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?
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:
Blue Jays: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — May 24, 2021 vs. TB
Exit velocity: 117.4 mph (Watch it)
Who else but Vlad Jr.? Guerrero started 2021 off hot, smashing 16 home runs in the first two months of the season and leading the league in homers through most of June. This one had no chance of staying in the yard, coming off Tampa Bay lefty Ryan Yarbrough. 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 Álvarez who tops the list for the O’s. Álvarez launched this majestic blast into the deepest part of Fenway Park, much to the dismay of pitcher Hector Velasquez. 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 now owns three of the top four spots on the Rays’ list. Zunino has always been a guy who could punish mistakes, but in 2021, he got off to a hot start at the plate, including 12 home runs through the end of May. 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 the only dinger ever with a tracked exit velo over 120 mph. He has hit five of the top seven hardest hit homers since 2015, with teammate Aaron Judge owning the other two. Full Yankees leaderboard
Indians: Franmil Reyes — Aug. 16, 2020 at DET
Exit velocity: 114.1 mph (Watch it)
Cleveland has had two prominent stars for the better part of the Statcast era in Francisco Lindor and José Ramírez, but their leaderboard is littered with players no one might have guessed. In fact, Lindor’s highest rank is seventh on the list while Ramírez doesn’t show up until the 17th slot. Hanley Ramirez holds two spots in the top five coming from his two lone homers in Cleveland. Full Indians leaderboard
Royals: Jorge Soler — Sep. 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 Tigers infielder’s blasts can be seen sprinkled into the club’s top ten, holding three spots on the top of the leaderboard. 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. The usual suspects are found throughout as well, with Justin Upton, Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez all in the Top 10. Full Tigers leaderboard
Twins: Nelson Cruz — April 5, 2021 at DET
Exit velocity: 116.6 mph (Watch it)
Cruz keeps aging like fine wine, slugging homers in every stop he’s been at in his career so far. He is the oldest player on this list, at 40 years old, but has the second-hardest hit homer in the division despite his age. At this rate, Cruz might still be hitting 110 mph rockets at age 50. Full Twins leaderboard
White Sox: Yermín Mercedes — May 27, 2021 vs BAL
Exit velocity: 116.8 mph (Watch it)
Mercedes surprised everyone to start the 2021 season, quickly becoming one of the game’s hottest hitters. He hit .311 with seven homers in the first two months to kick off his career, with this rocket capping off one of the hottest starts to a season we’ve seen in recent memory. Full White Sox leaderboard
Angels: Shohei Ohtani — June 28, 2021 at NYY
Exit velocity: 117.2 mph (Watch it)
The Summer of Shohei has been filled with many blasts, but none came off the bat quite as fast as this one. It got out of the ballpark in a hurry too, leaving the yard in just 4.0 seconds. He owns four of the top seven Halos blasts in Statcast history, all of them coming during the 2021 season. Full Angels leaderboard
Astros: George Springer — April 16, 2016 vs. DET
Exit velocity: 115.9 mph (Watch it)
Houston saw its share of Springer Dingers over the years, as he owns the top eight spots on their list, but none were hit harder than this blast that more than likely left a dent in the left field foul pole. Coincidentally, it was hit off the man who helped Springer and the Astros win the World Series just a year later — Justin Verlander, during his Detroit days. 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 Matt’s dominate the top of the A’s list, with Chapman taking the top four spots for Oakland and Matt Olson occupying the fifth. Full A’s leaderboard
Mariners: Nelson Cruz — Sep. 27, 2017 at OAK
Exit velocity: 116.8 mph (Watch it)
The ageless wonder that is Nelson Cruz appears for the second time on this list, this one with the Mariners. Cruz led the M’s in homers in each of his four seasons with the club. He holds all but four spots in the top 20. This laser came off future Mariner Kendall Graveman. 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. He owns a whopping 18 of the Rangers’ 20 hardest-hit homers in the Statcast era. 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
Braves: Ronald Acuña Jr. — June 27, 2021 at CIN
Exit velocity: 117.4 mph (Watch it)
