11 top plays to remember from 2022

There’s simply sufficient time left in 2022 to take one final look again on the high performs of the 12 months.

So let’s hand out some end-of-the-year superlatives. Here are the celebs who produced the standout performs of the season — the hardest-hit ball, the longest dwelling run, the quickest strikeout, the toughest outfield help and extra.

Here are 11 performs to recollect from 2022.

Hardest-hit ball 
Oneil Cruz (Pirates): 122.4 mph single, Aug. 24

This wasn’t simply the hardest-hit ball of 2022 — it was the hardest-hit ball in Statcast historical past. Cruz reached an exit velocity not even Giancarlo Stanton or Aaron Judge have reached. The Pirates’ 6-foot-7 rookie ripped the ball so exhausting off the wall that he was held to a single.

Longest dwelling run
C.J. Cron (Rockies): 504 toes, Sept. 9

Cron joined the 500-foot dwelling run membership (sure, it was at Coors Field) with an enormous blast over the concourse down the left-field line. The Rockies slugger is certainly one of simply three hitters with a 500-footer beneath Statcast monitoring, and he is the primary to hit one since Nomar Mazara in 2019.

Hardest dwelling run
Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees): 119.8 mph, June 11

If you take a look at any exit velocity leaderboard, you are going to discover plenty of Stanton on the high. He has three of the 5 hardest-hit homers beneath Statcast monitoring — and this 119.8 mph frozen rope at Yankee Stadium in June is available in at No. 4 general. Stanton has hit the toughest dwelling run of the 12 months in 4 of the eight seasons of Statcast monitoring, together with 2022.

Fastest strikeout pitch
Jhoan Duran (Twins): 103.2 mph, Sept. 11

Duran debuted with a number of the nastiest stuff in baseball in 2022. That included the quickest strikeout pitch of the season, an unhittable 103.2 mph fastball with over 14 inches of run in on Oscar Gonzalez’s palms. But that wasn’t even the season spotlight for Duran … as a result of the Twins rookie additionally turned the one participant in pitch-tracking historical past to throw a 100 mph offspeed pitch. Duran’s splitter (or “splinker,” as they name it) reached 100.8 mph on Aug. 29 in opposition to the Red Sox — and in that very same recreation, he struck out Alex Verdugo with a 99.7 mph splitter.

Slowest strikeout pitch  
Diego Castillo (Pirates): 50.7 mph, June 22

This was one of the crucial enjoyable at-bats of the 12 months. The Diego Castillo pitching was not the lights-out Mariners reliever … it was the Pirates utility infielder, on the finish of a blowout. And the batter? The batter was 37-year-old reliever David Robertson, who was taking the first plate look of his profession. With Castillo throwing lobs, Robertson took a Ruthian hack at a full-count, 50.7 mph eephus at his eyes — he wasn’t about to stroll after ready 695 video games for his first at-bat — however got here up empty.

Fastest inside-the-park dwelling run
Kevin Kiermaier (Rays): 14.85 seconds, May 24

An inside-the-park dwelling run is all the time one of the crucial thrilling performs in baseball; it is much more thrilling when it is Kiermaier operating. Kiermaier’s fourth profession inside-the-parker made him the chief amongst energetic gamers. He circled the bases at The Trop in 14.80 seconds at a borderline-elite 29.9 ft/sec dash velocity. It was the quickest of the 12 inside-the-park dwelling runs in MLB in 2022, and a personal-best time for Kiermaier beneath Statcast monitoring.

Slowest dwelling run trot 
Josh Naylor (Guardians): 35.73 seconds, Sept. 19

Naylor’s “rock the baby” dwelling run celebration gained notoriety in opposition to the Yankees within the postseason, however the Guardians slugger broke out his most deliberate dwelling run trot of the 12 months, cradle and all, in September. After a moonshot to proper subject in opposition to the division-rival Twins in Cleveland, Naylor took almost 36 seconds to finish his journey across the bases, rocking the infant as he neared third.

Fastest triple
Corbin Carroll (D-backs): 10.75 seconds, Oct. 3

Carroll is likely to be the brand new quickest participant in baseball. The D-backs’ high prospect was referred to as up in late August and led MLB in dash velocity at 30.7 ft/sec (30-plus is elite). His electrifying performs on the bases included the quickest triple of 2022 in one of many remaining video games of the 12 months. The 22-year-old went home-to-third in 10.75 seconds and reached an elite 30.1 ft/sec dash velocity.

Best pop time on a caught stealing 
J.T. Realmuto (Phillies): 1.73 seconds, Sept. 30

Realmuto is endlessly the king of pop time. He led all catchers in 2022 with a median pop time of 1.82 seconds to second base — his fifth season in a row main the Majors — on his solution to an MLB-best 44% caught stealing proportion. Across all of MLB in 2022, there have been 16 complete caught stealings with a pop time beneath 1.80 seconds … Realmuto had 14 of them, together with this one, the quickest of the 12 months.

Hardest outfield help
Aristides Aquino (Reds): 101.6 mph, April 9

Aquino’s uncooked instruments imply the outfielder can produce an eye-popping play together with his bat or his arm at any second. Aquino was the one participant with a 100-plus mph outfield help in 2022, and he had two of them. The hardest one was 101.6 mph in his second recreation of the season, nailing Matt Olson on the plate from left subject in Atlanta.

Hardest infield help
Oneil Cruz (Pirates): 97.8 mph, July 14

Let’s put a bow on the 2022 superlatives with the participant who began them. Cruz is certainly one of baseball’s most electrical younger abilities — one of many hardest hitters, quickest runners and strongest throwers. You thought Fernando Tatis Jr. may uncork a rocket from shortstop? Watch Cruz. His 97.8 mph throw to first on July 14 set a brand new file for the toughest infield help within the Statcast period (since 2015). Who is aware of, perhaps Cruz will even contact triple digits from the infield sooner or later.

Bonus — Toughest catch 
George Springer (Blue Jays): 5% catch likelihood, May 1 

We cannot say definitively which is the No. 1 very best catch of the 12 months, as a result of there are a bunch of defensive gems with a catch likelihood of 5%. But here is certainly one of our favorites: an unimaginable George Springer diving seize to rob Alex Bregman as he raced again onto the warning observe in proper subject. Springer wanted to cowl 75 toes in 4.4 seconds to make the play. It’s one of many catches of the 12 months.