What is the fastest pitch thrown in the major leagues?
What is the fastest pitch ever thrown? Aroldis Chapman officially holds the Guinness World Record for fastest baseball pitch with a 105.8 mph fastball. On Sept. 24, 2010, the Cincinnati Reds' pitcher set the record with a high-velocity pitch against the San Diego Padres.
What is the fastest pitch ever thrown? Aroldis Chapman officially holds the Guinness World Record for fastest baseball pitch with a 105.8 mph fastball. On Sept. 24, 2010, the Cincinnati Reds' pitcher set the record with a high-velocity pitch against the San Diego Padres.
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.
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.
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).
More and more pitchers are throwing triple-digit fastballs, with the fastest of them topping out at 105 miles per hour, but is possible to go even faster? WIRED examines why the 110-mph fastball is almost impossible.
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.
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.
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.
He didn't. Ryan had three pitches, throwing the fastball just under 2/3 of the time. He had a pretty nasty curveball that he threw about a quarter of the time, and a circle change that he threw just under 1/6 of the time.
Has anyone pitched 110 mph?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
How hard do you have to throw to throw 300 feet? 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.
A baseball moving at 95 mph has about 87 foot pounds of kinetic energy. For some context, that's more energy than an eight pound sledgehammer swung at 20 feet/second (about 50 ft/lbs). 87 foot pounds is enough to break most bones in the human body, and it's plenty enough to kill a man if the placement is right.
During a September 7, 1974 game against the Chicago White Sox at Anaheim Stadium, Ryan became the first Major League pitcher to have his pitch speed measured during a game. A primitive radar gun clocked a ninth-inning fastball at 100.8 miles per hour (162.2 km/h) when it was 10 feet (3.0 m) in front of home plate.
Besides being known as one of the best pitchers in baseball, Cubs ace Jon Lester is known for his inability to throw to first base.
How fast did pitchers throw in the 1980s?
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.
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.
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.
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.
The mound is 60 feet, 6 inches from the plate. 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.
Do big leaguers have better eyesight or train their eyes extensively to see the ball off the bat? The short answer is "yes". Baseball players have, on average a 20/12 vision, whereas almost half the general population only has 20/20.
There was no difference between flat-ground pitches at 60.5 ft and 50.5 ft for ball velocity; but on the mound, pitchers threw with greater velocity at regulation distance (60.5 ft). Additionally, ball velocity was greater in pitches at regulation distance compared with the reduced distance from the mound.
Nolan Ryan hit 2 home runs during his career, 1 while playing at home, 1 while on the road.
Taking the mound for the Angels on June 14, 1974, the future Hall of Famer struck out 19 Red Sox hitters over 13 innings in the California Angels' 4-3, 15-inning victory at the Big A. But the most eye-popping stat from Ryan's outing might be his pitch count: 235, according to accounts from the game.
Ryan was once clocked by radar gun with a 100.9 mph fastball, which he threw in the 9th inning in a game in September 1974. (He pitched a complete 11-inning game that day, in a 1-0 loss). But, since then, that one pitch has been reexamined and recalculated…and it's picked up speed.
What is Randy Johnson's fastest pitch?
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.
Earl Weaver, who had years of exposure to both pitchers, said, "[Dalkowski] threw a lot faster than Ryan." The hardest throwers in baseball currently are recognized as Aroldis Chapman and Jordan Hicks, who have each been clocked with the fastest pitch speed on record at 105.1 mph (169 km/h).
Nolan Ryan: 108.1 MPH.
A 100-mph fastball takes roughly 375-400 milliseconds to reach the plate. For reference, the blink of an eye takes 300-400 milliseconds.
80 mph = Approx. 0.50 sec.
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.
The average fastball for these senior-level pitchers is 90 mph, but there will always be a few guys who can light up the radar gun close to 100 mph. At the lower levels of college baseball, there will still be guys in the low to mid-80s.
The ball has a cork-and-rubber core, around which yarn is tightly wrapped; the cover consists of two snugly fitted pieces of white leather sewn together. The circumference is 9 to 9.25 inches (23 to 23.5 cm) and the weight between 5 and 5.25 ounces (142 and…
For mere mortals like us, it is darn near impossible. But for professional baseball players who are good enough to get to the major leagues, it is difficult, but far from impossible. In fact, most power hitters go up to the plate looking for the fastball.
Jones' fastest fastball was 87 miles per hour.
How fast was JR Richards fastball?
Richard was one of the most intimidating pitchers in baseball in the late 1970s. He stood 6-foot-8, his fastball approached 100 miles per hour, and his long stride toward home plate made him appear uncomfortably close to batters.
On September 9, 1965, Sandy Koufax became the “no-hittingest pitcher of all time,”1 the first major-league pitcher to throw four no-hitters. 2 His record-setting accomplishment was a 1-0 perfect game against the Chicago Cubs.
1. Ty Cobb. The Georgia Peach's career batting average over his 24 seasons in baseball is the highest in major league history. Plus, historians have proven he wasn't the worst human being to ever play the game as early biographies reported.
1. Walter Johnson. Topping the list of the best MLB pitchers of all time is former Washington Senators great Walter Johnson. Walter Johnson, also known as 'The Big Train,' was a dominant force on the mound for more than a decade.
Wes Ferrell holds the all-time Major League Baseball record for home runs hit while playing the position of pitcher. He hit 37 as a pitcher. Baseball Hall of Famers Bob Lemon and Warren Spahn are tied for second with 35 career home runs apiece.
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.”
He wasn't exactly “typical”, but John Elway was clocked at 98 from the mound, back in the day.
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.
Yes, a human can throw a baseball at around 110 MPH. The pitcher's ability to throw a fast ball is based on their genetics and muscle strength. There are many pitchers who can reach 105 MPH or even faster, but the record for the fastest pitch ever thrown is held by an anonymous American pitcher who hit 108 MPH in 2011.
In 1940, Bob Feller tried the same test with his pitch coming in at a whopping 103 miles per hour. Amazingly, there's video footage available of this event.
How fast does a 100 mph fastball get to home plate?
A 100-mph fastball takes roughly 375-400 milliseconds to reach the plate. For reference, the blink of an eye takes 300-400 milliseconds.
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.
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.
