Oneil Cruz created a stir in a game earlier this season with an explosive hitting display. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ shortstop had two hits with an exit velocity over 120 mph, a feat unmatched in the Statcast era (since 2015).
Pardon the Interruption co-host Michael Wilbon was not impressed, saying talk about such numbers had “started the ruination of watching sports for me.”
“It angers me,” Wilbon said, regarding talk about Cruz’s exit velocity feats. “He’s a .260 hitter, so why do I care about the exit velo?”
Wilbon is right to some extent. A 68 mph bloop single can score a pair of runs just as well, perhaps even easier, than a 117 mph rocket that gets to the outfield quicker.
That said, there’s nothing in baseball like the explosive crack of a bat, and a hard-hit ball sailing into the stands. Thanks to Statcast, we can now recognize the players who hit the ball the hardest, and most consistently, to a ridiculously precise degree. Here’s a look at the 10 hardest hitters in MLB, based on their average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage (batted balls hit at 95 mph or more) in the past three seasons.
10. Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
Numbers: Finished fourth in average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage in 2022; ranked 12th in average EV in 2024 (through July 8).
While Statcast numbers are great for comparing hitters, sometimes there’s nothing better than a highlight video to illustrate a hitter’s power. Here’s a look at Schwarber crushing a 488-foot home run in the 2022 NLCS against the San Diego Padres. The ball had an exit velocity of 120 mph, still a postseason record in the Statcast era. Sometimes players’ reactions to a home run say it all; just check out Bryce Harper gaping in awe at Schwarber’s home run:
KYLE SCHWARBER! 488 FEET! 120 MPH!
Bryce Harper’s reaction to the homer says it all. ⚾️💣💣 pic.twitter.com/cIz7wTiU5r
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 19, 2022
9. Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
Numbers: Ranked fourth in average EV in 2023; ranked ninth in EV in 2022.
Some might think, “Of course Olson’s on this list, he hit 54 home runs in 2023.” Yet some of the best power hitters don’t necessarily pop in the EV rankings. Mike Trout and Harper, for example, averaged 91.9 mph and 91.8 mph, respectively, in average EV in 2023. Trout ranked 26th in that category, Harper 31st.
Remarkably, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes ranked around the 10th percentile or lower in both EV and hard-hit percentage in 2023 and so far in 2024. Yet he hit 31 home runs last season and is close to that pace this year.
And here’s another striking example dispelling the notion some have that you must hit the ball hard to succeed in baseball. Cleveland Guardians All-Star outfielder Steven Kwan had a .364 batting average and .957 OPS through June 7, yet his 86.0 average exit velocity ranked 242nd out of 258 qualifying players. And he was dead last among qualifying players in terms of hard-hit percentage (18.8%).
Which brings us back to Olson. When he’s on, he’s capable of hitting Judge-like blasts. Here he is going 464 feet in 2023:
Matt Olson, just mashing taters on Sunday night!
See AlsoMyers a bright spot but Brewers 'going through it'Tanner Houck Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced MetricsMLB Hitter Studs and Duds - Advanced Metrics Leaders for Barrel % (Week 20)Jhonkensy Noel, James Wood Headline 10 Statcast Standouts (June 24th)The Braves slugger sent one 464 FT to open the scoring in Atlanta! ☄️⚾️ pic.twitter.com/NkwO2VpKAB
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) May 28, 2023
8. Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
Numbers: Second in average exit velo in 2022; eighth in EV in 2023.
For all his power, Alvarez is a .295 career hitter; a couple of hitters on this list are 60-70 points lower in that category. Alvarez has remarkable contact skills and plate discipline. Even when he’s not elevating the ball for home runs, he’s still hitting it hard somewhere, creating opportunities; he had an expected slugging percentage of .626 in 2023, fourth in baseball.
7. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
Numbers: Ranks fifth in hard-hit percentage and sixth in average EV in 2024; finished 10th in EV in 2022.
Guerrero is still trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations he set in 2021, when he hit 48 home runs with a 1.002 OPS. He may never reach that level again, but he still punishes baseballs. Here’s a blast he hit in late June:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. crushes one 471 feet WAY out of Fenway! ⚾️💣pic.twitter.com/3aWVU5WsLw
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) June 25, 2024
That left the bat at 113 mph, and while Guerrero has hit many home runs harder, how often do you see a shot like that (471 feet) at Fenway Park?
6. Juan Soto, New York Yankees
Numbers: Fourth in hard-hit percentage and average EV in 2024; fourth in hard-hit percentage in 2023
Soto has often ranked outside the top 10 in average exit velo in his career, but is generally much higher on the hard-hit percentage charts. He doesn’t have the scorching hot hits that would boost his average EV. His hardest-hit ball the past three seasons topped out at 115.7. The No. 5 hitter on this list had three hits faster than that in the same game this season. What Soto does is hit the ball hard more often than almost anyone on this list.
5. Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
Numbers: Ranked second in average EV and fifth in hard-hit percentage in 2023.
The Atlanta Braves star’s season-ending ACL injury in late May, his second such incident in three years, is a loss for all baseball fans. After Acuña crushed a 121.2 mph homer 454 feet last September, Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters, “Oh my God, I was wondering if that was the hardest one ever hit.”
“I never imagined that was going to be the exit velocity on it, but yeah, I hit it hard,” Acuña said.
