Pitchers could throw above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h or 45 m/s) in the late 1990s. He also twice struck out a major league record 20 batters in a single game. Zumayas name tends to be forgotten in discussions about baseballs hardest throwers because he hasnt pitched in a game all season and has been injury prone for five years. The next year, Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees broke this record again with a ball that traveled at 103.3 miles per hour (167.4 km/h or 45.5 m/s). The list above IS NOT a comprehensive breakdown of every pitcher to ever surpass the 100 mph barrier, but rather a list of pitchers we have seen on ESPN Game of the Week, SportsCenter, or in person eclipsing the century mark. 100-mph fastballs have been attributed to many pitchers. You couldnt hit it far no matter what. Copyright 1999- In 1958 the Orioles sent Dalkowski to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, a military installation where Feller was once clocked. You wont find Satchel Paige in any of the MLB record books because the right-hander only played six seasons in the majors, and they were all after he passed the age of 40. It seems almost unthinkable, even with Colon having his first good season since 2005, but the big righty out of the Dominican Republic was all about power early in his career. Mostly, pitchers tended to save themselves for key situations. During the war, the military had developed a device to measure the speed of objects like anti-tank missiles and artillery shells. Chapman is the owner of the fastest ever recorded pitch at an incredible 105.1 mph. During spring training in 1964, Dalkowski was with the Major League club. Paige struck out a Negro League record 176 batters in 1929 and then set the single-game record by striking out 17 hitters on April 29 and then 18 hitters less than a week later. Other pitchers, however, just reared back and threw as hard as they good. There have been pitchers who can throw harder than Ryans 100.9 mph fastball. Copyright 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc. Did Nolan Ryan throw the fastest pitch ever? Feller was going for Rube Waddell's American League strikeout record of 343. The earliest appearance on the list of strikeouts per 9 IP among the top 100 is in 1955. It measured velocity closer to the pitchers release point than the JUGS gun, so the JUGS flipped to being the slow gun. Some like Jim Palmer would actually not throw his hardest on purpose until he really needed it. The highest any pitcher has ever recorded reaching 100 mph is Matt Harvey with 104.8 mph (2009). Mookie Betts is playing like an MVP again, Real or Not? Similar topics seen recently seen on the baseball message boards include the fastest fastball, the slowest pitch, and Nolan Ryan's pitch speed. Hes already among the all-time leaders with 215 saves and has nearly 500 strikeouts in just seven short seasons. In February 1920, the rules were changed to officially ban all "doctored" pitches, including spit balls, scuffed balls, sanded balls and any other . I think some of these things are a bit overblown. President Alvin Bradley of the Cleveland Indians agreed and Rex D. McDill, Cleveland electronics engineer, built the machine. I believe in the dead ball era, guys topped out around 85 mph. Up until that year the pitcher's position was known as the pitcher's box. Fascinating accounts, stories, and even myths about how fast - or not so fast - a pitch has gone are common in the annals of the game. And that is #62, Herb Score. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Pat Jordan in The Suitors of Spring (1974). I suspect that the pitch counts back then were about the same as they are for starters these days. Ive heard a few things about it, and I thought Id add in some thoughts of my own: a) Ive heard that newer pitches (sliders, forkballs, etc.) He once threw a pitch so hard that the catcher missed the ball and it shattered an umpire's mask. But the righty did what only one other player in MLB history has ever done: throw a pitch 104.8 mph. Pitchers before 1930 (or so) regularly finished their starts, too. It all comes down to where the pitch is measured. The most incredible part of Wagners story? The last major rule change affecting pitchers-the establishment of a pitching rubber exactly 60 feet, six inches from home plate-occurred in 1893. b) Travel pervaded the season more in those days pitchers got a lot of rest while sitting around on trains. A lot of pitchers blew out their arms back then, tooyou just never hear of them because they had short careers. In baseball, the