On Tuesday night time, Shohei Ohtani hit the second-hardest pull-side dwelling run by a left-handed batter at PNC Park this season. If that doesn’t sound prefer it might make your head explode, properly, that’s the purpose. I picked essentially the most boring method to inform the story.
Anybody who noticed this specific dwelling run is aware of {that a} extra correct illustration of the expertise could be this: On Tuesday night time, Shohei Ohtani hit the toughest ball of his total profession, turning round a 99-mph Bubba Chandler fastball on the within nook and launching a 120-mph missile that skimmed over the Pittsburgh turf and triggered a sequence of small explosions because it crashed into the suitable area bleachers. It was the third-hardest-hit ball of your entire 2025 season, and the sixth-hardest dwelling run within the 10-year historical past of the Statcast period.
Anybody who noticed this specific dwelling run is aware of know that it was highly effective sufficient to detonate a skull, or least highly effective sufficient to make a face do that:
That’s Alex Freeland, and if this image is any indication, bearing witness to Ohtani’s dwelling run compelled him to reevaluate his relationship with actuality. That’s how I’d like to inform the story of this dwelling run, via the facial expressions of the individuals who witnessed it. The story of Ohtani’s dwelling run is one in every of awe, disbelief, and concern, all of which had been depicted on faces across the ballpark. In case you missed it, right here’s a video of the house run in query:
That’s not a nasty pitch. Chandler most likely wished it a bit greater, nevertheless it’s 99 mph proper on the within nook and never that removed from the underside of the zone both. You may definitely do worse towards an enormous left-handed slugger who does most of his injury on pitches out over the plate.
Let’s begin with the individuals who had been closest to it. Ohtani’s face is inscrutable. It remained inscrutable as he jogged across the bases, high-fived and high-fived his teammates. Understandably, he might have been the one particular person in your entire stadium who didn’t appear remotely shocked that he’d simply hit a ball 120 mph. That’s simply one other day on the workplace for Shohei Ohtani:
Each dwelling plate umpire Nic Lentz and catcher Henry Davis monitor the ball with their eyes, however you must zoom in to essentially make out their facial expressions. Lentz’s eyes are open broad with surprise. Davis’ are narrower. He’s chagrined. He’s monitoring the ball, however he’s wanting into the center distance. That is the expression of a person who has spent his total skilled profession within the Pittsburgh Pirates group.
The face I actually love belongs to the fan to Ohtani’s left. The digital camera cuts off four-fifths of his head, leaving solely his backside lip, which is connected to his jaw, which is within the means of dropping. It seems just like the blast blew the highest off his head, as if Ohtani rendered him infinitely agape:
As a result of masks cowl the jaws of each Lentz and Davis, it’s enjoyable to faux that their mouths are doing the very same factor beneath all of the padding.
We additionally received a facet view of the homer. Within the nonetheless under, taken as Ohtani finishes his follow-through and tracks the ball, I depend one photographer and 41 followers of whom we will see sufficient to find out what they’re listening to. Nineteen of them, or 46%, are on their telephones, however almost all of them are paying consideration. Fifteen of them (two largely obscured by Ohtani) are filming his at-bat in case one thing spectacular occurs. Two are texting, and two are huddled over a telephone attempting to learn one thing or make out a picture. I’m positive the followers who’re filming will come away with nice footage, however at this time limit, simply eight of them are literally following the ball, both with their eyes or their telephone. The opposite seven are nonetheless watching their telephones and haven’t registered what’s occurring but. They haven’t reacted in any respect. You may argue that they missed it:
As you may count on, the followers immediately behind the plate a lot are much less . These are the fanciest seats for the fanciest individuals, however not essentially the largest baseball followers. (The fan-iest individuals? No, that’s positively not it.) We’ll zoom nearer in a second, however the shot under reveals the 2 priciest sections in your entire ballpark, and as Ohtani follows via, solely three individuals on this total image have reacted. Can you notice them?
One is the fan I identified earlier, sitting proper behind Ohtani and to his left, whose head is within the means of flying off. The opposite two are Dodgers followers within the third-to-last row, simply to the suitable of the steps, and they’re completely agog:
Actually nobody else of their part has reacted in any respect. Few of them have even turned their heads within the course of the ball but, however this couple is already aghast. You may virtually hear the “Ohhhhhh” that’s escaping them each in unison. As a result of he’s on the aisle, you’ll be able to see that the person all the best way to the left has his proper fist clenched tightly. That is what baseball followers appear like.
