Every team's hardest-hit home run
Baseball has always been a simple game. You throw the ball hard. You hit the ball hard. And sometimes, the ball is hit with such force that you can¡¯t help but ask yourself, ¡°Just how hard was that thing hit?!¡±
Thanks to Statcast, we now know the exit velocity of each ball hit across the big leagues each day, no matter if it¡¯s a squeaker or a towering homer. But let¡¯s face it, do you really want to see Giancarlo Stanton¡¯s infield base hits? Or would you rather see him sock some dingers?
Jump to: AL East | AL Central | AL West | NL East | NL Central | NL West
Here are the hardest-hit homers by each of the 30 MLB clubs since Statcast began tracking exit velocity back at the start of the 2015 season, postseason included.
American League East
Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. -- April 10, 2022 vs. TEX
Exit velocity: 117.9 mph (Watch it)
Really, it could only be Vlad Jr. Guerrero actually smashed his own previous record of 117.4 mph when he hit this absolute laser off of Rangers pitcher Spencer Howard for his first home run of the 2022 season. Full Blue Jays leaderboard
Orioles: Pedro Álvarez -- April 14, 2018 at BOS
Exit velocity: 115.9 mph (Watch it)
Plenty of sluggers have passed through Baltimore, including Manny Machado, Chris Davis and Trey Mancini, but it¡¯s ?lvarez who tops the list for the O¡¯s. ?lvarez launched this majestic blast into the deepest part of Fenway Park, much to the dismay of pitcher Hector Vel¨¢zquez. Full Orioles leaderboard
Rays: Mike Zunino -- May 14, 2021 vs. NYM
Exit velocity: 117.3 mph (Watch it)
Tampa Bay acquired Zunino from Seattle in 2018, and he struggled at the plate in his first two seasons with the Rays. But Zunino has always been a guy who could punish the ball when he connects, as Mets lefty David Peterson found out the hard way on this shot. In 2021, Zunino got off to a hot start, resulting in his first All-Star selection. Full Rays leaderboard
Red Sox: Franchy Cordero -- May 23, 2021 at PHI
Exit velocity: 118.6 mph (Watch it)
Franchy has long been a Statcast anomaly, showing loud tools but battling injuries and struggling to fully establish himself in the Majors. Despite his limited overall production, Cordero owns a few of the most impressive home runs in Statcast history, including this 474-foot blast. Full Red Sox leaderboard
Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton -- Aug. 9, 2018 vs. TEX
Exit velocity: 121.7 mph (Watch it)
This one should come as no surprise. Stanton crushed the hardest homer tracked in the Statcast Era and one of four with a tracked exit velo over 120 mph. He and All-Star teammate Aaron Judge create one of the hardest-hitting tandems in all of baseball. Full Yankees leaderboard
AL Central
Guardians: Jhonkensy Noel -- June 29, 2024 at KC
Exit velocity: 115.4 mph (Watch it)
It didn't take Noel very long to set a new record for the hardest-hit tracked homer by a Guardians player. In just his fourth career game, Noel ripped a two-run homer off lefty Cole Ragans right down the left-field foul line. Just Noel's second career homer, the 413-foot shot was hit hard enough to surpass Franmil Reyes (114.1 mph) for a new record. Hanley Ramirez's two lone homers in Cleveland rank high on the team's leaderboard as well, as he crushed them both over 113 mph. Full Guardians leaderboard
Royals: Jorge Soler -- Sept. 4, 2019 vs. DET
Exit velocity: 115.7 mph (Watch it)
Soler had one heck of a 2019 season for the Royals. This homer off Edwin Jackson made him the first Royal to ever hit 40 homers in a season. Soler ended the year with 48 home runs, a new franchise record by a double-digit margin. Full Royals leaderboard
Tigers: Jonathan Schoop -- May 27, 2021 vs. CLE
Exit velocity: 115.3 mph (Watch it)
Schoop, there it is. The former Tigers infielder¡¯s blasts can be seen sprinkled all over the club¡¯s leaderboard despite not joining the team until the start of the 2020 season. His hardest homer must have stung 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, as it broke up his no-hit bid in the seventh inning. Full Tigers leaderboard
Twins: Ryan Jeffers -- May 29, 2023 at HOU
Exit Velocity: 117.4 mph (Watch it)
Jeffers¡¯ 117.4 mph laser didn¡¯t just set a new team Statcast record -- it also ended up being a game-winner, driving the Twins to a hard-fought 7-5 victory over the Astros in 10 innings. Full Twins leaderboard
White Sox: Jake Burger -- April 18, 2023 vs. PHI
Exit velocity: 118.2 mph (Watch it)