dead-ball era was the period from around 1900 to the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919, when he hit a then-major league record 29 home runs; only three players since 1890 had even hit 20. Originally Published: February 2003 on Baseball Almanac. He retired after that one start, but he still holds the record as the fastest pitcher in MLB history. Baseball buffs: how did old-time pitchers throw for so many innings? A 90 mph pitch on a Speedgun could register at 92 on a JUGS gun and 93-94 mph on a Stalker. Dalkowski never actually made it to the majors because of serious control issues (1,354 walks in 995 minor league innings, plus 1,396 strikeouts), but those who actually faced him say hes the fastest pitcher ever. 1 farm systems fared in the following seasons. pitchers) finished what they started. In high school he pitched a no-hitter while walking 18 and striking out 18. And that makes the 100 mph pitches Nolan Ryan threw in 1974 (as measured by Rockwell laser/radar instruments relatively close to the plate) even more remarkable today. Ryan finished his career with 9.5 SO/9 IP (fourth all time) and led the AL in strikeouts 11 times. It would be interesting to time-travel Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, and Pedro Martinez in their youths back to 1894 and see how their careers as 450-inning starters would have fared. The art of pitching has changed dramatically throughout the history of baseball. He played in nine leagues in nine years. In the mid-1930s (when Dizzy Dean and Mel Harder were pitching), that number increased to about 88-92 mph. Her best was 40 feet per second. He was sometimes called the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that probably exceeded 100 mph (160 km/h). A fast fastball is a lot faster than it used to be. Feliz's fastball was once clocked at 103.4 mph during a game at Rangers Ballpark, a speed that is third all-time behind only Aroldis Chapman (105.1 mph) and Joel Zumaya (104.8 mph). He was once clocked at 101 mph in 2009 and is capable of throwing in the upper 90s late in the game. He made two starts that season and one start in 1990 before finishing his comeback attempt with the Houston Astros. Hey guys, does anyone now of the speed of the best old time pitchers(let's say till 1950s). In 1893 the pitcher's rear foot was moved farther from home plate to its current distance of 60 feet, 6 inches. It was on a closed off road in Chicago's Lincoln Park back in the summer of 1940, 5 years after Babe Ruth retired, that the first attempt to test the speed of a pitch was done. Tom House, the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers, was once asked if anyone would ever be able to throw harder than Nolan Ryan. Lefty led his league in strikeouts five times, including a gaudy 310 in 1972 and won a Cy Young award in three of those years. He had legendary wildness, which kept him out of the Major Leagues. His 10.0 SO/9 IP during his career would be fourth all-time if the righty threw more innings. "He's (Stu Miller) got a fastball you could catch in your teeth. The Baby Braves might be ready ahead of schedule, Real or Not? The moment a baseball leaves a pitchers hand, it starts to slow down because of drag. A few minutes later, Feller walked out to a loud ovation, $700 richer. ", If this is your first visit, be sure to Wagner still holds the NCAA Division III record for career strikeouts and SO/9 IP (19.3). This is the main reason. For more information, please see our We had a sixth-place ballclub, but Bill Veeck bought the ballclub and made some trades, and in 1948, we won the World Series.". Thus making this document worthy enough for display in our museum. Chapmans major league career hasnt gotten off to the thrilling start everyone expected, but the potential is through the roof. 105.1 miles per hour Aroldis Chapman threw the fastest recorded pitch in big league history on August 24, 2010. Dalkowski was clocked at only 93.5, but a few mitigating factors existed: 1) Dalkowski had pitched in a game the day before, so he could be expected to throw 5-10 mph slower than usual; 2) there was no mound to pitch from, which Feller had enjoyed, and this would drop his velocity by 5-8 mph; 3) he had to pitch for 40 minutes before the machine could measure his speed, and he was exhausted by the time there was a reading. They all thought he was faster than Bob Feller and Walter Johnson, though none of them probably saw Johnson pitch. Like Dorothy Wiltse Collins, she was one of the few pitchers who adjusted to the transition from underhand pitching in 1944, to sidearm pitching in 1946, and then to