Fastest pitch ever recorded in major league baseball?
Jhoan Duran's 103.2 mph strikeout
Duran, Chapman and Hicks are the only pitchers to hit 104 mph multiple times in a single game, and Duran, Chapman, Hicks and Cabrera are the only ones to record a strikeout at 104+ mph.
Jhoan Duran's 103.2 mph strikeout
Duran, Chapman and Hicks are the only pitchers to hit 104 mph multiple times in a single game, and Duran, Chapman, Hicks and Cabrera are the only ones to record a strikeout at 104+ mph.
KC's fastest pitch ever helps stave off the Padres
The 103.8 mph fastball from Royals reliever Aroldis Chapman was the fastest pitch in Royals history and matched Jordan Hicks for the fastest pitch in MLB this year.
Ruth was an extremely skilled pitcher, throwing the ball at a speed of over 100 miles per hour. He was even faster when he batted, swinging the bat so fast that it looked like a blur on TV. In 1934, Ruth set single-season home run records and became one of baseball's most legendary players.
On May 20, Hicks threw the fastest pitch in MLB history, at 105.1 miles per hour (169.1 km/h). He shares this record with Aroldis Chapman.
The number of pitchers who can break the 100 MPH has gone up dramatically in the last decade, with one who can throw 105. But breaking 110 MPH is nearly impossible, due to the physical limitations of human bones, muscles, and ligaments.
Other MLB legends are said to have thrown faster pitches than Chapman's, but with older, less reliable technology, it can be difficult to confirm the speed of a historic pitch. Thus, tales of Nolan Ryan's 108.1 mph fastball in 1974 or Bob Feller's 107.6 mph pitch in 1946 remain unofficial.
With his injured arm, his final pitch was measured at 98 miles per hour (158 km/h). Ryan's last start was his career-worst; he allowed a single, four walks, and a grand slam in the top of the first without recording an out.
The first pitcher to hit 100 MPH beyond a shadow of a doubt was Atlanta Braves pitcher Nolan Ryan. Ryan's pitch clocked in at 100.9 MPH, which gave him the title of having thrown the fastest pitch ever. In September 2010, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman threw a pitch that registered a speed of 106 MPH.
1. Jhoan Duran, RP, Twins. Duran is the only pitcher in MLB averaging better than 100 mph on his fastball, and he's been a dominant reliever for Minnesota. He has a 2.81 ERA and 36/4 K/BB in 25.2 innings with four saves.
Was Mickey Mantle the fastest baseball player?
Mantle, when batting left-handed was timed running from home-plate to first base in 3.1 seconds (the fastest time of any player in history), this is incredible feat.
So when you read of 85-90 mph fastballs from the early 1980s, realize that they would be registering much faster with current measurement tech. An 85 mph fastball (if registered by a Speedgun at the plate) would be roughly 93 mph if measured by Statcast out of the pitcher's hand.
How fast was Bob Gibson's Fastball? Bob Gibson's 4-seam fastball “sat” between 92-95 mph in the sample I considered. It's likely he actively varied his grip or intended velocity, producing a high velocity range, measured at 87-95, with numerous indications that he regularly exceeded 95 mph.
Clemens has jocularly referred to this pitch as "Mr. Splitty". By the time Clemens retired from Major League Baseball in 2007, his four-seam fastball had settled in the 91–94 mph range. He also threw a two-seam fastball, a slider in the mid 80s, his hard splitter, and an occasional curveball.
Ben Joyce was fast and furious in his Major League Baseball debut on Monday for the Los Angeles Angels. The fireballing pitcher, who once threw a pitch at 105 mph at the University of Tennessee, unleashed his heat on the Chicago White Sox.
Cardinals' Jordan Hicks Throws Fastest Strike in MLB Statcast History at 105 MPH. St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Jordan Hicks set a record for the fastest strike thrown in the Statcast era, hitting 105 mph on the radar gun in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Velocity Myth #2: “I Throw 90”
Despite it being more common than ever, still, very few pitchers can do this. On the average Division-I baseball team, each team usually has 4-8 players capable of touching 90mph, though perhaps only 1 or 2 who can average it.
A 95-mph fastball is traveling about 139 feet-per-second. That means it takes about 0.425 seconds to reach the plate. That's less than half a second for hand-eye coordination to do its thing and make a connection.
