11th in home runs. He is capable of hitting 30 home runs and 50 steals this season, even though he is hitting less accurately.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.