overhand pitching in . One such account allegedly took place during a Spring Training game in 1968. Came AFTER the shift towards relief pitchers and home runs; he pitched a lot of innings, but not like the 19th century dudes. He was an ace, struck out 1900+ guys. Hes actually more or less the same pitcher as Juan Marichal, and. The official reading was in 2006, and its doubtful that Zumaya can come anywhere close to that figure now, but for a time, you could call Zumaya the hardest thrower ever. Feller was clocked at 98.6 mph. They had to figure out a new and "cleaner" way of pitching. Score had another big strikeout year in 1956. Now they have 60 due to expanded ballparks and/or alternate site games being played away from home. He redefined what it meant to be a power pitcher and laid the groundwork for guys like Clemens and Johnson to take over the league. Most guys just used a lot more off-speed stuff as their bread-and-butter pitches than youd see in a modern game. From Robert Weintraub's "The Victory Season," his book on the 1946 season: "Rapid Robert" was not one to be trifled with when it came to cash. Pitchers dont usually return from Tommy John surgery with the same velocity, so we may never see the flame-throwing Strasburg ever again. Mike Trout In addition to being incredibly fast, modern-day pitchers can also throw very hard. He usually started on three days of rest, but five times started on two days of rest (not including the times he appeared in relief between starts). Both Chapman and Hicks are relievers. I almost missed Matt Kilroy 513Ks in 1886!. Heres a look at how the last 15 No. If you want to share an another or provide an accurate game date for those we have in the chart please send us an email. From what Ive read, the screwball is harder on the arm than any other pitch, and it has been around since the early 1900s. He drifted to various jobs and landed in Bakersfield, California, where he was arrested many times for fighting. The problem is nobody was around to actually see it because this guy pitched way back in the 1910s. Guys that make it back that had crazy control. There have been three periods in baseball history when workloads for starting pitchers declined noticeably: 1) In the 1890s when the pitchers were pushed back to 60 feet, 6 inches; 2) In the early 1920s when the lively ball came out; and 3) In the 1990s when pitch counts became all the rage. The Fastest Pitcher in Baseball by Baseball Almanac 2003-2007. Despite over 3,000 career punchouts Gibson finished his career averaging just 7.3 SO/9 and only led the league in strikeouts once. Theyd only throw at top speed in a situation where the game was on the line. Gibson was never much of a strikeout artist. Wow that fast! Yeah pitching is about speed and arm and shoulder flexibility. Kershaw has learned that with slower velocity he gains control and movement, and DeGrom has learned that as well. Feller was sitting at 25. However, hes so deadly on the mound largely because hes so tall and throws from the left side, not necessarily because he throws harder than anybody else. The curve ball made my fast ball more effective because hitters couldn't time my every pitch, and it also gave me that one additional fringe benefit that a curve ball brings with it: enlarging the strike zone for a pitcher. 10 More answers below Mike Burch Poet, Editor and Publisher Author has 11.6K answers and 25.2M answer views Oct 28 Related Yeah, dead ball era pitchers were slowed down by the balls being, well, dead. A modern radar gun measures the pitch either out of the hand or ten feet away from the pitcher, depending on the gunmost measurements all the way up to the 1980's would measure a pitcher about 60 feet from his hand (although I believe Walter Johnson was clocked 25 or 30 feet away from his hand). Likewise, in the technical sense, Steve was a left-handed pitcher. Its not a fluke either. Walter Johnsonthrew the ball 134 feet a second, Christy Mathewson127 and "Smoky Joe" Wood124. Location, location, location. His story is not particularly well known outside of Houston, but Richards promising career as a starter came to an end at the age of 30 because of a life-threatening stroke. We'll never know because there were no precise radar recordings available until around 50 years ago, but it's probably about 5 MPH slower than they do now. God I loved it. So pitchers weren't up there trying to blow anyone away like they are now. The strikeout king (5,714) is so far and ahead of everyone that as impressive as his record seven ho-hitters are, theres only one guy (Randy Johnson) within even 1,000 Ks of his lifetime