Happ’s Historic Homer Has Hype, Hardly Helps Hope
Ian Happ homered twice on Tuesday night to tie his career-high with 25 in what may well end up as his best offensive season to date. Though he’s had better individual stats in prior years, his 4.0 fWAR is a new high-water mark and he’s also tied his previous best for runs scored (86) while setting a new high in RBI (85). One more stolen base will equal his previous high of 14 as well.
The shot that tied or reset his personal bests came in the bottom of the 9th against Oakland closer Mason Miller, one of the hardest throwers in the game. Miller’s average 100.9 mph fastball is topped only by the 102.1 mph of Ben Joyce and it sets up a nasty slider that generates an MLB-best 41.7% strikeout rate (min. 20 IP). This is not a dude you want to be facing at any point, let alone when the game is on the line.
Of the 307 total pitches thrown Tuesday night, 19 came in at 100 mph or higher. Miller was responsible for 12 of those (Daniel Palencia threw the other seven) and had the 10 hardest at 101 and above. Happ saw three such pitches in his final at-bat, fouling off 101.3 on the outer third and doing the same with a heater down the middle at 102.4 mph. Miller had also thrown a pair of changeups at 93 and 94 mph, one taken for a ball and the other swung through.
After spoiling a very good slider down and in with another foul, Happ had a decision to make: Wait on spin or sit dead red. He opted to try to be on time for what ended up being a blazing four-seam at 103.2 mph riding away and caught it well enough to bang it into the basket 364 feet away. The ball actually left his bat nearly three ticks lower than it left Miller’s hand, but that was enough to do the job.
YOU LOVE TO SEE IT. pic.twitter.com/6XTPaOrtuo
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 18, 2024
That now stands as the fastest pitch hit for a home run since MLB implemented pitch tracking back in 2008. It’s possible some apocryphal matchup in the 1970s produced the real record, but we can’t know unless we get video of someone racing the fastball in question with a motorcycle. Anyway, Happ’s homer was pretty neat.
But, much like Kyle Hendricks putting up a vintage performance in Colorado on Sunday, it’s a feat that will largely be forgotten as the Cubs finish out a disappointing season. This one is even easier to overlook because it came in a loss that dropped the Cubs six games out of the Wild Card with 11 to play. For Happ, it’s a nice little highlight in a season that has come around quite nicely after a slow start.
“There’s been ups and downs,” Happ said to reporters about how the season has gone. “Obviously, the beginning was tough — had a really good stretch there. Driving in runs has felt good, coming through in some big spots.”
The left fielder got out of the gate slowly with just a 92 wRC+ through April, but he’s been at 118 or greater in every month since. Barring an oh-fer the rest of the season, Happ will once again end up as a well-above-average producer who always makes up for his slumps with much hotter stretches. And contrary to what detractors will tell you, he’s actually pretty consistent on the whole.
No one will say this homer — or any individual exploit for that matter — makes up for what the Cubs have failed to do as a team, but it’s good to celebrate cool accomplishments for what they are. It’s also good to know that the Cubs have their leadoff spot locked up for 2025, assuming they opt to keep Happ at the top of the order after he’s excelled since being shifted there earlier in the season. Little wins, little wins.