Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
ArticlesFeaturedMLBBy Robert O'Neill on

Since its launch in 2015, MLB Statcast has changed the way that fans view the game of baseball.

Exit velocities, launch angles, sprint speed, and more have opened up a whole new world of stats.

In Tuesday night’s 7-6 win over the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz accomplished a feat never seen in the Statcast era.

Cruz had three hits on the evening, the third of which was a game-tying double with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. A three-hit game, while rare, is not historic. What was historic though was each of Cruz’s hits had an exit velocity over 115 miles per hour, making him the first player in MLB history to accomplish the feat, per MLB’s Sarah Langs. Additionally, two of the three went over 120 miles per hour, making Cruz the first player to accomplish that feat as well.

Cruz’s three hits were the three hardest-hit balls in MLB this season, giving him the top three spots on the leaderboard, as MLB’s Mike Petrillo was quick to point out.

While high exit velocities generally lead to hits or home runs, it’s not necessarily a given. The fact that all three of Cruz’s missiles resulted in hits and one of them tied the game while the Pirates were down to their final out make his stand out even more.

Social media had a lot to say about the shortstop’s big night.

[Sarah Langs, Mike Petrillo]

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