Burger's home run with a 118.2 mph exit velocity continued his hot streak to begin the 2023 season. It represented his fourth home run in his previous five games. The 2017 first-round pick's fifth home run of the season surpassed Luis Robert's home run with a 117.7 mph exit velocity in 2021. Full White Sox leaderboard
AL West
Angels: Shohei Ohtani -- June 25, 2022 vs. SEA
Exit velocity: 118.0 mph (Watch it)
Ohtani already had the Angels' two hardest-hit home runs, both of which he hit during his magical 2021 season, when he crushed this one off Mariners righty Logan Gilbert -- who, based on his reaction, immediately knew where it was headed. Full Angels leaderboard
Astros: Yordan Alvarez -- Sept. 13, 2023 vs. OAK
Exit velocity: 117.7 mph (Watch it)
Alvarez is only in his sixth season, but he already owns nine of the top 12 spots on the Astros' list. The lefty slugger broke his own record again with a 117.7 mph missile down the right-field line against the A's at Minute Maid Park -- he also broke his own record with a three-run, walk-off homer against the Mariners in Game 1 of the 2022 ALDS that came off his bat with an exit velocity of 116.7 mph. He has hit seven homers with an exit velocity of 116 mph or more. Full Astros leaderboard
Athletics: Matt Chapman -- Aug. 29, 2020 at HOU
Exit velocity: 115.9 mph (Watch it)
Chapman might be one of the game¡¯s best defensive players over at the hot corner, but he can also launch homers with the best of them. The two Matts -- Chapman and fellow Gold Glover Matt Olson -- dominated both the corners of the infield and the top of the A¡¯s list. Full A¡¯s leaderboard
Mariners: Julio Rodríguez -- Sept. 11, 2022 vs. ATL
Exit velocity: 117.2 mph (Watch it)
Rodr¨ªguez picked the perfect moment for this laser off of Braves closer Kenley Jansen -- after Atlanta stunned the Mariners' bullpen with five runs in the top of the ninth to take a 7-6 lead, Rodr¨ªguez, batting second in the bottom half of the inning, flipped the script again, tying the game and setting up a thrilling walk-off two batters later. Full Mariners leaderboard
Rangers: Joey Gallo -- June 5, 2018 vs. OAK
Exit velocity: 117.5 mph (Watch it)
Gallo led the league in average exit velocity (94.4 mph) in 2018, so it¡¯s only fitting that he gets the top spot for Texas. A¡¯s pitcher Lou Trivino was on the wrong side of Gallo¡¯s hardest-hit homer of his career, as the ball sailed out of old Globe Life Park in Arlington. Full Rangers leaderboard
National League East
Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr.-- Sept. 2, 2023 at LAD
Exit velocity: 121.2 mph (Watch it)
In one of the biggest games of the season against their National League rival Los Angeles Dodgers, Acu?a annihilated a 3-0 95-mph fastball from right-hander Emmet Sheehan to dead center field at Dodger Stadium. Acu?a's lined shot made Statcast history, becoming the third-hardest hit home run and sixth-hardest hit ball overall since 2015. Full Braves leaderboard
Marlins: Giancarlo Stanton -- June 23, 2015 vs. STL
Exit velocity: 119.2 mph (Watch it)
Not only does Stanton appear twice on this list, but he also holds the two hardest-hit homers tracked by Statcast altogether. While the Marlins have had plenty of big hitters come through Miami since Statcast was introduced in 2015, Stanton dominates the Marlins leaderboard and it's not close. Full Marlins leaderboard
Mets: Pete Alonso -- April 11, 2019 at ATL
Exit velocity: 118.3 mph (Watch it)
Alonso¡¯s rookie season in 2019 was one for the ages. The Mets first baseman slammed 53 home runs in his first year, breaking the rookie record for homers in a season previously held by Aaron Judge. If you're sitting in the bleachers during a Subway Series, you better be on high alert, as either of these two can launch a rocket your way. Full Mets leaderboard
Nationals: Bryce Harper -- June 15, 2017 at NYM
Exit velocity: 116.3 mph (Watch it)
Prior to his move to Philly, Harper was the hardest hitter in the Nats lineup, leading the team to four playoff appearances in six years. He owns four of the Nationals' 10 hardest-hit homers. Juan Soto landed in the top 10 three times before being traded to the Padres, and 22-year-old infielder Luis Garc¨ªa cracked the top five with a 113.4 mph blast in 2022. Full Nationals leaderboard
Phillies: Kyle Schwarber -- Oct. 18, 2022 at SD
Exit velocity: 119.7 mph (Watch it)
