Key keywords: Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates, PNC Park home run record, 2024 MLB regular season, MLB shortstop power feats, PNC Park historic home runs, MLB exit velocity leaders, Pirates playoff push The Pittsburgh Pirates’ surprising 2024 campaign added a legendary highlight over the weekend, as star shortstop Oneil Cruz launched a historic home run at PNC Park that places him in one of the venue’s most exclusive clubs. During the eighth inning of the team’s series-clinching 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, Cruz connected on a 95 mph four-seam fastball from Brewers starter Freddy Peralta, crushing the ball to deep left field that cleared the upper deck concourse by nearly 10 feet. Per official Statcast data, the hit registered an exit velocity of 119.2 miles per hour and a projected flight distance of 497 feet, making it the third-hardest hit home run across the entire MLB in the 2024 regular season to date. Even more notably, the mark is just the 7th time a player has hit a ball that reached the left field upper deck at PNC Park since the venue opened in 2001, with only 6 other players across both leagues ever pulling off the feat prior to Cruz. The short list of previous players to achieve the rare hit includes former Pirates fan favorites Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez and Josh Bell, as well as opposing power hitters Giancarlo Stanton, Ryan Howard and Adam Dunn. Cruz’s milestone home run comes as the 25-year-old continues his remarkable comeback from a fractured fibula that sidelined him for nearly all of the 2023 MLB season. Through 52 games played in 2024, the 6-foot-7 infielder has posted a .289 batting average, 12 home runs, 38 runs batted in and a .927 OPS, emerging as one of the core leaders of a Pirates roster that has exceeded all preseason expectations this year. Following Sunday’s win, the Pirates sit third in the National League Central division with a 30-26 record, just 2.5 games back of the final NL Wild Card playoff spot as the league approaches the midpoint of the regular season. Pirates manager Derek Shelton praised Cruz after the game, noting that the young star’s relentless work ethic during his year-long rehab process made the historic moment even more meaningful. “We all knew what Oneil was capable of when he’s healthy, but to see him put in all that work off the field and then come out and do something that almost no one ever has at this park? That’s the kind of moment fans and players remember for decades,” Shelton told reporters. The sold-out crowd of 34,872 fans at PNC Park gave Cruz a two-minute standing ovation after the hit, with multiple fans capturing footage of the ball landing in the upper deck seating section that quickly went viral across MLB social media channels. League officials confirmed on Monday that the historic home run ball will be added to the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s exhibit highlighting the most impressive power hits of the 2024 season.