Since 2015, Statcast has been tracking some of the best and most relevant data about the plays that take place on an MLB field.
Hardest hit balls, longest home runs, hardest pitches, you name it: Statcast surely tracks it.
Here are some impressive, mind-blowing Statcast numbers in the 2021 season.
3. Shohei Ohtani’s Two-Way Prowess
It’s not a secret that Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani can hit the ball a mile and can also throw it very hard.
But he has taken things to an extreme this season, leading the league in home runs with 32 and being the ace of the Angels’ rotation.
This year, Ohtani has the second hardest-hit ball, at 119 miles per hour.
Only Giancarlo Stanton has hit a ball harder than him in the campaign.
But there is more.
Among qualified hitters, Ohtani has the highest average exit velocity in line drives and fly balls, at 101 mph.
Yes, Ohtani’s average liner or fly averages more than 100 mph, so you may want to stay away from that if you don’t have a major league glove.
Even if you have one, stay away.
But when it comes to pitching, Ohtani is also a Statcast darling.
His four-seam fastball averages 95.5 miles per hour, good for 16th among MLB starters.
When you pair a high-octane fastball with a filthy splitter, these things happen:
Shohei Ohtani, 98mph Fastball and 90mph Splitter, Overlay. pic.twitter.com/0TupdY03nJ
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 24, 2021
2. Yermin Mercedes Hit The Longest Home Run This Season…But Not That One
On May 17, Chicago White Sox designated hitter Yermin Mercedes hit a controversial home run against Willians Astudillo, a position player pitching in a 15-4 blowout.
Mercedes got some heat for swinging at a 3-0 pitch with his team up 11 runs in the late innings.
His manager failed to defend him, then he struggled for more than a month and was recently sent down.
That bomb, as long as it traveled, was not his furthest home run.
On April 8, against Brad Keller, Mercedes hit the longest home run of the 2021 MLB season, a blast that traveled 485 feet and left his bat at 113.3 mph, at a launch angle of 24 degrees.
Este HR de Yermin Mercedes a un slider de Brad Keller, recorrió una distancia de 485ft.
Cuadrangulares más largos a sliders desde 2017:
1-Aaron Judge 495ft (2017)
2-Joey Gallo 490ft (2017)
3-Pete Alonso 489ft (2019)
4-Rangel Ravelo 487ft (2019)
5-Yermin Mercedes 485ft (2021) pic.twitter.com/mYMKQVfFOq— Rosa Cuevas (@RosaCuevas27) April 8, 2021
Talk about ideal contact.
So when you hear that Mercedes hit the longest home run of the 2021 season so far, don’t associate it with the one he hit against Astudillo.
1. Giancarlo Stanton Has The Hardest Hit Ball In Each Year Of The Statcast Era
This may be the most impressive Statcast fact of all.
Giancarlo Stanton hit the hardest ball of the 2021 season, a 120.2 mph groundout against Tyler Chatwood on June 17.
120.2 MPH.
I don't care if this is an out, Stanton is a MONSTER. pic.twitter.com/14rClxOASo
— Dillard Barnhart (@BarnHasSpoken) June 18, 2021
Stanton also hit the hardest ball in the 2020 season.
And the 2019 season… and every season since the Statcast era began.
Yes, ever since Statcast started tracking exit velocity, the New York Yankees slugger has the hardest hit ball each and every season.
He is also consistently among the league leaders in average exit velocity, year in and year out.
Surprisingly, Stanton is not the average slugger in terms of launch angle.
He doesn’t have league-leading fly ball rates: if he did, he would threaten the home run record every year with the way he punishes the ball.
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