How Hard Can Giancarlo Stanton Hit?

OF Giancarlo Stanton returned to the New York Yankees after a brief stint on the IL. Although his bat has not quite woken up yet, Stanton still has the highest exit velocity average in his total batted ball events (BBE) with 98.5 mph. The next closest is his teammate, OF Aaron Judge, at 97.2 mph.

There is no doubt that Stanton is one of the hardest-hitting players of all time, but how hard can he really hit? The logical way to figure this out would be to measure his exit velocity and BBE to other players in baseball throughout Statcast history to make an accurate comparison. Or we could arbitrarily compare his smashes to other fast things in the world. The latter seems much more appealing. Let the random comparisons commence!

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Stantontonian blast!

Stanton’s home runs soar in the air. Birds soar in the air, too. So naturally, the most pressing question is where would Stanton’s exit velocity rank if it were a bird? Surprisingly, it would be toward the top. Only four birds in the world can travel at a maximum airspeed of over 120 mph. Peregrine falcons and golden eagles can fly 200-plus mph, which is incomparable to Stanton’s hits. The next fastest bird, gyrfalcons, can reach a max speed of 130 mph. It seems absurd for a bird to fly over 30 mph faster than an average hit ball from Stanton; however, it is only 10 mph faster than his hardest hit of the season at 120.1 mph.

Stanton’s average exit velocity ranks toward the second tier of fast birds: those that are still freakishly fast but are at least somewhat visible in flight. For some time, the White-throated Needletail was believed to be the fastest flying bird globally but is only seven mph faster than a Stantonian blast. Unfortunately, these birds are only common in Asia and Australia, making it challenging to compare visually. However, down in the southern states, magnificent frigatebirds can travel roughly the same speed as the former Miami Marlins slugger. Only a handful of birds can reach a higher top speed than an average hit from Stanton, bringing a whole new meaning to the old “it’s a bird, it’s a plane” phrase. 

If most birds are slower than a baseball off of Stanton’s bat, other animals won’t be able to compare. Cheetahs are known for their pure speed in the African plains, but a 75 mph top speed pales compared to a blast from the 2017 home run king. It would be like having the fastest runner in baseball by 90 feet splits, OF Byron Buxton, race the slowest runner, IF Miguel Cabrera. The quickest fish, a black marlin, doesn’t fare much better with a top speed of 80 mph. Safe to say, most animals do not stand a chance at outrunning (or swimming) a hit from Stanton.

Rollercoasters Can Compete

Since animals can’t match Stanton, the next obvious step is to look at artificial stuff. You all are also more likely to experience what a fast roller coaster looks and feels like rather than trying to find a wild peregrine falcon soaring across the Arctic tundra at literal break-neck speed. Speaking of rollercoasters, the fastest in the world is Formula Rossa in the United Arab Emirates. The coaster reaches a top speed of 149 mph, which dwarfs anything Stanton can do with a bat.

The fastest coaster in the United States resides in New Jersey. Kingda Ka has a 416-foot drop and can go up to 128 mph, which is shockingly less than 10 mph faster than Stanton’s hardest-hit ball this season. So if you find yourself on Kingda Ka plummeting toward the ground at over 120 mph, know you are feeling the same things that a baseball does when Stanton is having a good day.

An average speed of 98.5 mph would rank as the eighth fastest roller coaster globally and the fourth fastest in America. While the amount of force from a roller coaster is dramatically different than that from a clobbered baseball, it still seems insane to try to get in front of a line drive coming off Stanton’s bat.

Giancarlo Stanton Starring In “Fast and Furious”

Despite the highest speed limit in the U.S. being 85 mph, cars can go much faster. It would be silly to think a baseball player could hit a ball with a harder exit velocity than a car’s top speed. Or would it? 

Naturally, this category will only consist of street-legal cars because listing vehicles that go 500-plus mph wouldn’t relate well to the point. With that said, cars can reach speeds over 300 mph, including the Devel Sixteen, which has yet to be released but tops out at 347 mph. Most cars made before the 21st century are slower than Stanton’s maximum exit velocity, but now there are only a few vehicles on the road that can’t reach over 120 mph.

The 2012 Mini Cooper Paceman clocks in one mph slower than Stanton’s rocket base (120.1 mph) hit earlier in the season. A model of the 2019 Ford Ranger Double Cab High Rider’s top speed is 11 mph slower than that same hit. The Ford F-150 Raptor from the same year cannot match Stanton’s top hit either with a top speed of 106 mph.

About 16 vehicle models made in the last 15 years are slower than the hardest hits from the four-time All-Star. Even though most cars were not made to break speed records, it is still impressive that a baseball player can achieve a faster speed than a machine with just a piece of wood and a ball. 

Heading into the third month of the season, Stanton only recorded two BBEs in his first three games back from the IL. Although he is not back to punishing baseballs like before his injury, we can now better understand how hard he hits once he comes back to form. Stanton can hit at a velocity that rivals the fastest birds, matches speeds from plummeting rollercoasters and reaches reckless driving limits in all 50 states. When Stanton does hit the ball again, watch out. 

Cover photo courtesy of Chris O’Meara/AP Photo