Pirates' Oneil Cruz wows with moonshots but is eliminated in semifinal round of Home Run Derby

The Home Run Derby has been notoriously unkind to Pittsburgh Pirates participants over the years.

While the format has changed often, no Pirates player had ever advanced out of the first round heading into the 2025 T-Mobile Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Oneil Cruz, MLB’s resident Statcast record-shatterer, whose 6-foot-7 frame helps him clobber fast-traveling, moonshot homers, looked to break that history of futility at Truist Park.

Cruz did indeed end the Pirates’ curse Monday, hitting 21 home runs to lead the eight-man pack and advance to the semifinals, where his night came to an end.

Seattle’s Cal Raleigh defeated Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero in the championship round, 19-15.

Along with the Braves’ Matt Olson, Washington’s James Wood, Raleigh, Minnesota’s Byron Buxton, Caminero, the Athletics’ Brent Rooker and New York’s Jazz Chisholm, Cruz partook in the three-round Home Run Derby.

The knockout-styled second round featured No. 1-seed Cruz battling No. 4 Raleigh and No. 2 seed Caminero facing third-seeded Buxton.

Buxton cooled off in Round 2, hitting seven homers, while Caminero advanced to the championship with eight home runs, opting to quit with over a minute remaining on the clock upon surpassing Buxton.

Raleigh hit 19, while Cruz brought up the rear as the final batter in the second round.

The 26-year-old Pirates slugger managed 492- and 498-foot bombs, but finished with 13 homers, as Raleigh advanced to the championship.

A 513-foot shot by Cruz on his third swing, 118 mph off the bat, went as the longest homer of the night and served as a first-place tiebreaker with Caminero for the opening round.

That long ball made him the sixth player to hit one more than 500 feet in the Home Run Derby since 2016, while Cruz joined Aaron Judge (2017) as the only players to drive a ball that deep in a stadium outside of Coors Field in Denver.

Oneil Cruz hit this ball 513 feet ???? pic.twitter.com/oY5DgGGgZ3

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 15, 2025

Cruz also hit homers of 488, 487, 483 and 479 feet in the first round.

In total, he hit 10 home runs of 470 feet or longer.

Pirates assistant coach and translator Stephen Morales, who regularly interprets for the club’s Latin players, pitched to Cruz on Monday.

All 21 home run swings from Oneil Cruz in the opening round of the Home Run Derby tonight

MY CENTER FIELDER IS ALREADY INTO THE SEMIS pic.twitter.com/2CBpI8zUee

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) July 15, 2025

Wood (16 home runs), Rooker (17) and Caminero hit ahead of Cruz to begin things.

Buxton hit 20 in the opening round, while Chisholm hit a low of three, Raleigh managed 17 and Olson clubbed 15.

In 1990 and 1992, Bobby Bonilla and Barry Bonds, the first two Pirates Home Run Derby participants, failed to hit a single home run.

Jason Bay became the next Pirate to take part in 2005, and he too did not hit any homers.

Andrew McCutchen followed in 2012 and, finally, a Pirate managed to clear the deck at the event, but McCutchen’s four home runs were insufficient to advance him out of the opening round.

Pedro Alvarez was a contestant in 2013 and set a Pirates franchise record with six Home Run Derby long balls.

Finally, preceding Cruz as the most recent Pirate to participate was Josh Bell in 2019, who clubbed 18 homers but was outmatched by Ronald Acuna, who hit 25.

Cruz’s 16 homers at the All-Star break were the least among this year’s Home Run Derby participants.

Raleigh led the field (and MLB) with 38, whereas Chisholm and Olson both had 17.

The first round of the Home Run Derby featured three minutes or 40 pitches to all eight contestants, followed by a bonus round that extended until three outs (non-home run swings) were recorded.

If the batter hit a home run of 425 or more feet during the bonus period, also a feature of the semifinals and championship, a fourth out was awarded.

Caminero and Raleigh matched up for the Home Run Derby crown, awarded to whoever hit more balls out of the park in two minutes or 27 pitches, whichever came first.