KANSAS CITY -- For all the eye-opening things he can do in the batter’s box during games, some of Oneil Cruz’s most awe-inspiring shots have come during batting practice. Whether it is hitting the third deck in multiple ballparks or the truck at American Family Field, Cruz’s BP sessions are a sight to behold.
On Monday, the world will get to see Cruz dingers like never before when he participates in his first T-Mobile Home Run Derby at Truist Park in Atlanta.
“I like to hit balls far. I think I'm going to enjoy it a lot,” Cruz said, via interpreter and coach Stephen Morales. Morales, one of the the Pirates’ regular batting practice pitchers, will throw to Cruz at the Derby.
Cruz has been invited to participate in the Derby before, but declined last year since it was his first campaign back from his fractured left ankle. The ankle has been better this year, he’s in a good spot physically and there’s also a pretty vocal group who wanted Cruz to participate: his wife, Lovely, and their sons, Oneil and Owen.
“They're happier than me, for sure,” Cruz said about his boys. “They're going to enjoy the whole thing.”
It’s easy to share the Cruz family’s excitement, and the group’s patriarch is maybe the best example of what the Derby can be: something that can be enjoyed equally from a nerdy, analytical side or the whimsy of a child.
For those looking for the latter, nobody in baseball hits the ball harder than Cruz. His 96.1 mph average exit velocity is tops in the Majors, and his 122.9 mph home run on May 25 is the hardest-hit ball since Statcast began tracking in 2015.
The accolades don’t stop there. There have been 10 baseballs this year that were hit at least 118 mph. Cruz has six of them. Since his debut season in 2022, Cruz has hit 11 of the 19 hardest-hit balls in the sport.
Distance wise, Cruz’s longest home run on record is a 472-foot blast he hit off of Brandon Pfaadt on July 27, 2024. His longest this year was on April 23 and went a projected 463 feet. That shot is the 11th-longest home run this season.
Cruz leads the Pirates with 16 home runs, including a 458 foot shot against the Royals on Tuesday. With 28 steals already, he could possibly join Barry Bonds as the only Pirates to ever record a 30-30 season.
“I'm going to try once in a while just to hit one like I know how to hit it, really far, that way people can enjoy that,” Cruz said. “For sure. I'm going to try to do that a few times.”
Cruz is the fifth confirmed member of this year’s Derby, joining Ronald Acuña Jr., Cal Raleigh, James Wood and Byron Buxton. The cavalcade of stars and elite players will certainly not be limited to just those participating, of course, and Cruz plans on making the most of rubbing elbows with the best in the game.
“I'm going to pick somebody's brain and talk to all the people that I can talk to, just to continue to expand my knowledge and get their advice and stuff like that,” Cruz said. “Especially guys who have been in the league for a lot of years. Definitely will be a good time to pick their brain and learn something from them.”
Cruz will be the first Pirate to participate in the Derby since Josh Bell in 2019 and the seventh to ever do so. Also representing the Pirates in the contest were Bobby Bonilla in 1990, Bonds in ’92, Jason Bay in 2005, Andrew McCutchen in ’12 and Pedro Álvarez in ’13. No Pirate has ever advanced past the first round, so Cruz has an opportunity to go further than any Pirate has gone before.
Regardless of the outcome, Cruz’s invitation cements him as one of the game’s premier power hitters. He can prove why next week.