In the low-80s is a good estimate. Check out the velocity chart in this article that uses physics data from one of the world's baseball physics experts, Dr. Alan Nathan. His calculator of fly ball distance is a great estimator, and it shows that somewhere between 77-82 is needed to throw approximately 300 feet.
He is sacred.” Koufax was an American baseball legend. He possessed a 100-mph fastball and what announcer Vin Scully called “a twelve-to-six curveball” that started at 12 o'clock then dropped to 6 o'clock. From 1963–1966, he had the best four-year span of any pitcher in baseball history.
Did Nolan Ryan ever hit a homerun?
Nolan Ryan hit 2 home runs during his career, 1 while playing at home, 1 while on the road.
The hardest pitch to hit in baseball is the splitter, followed closely by the slider. Hitting a baseball is extremely difficult for a variety of different reasons. Pitches vary in speed, movement, and breaking point.
Ryan had one ejection in his entire 27-year career.
Ryan retired in 1993 at age 46 with a record 5,714 strikeouts. Ryan was taught to play baseball by an elder brother and was a wild but fast pitcher in high school before he was signed by the National League (NL) New York Mets in 1965.
Claudell Washington has the most career strikeouts against Nolan Ryan, with 39 strikeouts.
Louis righthander Jordan Hicks has thrown the most 100-mph pitches this year (110). Hicks hit 100 mph more times in April than the entire league did in April just five years ago (92 in 2018).
Dustin May threw a 100 MPH pitch with an absurd amount of movement.
The first no-hitter officially recognized by MLB was pitched by George Bradley on July 15, 1876, during the first season of play in the National League.
1. Babe Ruth, 575 Feet (1921) Although there are multiple tales of Babe Ruth's hitting his mythical home run beyond 600 feet, no accurate measuring tools existed during his playing days.
Baseballer - Barry Bonds was the most feared hitter ever 😳 via: The Game Day MLB | Facebook.
Who has the craziest career era in the MLB?
Ed Walsh holds the MLB earned run average record with a 1.816. Addie Joss (1.887) and Jim Devlin (1.896) are the only other pitchers with a career earned run average under 2.000.
Rickey Henderson is the fastest baseball player ever. During his Hall of Fame career, Henderson set MLB records for stolen bases in a career (1,406) and the single-season stolen base record (130) in the Modern Era. In terms of his raw speed, Henderson reportedly clocked a 9.6-second time in the 100-yard dash.
Two years to the day after his MLB debut – on April 17, 1953 – future Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle hit one of the furthest recorded home runs in history. It was that day when the term “tape-measure home run” was born, as one of the game's best power hitters hit a colossal 565-foot shot out of Griffith Stadium.
9 In 13 starts from May 24 through July 19, the June 23 “imperfecto” was the only time Ruth did not pitch a complete game. The contest's perfect-game status lasted for 62 years, when it was abruptly downgraded in 1991 to the major leagues' first combined no-hitter – credited to Ruth (0 innings) and Shore (9 innings).
According to the Guinness Book of Records, a former record holder for fastest pitch is Nolan Ryan, with a pitch clocked at 100.9 mph (162.4 km/h) in 1974, though several pitchers have recorded faster pitches since then.
Ruth, wearing his Yankees uniform, shows how to grip and throw a fastball, curveball and even a knuckleball. When he demos his curveball, Ruth sends one lucky pupil to the plate with a bat -- and buckles his knees with a sweeping curve.
Jones' fastest fastball was 87 miles per hour.
In the prime of his career, Johnson's fastball was clocked as high as 102 mph (164 km/h), with a low three-quarters delivery (nearly sidearm). His signature pitch was a slider that broke down and away from left-handed hitters and down and in to right-handed hitters.
Sanford Koufax (/ˈkoʊfæks/; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.
He struck out the Pittsburgh Pirates' Tucupita Marcano on three pitches in about 20 seconds at an exhibition game in Bradenton, Florida. (Watch the video below.) Pitching data analyst Codify called it the “the quickest strikeout in baseball history.”
How hard is it to hit a 100 mph fastball?
