The fastest pitches hit for homers in 2020
In general, more velocity leads to more missed bats, but even the fastest pitches get squared up on occasion.
MLB hitters saw 1,755 pitches thrown 99 mph or higher in 2020 (postseason included), and went just 80-for-451 (.177) in at-bats ending on such offerings. They did crush 11 homers, however, and thanks to MLB Film Room powered by Google Cloud, you can find highlights of each of these impressive blasts in just a few clicks.
From there, you can create your own highlight reel of up to five clips, which can then be shared on social media, embedded on a website or shared via email or text. Check out our reel of the five fastest pitches hit for home runs in 2020 right here.
At the top of the list is Astros second baseman Jose Altuve’s homer off Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series.
Standing more than a foot taller than the 5-foot-6 Altuve, Glasnow tried to overpower his counterpart with a 100.4 mph heater up and inside in the bottom of the first inning, but the 2017 AL MVP turned on the 6-foot-8 righty’s pitch and slammed a 400-foot shot to left-center field for his 18th career postseason home run.
To reach their ALCS matchup with the Astros, the Rays first needed to defeat the Yankees in the AL Division Series. The two teams split the first four games and played to a 1-1 deadlock until the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 5, when Rays first baseman Michael Brosseau belted a go-ahead solo homer off Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman to end a 10-pitch at-bat.
The clutch blast came on a 100.2 mph fastball, making it the second-fastest pitch hit for a homer in 2020. It was a measure of revenge for Brosseau, who was nearly hit in the head by a Chapman fastball in September.
Dodgers rookie right-hander Brusdar Graterol gave up one home run all season, as he was able to keep the ball on the ground consistently with the help of a sinker that averaged 99.3 mph.
The one homer came off the bat of another rookie, Angels first baseman Jared Walsh, who got a hold of Graterol's 99.8 mph sinker up in the zone -- his first pitch of the inning -- and sent a rocket into the right-center-field bleachers at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 25. It was the third-fastest pitch on a homer in 2020.
While Nelson Cruz has hit 419 home runs (postseason included) in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008), just two were on pitches thrown 99 mph or higher. The first came in 2011, when Cruz took Justin Verlander deep on a 100.6 mph fastball. Trevor Rosenthal served up the second one on Aug. 23, catching too much of the plate with a thigh-high 99.7 mph heater.
Cruz hit it 441 feet to dead center field at Kauffman Stadium, making it the fourth-fastest home run pitch in 2020.
Next on the list is Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi’s 99.6 mph fastball to Rays outfielder Austin Meadows in the bottom of the first inning on Sept. 12. Catcher Kevin Plawecki called for the pitch low and away, but Eovaldi threw it down and in and Meadows launched a homer down the right-field line.
In the pitch-tracking era, only Chapman (11) has given up more homers than Eovaldi (eight) on 99+ mph pitches.
Want to watch the other six home runs on pitches thrown 99 mph or higher in 2020? Check out MLB Film Room for yourself.
But that's just one example of what fans can find in the innovative tool, which now offers more than five million videos. Launched on Sept. 8, it includes nearly every pitch of every season back through 2016, as well as historical clips going back to 1926, with more than 40 unique search categories.