Ronald Acuña Jr crushes a home run with a 121.2 mph exit velocity! It’s the hardest-hit ball in MLB this season. pic.twitter.com/1SkNcaGRgm
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) September 3, 2023
4. Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates
Numbers: Ranks second in average EV in 2024; holds record for the hardest-hit ball in the Statcast era, a 122.4 mph single in August 2022.
Cruz, who debuted in mid-2022, missed almost all of 2023 with an injury, so he’s really just played the equivalent of a little more than one full season to date. He had that incredible game noted earlier, with two hits over 120 mph, sparking talk that irritated Wilbon. There have been only 20 such hits in the Statcast era. And he also added a 116.3 mph double that night, the first time a player has had three 115 mph-plus hits in the same game.
The 6-foot-7 shortstop must learn to be more consistent at the plate. But when he is barreling the ball, incredible things happen.
ONEIL CRUZ JUST LAUNCHED A 462-FOOT, 3-RUN MISSILE INTO THE ALLEGHENY
117.7 MPH exit velocity, 462 feet, HR in 30/30 ballparks pic.twitter.com/ODCrrl3Ziu
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) June 7, 2024
3. Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
Numbers: Boasts the hardest-hit home run ever recorded (121.7 mph) and four of the top six in that category. Ranked third in average EV in 2022, fifth in 2024.
Stanton has fought injuries in recent years but when he’s healthy, only a couple of players in the game hit the ball harder than Stanton. Two factors help fuel Stanton’s hard-hitting. He’s enormous (6-foot-6, 245 pounds), and he generates the fastest swing in baseball, with an average bat speed of almost 81 mph on swings this season (Cruz is next on the Statcast list at 78 mph).
2. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
Numbers: Ranked third in average EV in 2023 and 2024; second in hard-hit percentage in 2024.
While Ohtani doesn’t top this list, MLB players, media and fans generally agree that the ball sounds louder and more explosive off his bat than from anyone else in baseball. Check out this Ohtani blast from 2021 that fans still rave about:
Thinking about the sound of Shohei’s home run on Sunday Night Baseball last year when he was also pitching pic.twitter.com/XVE7Bl5lft
— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) January 13, 2022
Part of the sound effect in that video is likely due to audio production on the broadcast, but Ohtani’s hits sound explosive in person. A number of factors influence the sound of a ball coming off the bat. Bats made of maple wood have a more audible crack than ash bats. Bigger hitters make bigger cracks (Ohtani is 6-foot-4, 210 pounds). Balls hit in stadiums with fewer fans sound louder off the bat because of the echo off empty seats, and the lack of crowd noise. Even factors such as a batter’s grip, and how long he holds that grip after contact, play a role.
Ohtani makes it look so easy with his seemingly effortless swing. How does he do it? Longtime MLB reliever Daniel Hudson, now a teammate of Ohtani, said the slugger rarely gets fooled.
“He hits everything hard. You just try and hope he hits a 105 mph rocket at somebody,” Hudson told The Athletic recently. “It’s very rare to see him get jammed. Even when he catches it off the end it’s still 100 mph. It’s a rare combination of power but like contact and hitting ability, as well.”
1. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
Numbers: He’s topped the average EV list in every full season he’s played, as well as the hard-hit percentage rankings.
If Statcast had been around when former Yankees greats Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle played, it’s a good bet both sluggers would have topped the exit velo charts at some point, possibly for years at a time. Yet it’s hard to imagine they could have dominated them to the degree Judge has done the past few seasons. He’s finished No. 1 in average EV in each of the seven full seasons he’s played, often by a wide margin.
Judge’s 2023 mark of 97.6 mph was 2.9 mph faster than the No. 2 player on the list, Acuña. Now consider this: there was a margin of 2.9 mph separating Acuña and the next 43 players on the exit velo list. Judge stood that far above everyone else.
Judge told Fox Sports in 2022 that he has three rules he follows as a hitter: 1) Coil the back hip, to help rotate on time, and with power, to the pitch; 2) Stay balanced and don’t rush the swing, which can cause head movement; and 3) Be ready to swing and inflict damage on every pitch.
“I’m on every single pitch. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 3-0 count, the first pitch of the game, full count bottom nine,” Judge said. “I’m thinking about swinging at every pitch until my eyes tell me not to. If I’m up there just trying to watch the ball, I’m gonna be in a bad place.”
Here’s Judge inflicting damage (116.9 mph exit velo) on a 464-foot blast to dead center in 2023:
Aaron Judge goes 464 feet to dead center! ⚾️💣pic.twitter.com/Yp4EVZKx8h
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 11, 2023
Finally, back to Wilbon, who made several points in dissing exit velocity earlier this season. He noted, correctly, that the late Tony Gwynn, who won eight NL batting titles, wasn’t known as a hard hitter.
Michael Wilbon says MLB exit velocity tracking has “started the ruination of watching sports for me” pic.twitter.com/UQzZWwcHLM
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 22, 2024
That said, baseball fans roasted Wilbon for his take. Baseball insider Ken Rosenthal praised Wilbon as one of the most “accomplished” and “best” people in our business, but said he made a mistake.
“I wish Michael hadn’t said that, because he got crushed for it … but we all say things that we don’t always think entirely through, and I think he would like this one back,” Rosenthal said.
.@Ken_Rosenthal reacts to Michael Wilbon’s comments about MLB exit velo ruining all of sports.
“In this day and age, it’s probably better to focus on one specific sport…” pic.twitter.com/wNxEm5pPXO
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 24, 2024