Throwing a 100 mph fastball is a feat that many pitchers dream of achieving. It requires a combination of physical strength, proper mechanics, and mental discipline. While natural talent plays a role, hard work and dedication can also go a long way in helping a pitcher reach this elite level of velocity.
| Player | Date | Release speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|
| Roberto Clemente | 10/16/71 | 98.6 |
| Joe Ferguson | 10/12/74 | 103.2 |
| Dave Parker | 7/17/79 | 109.6 |
| Ellis Valentine | ? | 98.7 |
The 20-year-old right-hander and Chicago's third-ranked prospect was recorded hitting 110 mph on a radar gun during a workout at APEC, the facility in Texas where he trains during the offseason. The workout involved throwing against a screen using three-ounce and four-ounce balls, followed by a regular baseball.
The Guinness Book of World Records still acknowledges Nolan Ryan's 100.9-mph pitch in 1974 as the fastest ever recorded. Yet pitchers Joel Zumaya and Mark Wohlers have since thrown 104- and 103-mph fastballs, respectively, since Ryan's throw, but Guinness didn't certify the results from the guns used to measure them.
We have had many mid 90MPH pitchers (injury free to boot) as well as some whom have touched 99+MPH. Some of these athletes have gained upwards of 50lbs of very clean weight (still viable abs) in less than a year. Everyone is different based on genetics, work ethic, movement capabilities, diet etc.
Other MLB legends are said to have thrown faster pitches than Chapman's, but with older, less reliable technology, it can be difficult to confirm the speed of a historic pitch. Thus, tales of Nolan Ryan's 108.1 mph fastball in 1974 or Bob Feller's 107.6 mph pitch in 1946 remain unofficial.
Without that Monday in October, Don Larsen is an 81-91 pitcher with 14 big league seasons to his credit. But on Oct. 8, 1956, Larsen carved his name into the American sports landscape by pitching the first perfect game in postseason history.
No pitcher has ever thrown more than one. The perfect game thrown by Don Larsen in game 5 of the 1956 World Series is the only postseason perfect game in major league history and one of only three postseason no-hitters.
The first 100 MPH pitch in the MLB was Nolan Ryan's 1974 fastball clocked at 100.9 MPH.
The Mechanics of How to Throw a 100 mph Fastball
As the pitcher brings their arm forward, they extend their elbow and snap their wrist, releasing the ball with a flick of the fingers. This motion, known as "pronation," helps to create the spin on the ball that gives it its movement.
How fast did pitchers throw in 1914?
Hard-throwing Walter Johnson again helped out in 1914 when his pitch velocity was measured against a speeding motorcycle. This time his pitch came in at a more realistic 99.7 miles per hour. Here's how it worked: The motorbike drove at a constant speed towards a target a fixed distance away.
Most pitchers didn't throw as fast as 90 mph. Some, who relied mostly on breaking pitches, were a lot slower than 85 mph.
1. Clayton Kershaw (2.48 from 2008-22) That's right, heading into the 2023 season, Kershaw had the best ERA of any pitcher since the lowering of the mound (again, minimum 1,500 innings). The left-hander had his best season in 2014, going 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA to earn his third NL Cy Young Award.
With his waxed handlebar mustache, Rollie Fingers always stood out from other relief pitchers. But on Aug. 21, 1982, Fingers added an even more impressive distinction to his resume when he became the first MLB pitcher to reach the reach the 300-save plateau.
This is because second base is the farthest base for the catcher, making it the most difficult to throw to. Moreover, stealing third base is often seen as excessively risky due to the fact that the runner is already in scoring position when he is stationed at second base.
Koufax was an American baseball legend. He possessed a 100-mph fastball and what announcer Vin Scully called “a twelve-to-six curveball” that started at 12 o'clock then dropped to 6 o'clock. From 1963–1966, he had the best four-year span of any pitcher in baseball history.
Clemens has jocularly referred to this pitch as "Mr. Splitty". By the time Clemens retired from Major League Baseball in 2007, his four-seam fastball had settled in the 91–94 mph range. He also threw a two-seam fastball, a slider in the mid 80s, his hard splitter, and an occasional curveball.
Human athletes can achieve throwing speeds close to 145 km/h (90 mph), far in excess of the maximal speed attainable by chimpanzees, at about 30 km/h (19 mph). This ability reflects the ability of the human shoulder muscles and tendons to store elasticity until it is needed to propel an object.
In the low-80s is a good estimate. Check out the velocity chart in this article that uses physics data from one of the world's baseball physics experts, Dr. Alan Nathan. His calculator of fly ball distance is a great estimator, and it shows that somewhere between 77-82 is needed to throw approximately 300 feet.
