Pirates' Oneil Cruz to participate in MLB Home Run Derby

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 8, 2025

Published in Baseball

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In what has been an up-and-down year overall, Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz will get the opportunity to showcase the most entertaining part of his game later this month in front of the entire baseball world. Cruz announced Tuesday he will be participating in this year’s Home Run Derby. The event, which will take place at Truist Park in Atlanta, is scheduled for July 14.

Cruz announced he’d participate with a video posted to his Instagram. He used his nickname, “The Monkey,” by captioning the post, “Monkey Business. Swingin’ through the Derby like a wild monkey on a mission. Barrels, bombs, and banana peels everywhere. Let’s make a mess at the Home Run Derby.”

Cruz leads all Pirates hitters with 15 home runs this season. He has garnered national attention for his ability to crush the baseball, entering the weekend leading MLB in average exit velocity (108.3 mph) and bat speed (78.6 mph). On May 25, Cruz smashed a home run that traveled 432 feet at an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. The blast was the hardest recorded hit in the Statcast era, which dates back to 2015.

Cruz is the fifth known participant in this year’s derby, joining Cal Raleigh (Mariners), James Wood (Nationals), Byron Buxton (Twins) and Ronald Acuna Jr. (Braves). He will be the seventh Pirate to ever compete in the event, the other six being Bobby Bonilla (1990), Barry Bonds (1992), Jason Bay (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2012), Pedro Alvarez (2013) and Josh Bell (2019). No Pirates player has ever won the derby.