Look down the Braves’ leaderboard and you’re sure to see almost nothing but tildes. Acuña holds 14 of the club’s top-20 spots. It makes sense considering Acuña is already one of the game’s premier talents, with a little over two full seasons under his belt. The 23-year-old Venezuelan sensation has plenty of time to extend his lead. Full Braves leaderboard
Marlins: Giancarlo Stanton — June 23, 2015 vs. STL
Exit velocity: 119.2 mph (Watch it)
Stanton is not only one of four players on this list to appear twice, but he also holds the two hardest-hit homers tracked by Statcast on this list. While the Marlins have had plenty of big hitters come through Miami since Statcast was introduced in 2015, Stanton owns a whopping 28 of their top-30 hardest hit homers, including each of the first 24. 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. Alonso owns all five of the Mets’ five hardest-hit home runs, with the top two coming from that magical 2019. 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, holding three of the top four spots on Washington’s list. Juan Soto has since made his mark on the list, rounding out the top five. And at just 22 years old, Soto has plenty of time to reach the top of the leaderboard. Full Nationals leaderboard
Phillies: Bryce Harper — Sep. 24, 2019 at WSH
Exit velocity: 116.4 mph (Watch it)
While Giancarlo Stanton, Nelson Cruz and Franchy Cordero also hold two spots on this list, Harper is the only player to hold two spots within the same division. This blast came in a revenge game as the former Nationals standout embraced his role as a heel and launched a rocket out to right. Full Phillies leaderboard
Brewers: Keon Broxton — Aug. 19, 2016 at SEA
Exit velocity: 114.9 mph (Watch it)
While you might expect Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun at the top of the Crew’s list, Broxton beat out both with his blast. Broxton hit this Interleague blast off veteran southpaw Wade LeBlanc. Yelich does appear twice in the top five though, sandwiched between two heavy-hitting first basemen in Daniel Vogelbach and Chris Carter. Full Brewers leaderboard
Cardinals: Marcell Ozuna — April 3, 2018 at MIL
Exit velocity: 117.2 mph (Watch it)
Ozuna holds four of the top five 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 ten 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: Josh Bell — May 22, 2019 vs. COL
Exit velocity: 116.2 mph (Watch it)
Bell sent this towering shot into the Allegheny River right outside of PNC Park, making it only the fifth home run to reach the river on the fly. He is the only player to do it twice, as he sent one into the drink exactly two weeks before. Bell owns four of the top seven spots on the Pirates’ list. Full Pirates leaderboard
Reds: Aristides Aquino — Aug. 8, 2019 vs. CHC
Exit velocity: 118.3 mph (Watch it)
Aquino surprised everyone in 2019, as the Reds rookie slammed 19 home runs in just 56 games that season, setting an NL rookie record for most homers in a month, with 14 coming in August. Eight different Reds are represented in their top 10 hardest homers, with the only repeats being Joey Votto and Tyler Naquin. Full Reds leaderboard
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. While he only has five dingers under his belt in his big league career, his third career homer tops the D-backs’ list. Full D-backs leaderboard
Dodgers: Joc Pederson — Oct. 3, 2019 vs. WSH (NLDS)
Exit velocity: 114.9 mph (Watch it)
Pederson is the proud owner of the only playoff home run on this list, helping the Dodgers win Game 1 of the 2019 NLDS with this blast off Hunter Strickland and the foul pole. Unfortunately for Joc and the Dodgers though, the homer was merely a consolation prize as the eventual World Series champion Nationals took the series in five games. Full Dodgers leaderboard
Giants: Mac Williamson — April 20, 2018 at LAA
Exit velocity: 114.2 mph (Watch it)
Even with sluggers like Brandon Belt, Mike Yastrzemski and Hunter Pence passing through the Bay, this blast holds the top spot on the Giants’ list. Even more impressive, the Giants list includes two lasers in the top six from one of the best hitting pitchers in this era, Madison Bumgarner. Full Giants leaderboard
Padres: Franchy Cordero — April 28, 2018 vs. NYM
Exit velocity: 116.9 mph (Watch it)
You wouldn’t expect Franchy to be in the same conversation as Nelson Cruz, Giancarlo Stanton and Bryce Harper, but he’s one of four players with two homers on this list. Even more impressive, his blast has held the top spot even with players like Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Franmil Reyes passing through San Diego. The Statcast darling crushed this one off Jason Vargas, and it travelled a whopping 459 feet. 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 has 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