Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz will participate in the Home Run Derby on Monday, July 14 in Atlanta. As of this writing, he’s the fifth participant, along with Ronald Acuña Jr., Byron Buxton, major league home run leader Cal Raleigh, and James Wood. Three more participants have yet to be named.
Oneil Cruz to Participate in Home Run Derby
To say the least, Cruz has been an enigma in 2025. He’s hit 15 home runs so far this season, many of which were jaw-dropping tape-measure jobs. He also sets Statcast marks for exit velocity off the bat and laser throws from the outfield seemingly nightly. He leads the National League with 28 stolen bases. But the six-foot-seven, left-handed batter has also struck out 113 times, is hitting just .203/.315/.402, and has frustrated with a lack of effort and focus at times. One imagines the effort and attention will be there under the bright lights at Truist Park. It should be quite a show.
Get your popcorn ready
Oneil Cruz will participate in the 2025 Home Run Derby! pic.twitter.com/HAbpYeHVJw
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 8, 2025
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Cruz is the seventh Pirate to participate in the Home Run Derby. The others were Pedro Álvarez, Jason Bay, Josh Bell, Bobby Bonilla, Barry Bonds, and Andrew McCutchen. No Pirate has ever emerged from the contest victorious.
Bay came away from the competition without a single home run during his 2005 appearance. He was never a classic slugger, however, but was chosen to represent Canada when the Powers That Be turned the Derby into an international competition. Fans may have forgotten Alvarez’s 2013 appearance. The Pirates were a compelling story that year, but the brain trust at ESPN missed it. Instead, they were kind enough to conduct an interview during Álvarez’s round. He was barely even mentioned.
Pirates fans have nightmares about Bell’s 2019 appearance. At the All-Star break, he was hitting .302/.376/.648 with 27 home runs. However, after he participated in the Derby, he hit .233/.351/.429 with 10 homers. He’s never hit as well as he did in that first half of 2019, and since the Pirates traded him in 2021, he’s been passed from team to team like a hot potato.
On TV
For those unwilling to take out a second mortgage to be there in person, ESPN will televise the Derby at 8:00 PM Eastern with the usual overkill. Karl Ravech will describe the action. Eduardo Pérez and past Derby winner Todd Frazier will serve as analysts, with Alden González as sideline reporter. A separate Statcast-oriented telecast will air on ESPN2, featuring Kevin Brown, Jessica Mendoza, and Mike Petriello. All that will be missing is Jerry Mathers as The Beaver.
Main Photo Credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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