Harper also held the Phillies' record, but he certainly wasn't sorry to see Schwarber obliterate it to help Philly take a Game 1 victory over the Padres in the NL Championship Series. Schwarber's 488-foot blast off Yu Darvish set a postseason record for home run exit velocity and ranks second in distance. Full Phillies leaderboard
NL Central
Brewers: Avisaíl García -- Sept. 12, 2021 at CLE
Exit velocity: 116.7 mph (Watch it)
Daniel Vogelbach, Rowdy Tellez and Christian Yelich are all among the top five on the Brewers leaderboard, but Garc¨ªa tops the list. He passed Keon Broxton (114.9 mph) with a smash to left off Aaron Civale at Progressive Field, part of a 29-homer 2021 campaign. Full Brewers leaderboard
Cardinals: Marcell Ozuna -- April 3, 2018 at MIL
Exit velocity: 117.2 mph (Watch it)
Ozuna holds four of the top seven spots for St. Louis, and this blast off Chase Anderson was actually his first in a Cardinal uni. All but one of the four came in his first season with the team as well. The club¡¯s top 10 is littered with both young talent and veteran sluggers. Full Cardinals leaderboard
Cubs: Kyle Schwarber -- April 24, 2018 at CLE
Exit velocity: 117.1 mph (Watch it)
Schwarber has always had a knack for hitting homers in bulk, as this homer came as part of a two-homer day. While this homer in the second ranks at the top of the Cubs list by nearly 2.5 mph, his second homer in the fourth wasn¡¯t a cheap one either, exploding off the bat at 109.6 mph. Full Cubs leaderboard
Pirates: Oneil Cruz -- June 6, 2024
Exit velocity: 117.7 mph (Watch it)
With he sent his three-run shot deep into the Pittsburgh night and into the Allegheny River beyond the right-field wall at PNC Park, Cruz broke his own franchise record for hardest-hit homer in the Statcast Era. That home run eclipsed his laser into the right-field stands in Milwaukee on Aug. 29, 2022, by 0.2 mph. Just as in '22, the homer in June of '24 wasn't nearly his hardest-hit batted ball of the season -- that came on May 21, when he smashed a 121.5 mph double. Full Pirates leaderboard
Reds: Elly De La Cruz -- Sept. 26, 2023 at CLE
Exit velocity: 119.2 mph (Watch it)
De La Cruz reached the top of the Reds leaderboard in the final week of his Statcast-smashing rookie year. He crushed a 119.2 mph, 467-foot blast off Guardians reliever Xzavion Curry in the ninth inning to add to the Reds' lead in Cleveland. The titanic two-run shot gave De La Cruz his first multihomer game at the MLB level. Full Reds leaderboard
NL West
D-backs: Andrew Young -- April 20, 2021 at CIN
Exit velocity: 115.9 mph (Watch it)
While many of the names on this list stand out for being known sluggers, Young¡¯s name sticks out for being perhaps the most out of place. This was only his third career homer, but it tops the D-backs¡¯ list. Full D-backs leaderboard
Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani -- April 23, 2024 at WSH; July 27, 2024 at HOU
Exit velocity: 118.7 mph (Watch the first) (Watch the second)
In his debut season with the Dodgers, Ohtani hit not one but TWO home runs at 118.7 mph, finding the upper deck with a 450-foot clout in D.C. and crushing a 461-footer three months later in Houston. Ohtani also holds the Angels' record for hardest-hit home run in the Statcast era. Full Dodgers leaderboard
Giants: Joey Bart -- July 30, 2022 vs. CHC
Exit velocity: 114.3 mph (Watch it)
Moments after teammate Luis Gonz¨¢lez swatted a two-run shot, Bart unleashed on a belt-high fastball and sent a 114.3 mph rocket to left, just barely beating out the previous hardest-hit homer for the Giants by 0.1 mph. Madison Bumgarner checks in at fifth on the Giants' list. Full Giants leaderboard
Padres: Manny Machado -- Aug. 20, 2021 vs. PHI
Exit velocity: 119.6 mph (Watch it)
Machado launched a laser just over the left-field wall in the third inning of the Padres' contest with the Phillies, dethroning Franchy Cordero for San Diego's hardest-hit homer after more than three years. To be fair to Franchy, Machado's blast would lead 29 teams in the big leagues, as it was the fourth-hardest-hit homer ever recorded in the Statcast era, trailing only Yankees sluggers Giancarlo Stanton, who owns the top two, and Aaron Judge. Full Padres leaderboard
Rockies: Carlos González -- April 4, 2016 at ARI
Exit velocity: 117.4 mph (Watch it)
As one of the sweetest-swinging lefties the game has ever seen, CarGo sent plenty of moonshots out of Coors Field as a member of the Rockies. Surprisingly, though, the Rockies' hardest-hit homer came away from home, at Chase Field in Arizona. Full Rockies leaderboard