If we take that first picture and zoom all the best way out so we will get two extra sections in body, we’ll discover three extra followers who’re paying sufficient consideration to be blown away by Ohtani’s blast. All three of those children look like at saying the phrase “Whoa” at their very own tempo:
And that’s it. In essentially the most zoomed-out model of this nonetheless body, I counted 108 followers. As the sport’s greatest star obliterated a 99-mph fastball from the house group’s high prospect, launching one of the vital highly effective dwelling runs anybody has ever seen, just below 6.5% of the followers in one of the best seats in the home reacted. A pair extra would react by the point the digital camera lower away and Ohtani left the batter’s field to start out circling the bases, however we’re nonetheless comfortably below 10% right here. Abolish these comfortable seats and provides them again to the individuals.
We’ll deal with two extra individuals who didn’t react in any respect, however they’ve received a fairly good excuse. Because the excessive digital camera in the suitable area nook tracked the ball, we received fast pans throughout your entire outfield. They confirmed the reactions of all three outfielders. The suitable fielder took a pair steps as a result of the ball was hit as such a low angle that it appeared like there was an opportunity it’d bounce off the highest of the wall, and when it’s hit proper at you want that, it may be a bit arduous to learn. However the left and middle fielders knew higher. As quickly as Ohtani swung, they slumped from prepared place right into a slouch. They by no means took a step:
The story was very totally different in the suitable area stands, the place lots of issues occurred in a short time. Earlier, I discussed a sequence of explosions. I used to be exaggerating, however not by as a lot as you may assume. The primary was refined. Ohtani hit this ball so arduous and at such a low angle that it made it to the suitable area seats very quickly. Within the nonetheless under, the ball has simply landed. You may’t see it, however attempt to determine the place it’s. It’s important to comply with the eyes:
Perhaps it will assist if I related some dots for you:
Everybody on the surface of the body is leaning in towards that one spot, however all people close to this spot is leaning away from it. Actually nobody tried to catch this ball within the air. They had been too terrified. I’m unsure I’ve ever seen that earlier than. A wave swept via the followers nearest the epicenter, pushing them away. I depend 12 individuals leaning away from the baseball; I’d classify six of them as cowering in concern, and I see one particular person absolutely within the fetal place:
One of many cowerers has extra proper than the others. The lady within the very center of the body, carrying a black Betty Boop t-shirt and screaming in terror, reaches out to dam the ball together with her left hand. It appears to hit the area proper between her and her neighbor within the orange UVA trucker hat, then bounces off her outstretched hand and settles proper at her ft. As quickly because the ball lands, nonetheless, the concern is gone. Everyone needs it. It’s not a lethal projectile. It’s a memento. The wave sweeps again in towards the epicenter like an explosion so highly effective that it compelled all of the air out of the blast zone, and the air is now dashing again in to fill the vacuum:
On the left, a fan within the entrance row carrying a quantity a no. 30 Pirates jersey with “BEER” on the again – choosing Seth Beer within the minor league section of the Rule 5 draft actually is the reward that retains on giving – sees his alternative. Between the Beer jersey and an Ohtani dwelling run ball, he’ll by no means need to pay for a drink once more. He sprints previous his neighbor, additionally cowering, and provides her entire new motive to recoil. He smashes her very full beer can along with his hand, arduous. First it splashes everybody within the neighborhood, then it erupts, sending up a sustained three-foot tall geyser of suds:
The man is means too late. The lady within the Betty Boop shirt reaches down, and though she will get a face filled with beer and her sun shades fall from the highest of her head onto her nostril, she picks it up simply. “I noticed it coming proper at me,” she appears to say as everybody wipes the beer off themselves. “Holy shit,” says the girl three seats to her proper. One man spies an opportunity to get on TV. He runs over from 25 ft away, crops himself in entrance of the bearer of the ball and waves his arms backwards and forwards. He’s now formally well-known:
Within the dugout, the Dodgers are wanting expectantly on the scoreboard, ready for the exit velocity to look. Enrique Hernández spots the quantity first. He smiles and factors for the advantage of Dalton Dashing, who whips his head round too. The quantity forces a grimace from Blake Snell, which makes him look 10% extra Blake Snell than common. Tyler Glasnow seems to utter his personal “Holy shit.” Someplace behind the dugout, Alex Freeland begins to wonder if something is actual:
Dashing can’t comprise himself. He smacks his palms to his face like Kevin McCallister. He turns first to the neighbor on his left then the neighbor on his proper. “One-twenty!” he exclaims in every course:
As Ohtani collects his excessive fives, Dodgers assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness raises his palms to his shoulder to mime firing a bazooka:
The ultimate face belongs to poor Bubba Chandler. As he walks across the mound to gather himself, he sneaks a peek on the exit velocity too. He closes his eyes and puffs out his cheeks. You may nearly hear him considering, “I didn’t need to cope with this again in Triple-A.”