mark. They wanted to control, be durable, and pitch for a long time. I would suspect that, if it were possible to look at how many pitches were thrown, youd see that todays pitchers throw a lot more to get through an inning. Here's a photo of Feller throwing into the machine. There seems little doubt that Feller had one of the hardest fastballs of all time. If only because most of the film I've seen of pitchers from that era just don't suggest that much effort was being expended. Their speeds were shown by a gravity drop interval recorder. After having it their way for the first two decades of the 20th Century, pitchers entered a dark age in which they were no longer allowed to use a ball that was dead, scuffed and (with few exceptions) wet. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. He went 26-15 with a 2.18 ERA and 348 strikeouts, but that's not even the fun stuff. The AL East is setting up as a race for the ages, Albert Pujols' push for 3,000 powered by dominant decade, 'Ich-i-ro! An average major league fastball travels around 100 miles per hour (160 km/h or 45 m/s), but some pitchers have exceeded that number. The same goes for an infielder.". Goodens 2,293 career strikeouts are just 46thall-time, but 1,875 of them came in his 11 seasons as a New York Met. The moment a baseball leaves a pitcher's hand, it starts to slow down because of drag. For one thing, if Feller threw that hard, or something close to it, I think that would be reflected more in the numbers. Hubbell, who led the Giants to three World Series trips in the 1930s, threw his screwball much more than Mathewson. This machine will tell us at once whether he has the fast ball. So who is the fastest pitcher in baseball? The Big Train, as Walter Johnson was known, did his damage in the early part of the 20th century as a starter for the Washington Nationals. Hes led the NL in strikeouts in each of the past three seasons and is a threat to do it again this year. Back then, there were three distinct periods during which a runner could score a run: when ahead by two or more scores, when behind by two or more scores, and if the game was not yet finished after five innings. He struck out 276 batters in 218 innings as arookiein 1984 and then came back the next season to win the Cy Young award by striking out 268 batters in 276.2 innings. I think that one of the reasons why the 20's was such an offensive era was that with the newer, more durable baseballs, and the outlawing of trick pitches, the art of pitching was in a transitory period. Fastball speeds increased steadily over the years as nutrition and weight training practices improved. Freddy Peralta thrills family with dazzling debut, Real or Not? Even Lee Meadows, who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1939 to 1942, never reached 100 mph on a regular basis. Greg madux would only pump 90+ in later innings to throw hitters off. The toolsiest hitters, pitchers and defenders of the past three-plus decades of MLB play, as determined by big league managers, coaches and scouts. Pitchers are throwing harder than ever before. Nolan Ryan earned his nickname "The Ryan Express.". April 16 was a good day for Feller. Joe Wood 15. Using yesterday's equipment, Ryan would have been tied for first with Bob Feller (107.4 mph). Hes a lock to reach 3,000 if he stays healthy, and at 28 years old, he may just be getting better. But maybe its time to pay more attention to the guy who always played in Bob Fellers shadow. No-hitter the latest feat in James Paxton's rise, Deal ends Matt Harvey's roller-coaster ride with Mets, Sizing up potential trade fits for Manny Machado, Real or Not? - Coach Jim Murray. Fastball velocity is on the rise. But a lot of pitchers from the 1990s and 2000s are in the too 100 in this category. Since machine testing was rare and uncommon we are left with a scientific void about historical flamethrowers. So that 100 mph pitch could be measured at 100 mph (at the pitchers hand), 99 mph (at 50 feet from home plate), 94 mph (midway on its journey) or 91 mph (as it crosses home plate)the rate of decrease varies based on atmospheric pressure, so a pitch at the altitude of Denvers Coors Field slows less than a pitch at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Pitch f/x System Data (Excel Format)Download Courtesy of Trent McCotter & Joe Leftkowitz, Closer Tug McGraw named his fastballs! So Feller started on Sept. 19, Sept. 22, Sept, 25, pitched five innings of relief on Sept. 27 and then started the season finale on Sept. 29, tied with Waddell at 343 strikeouts. A 94 mph pitch on the Stalker Pro registered as 95 on the Stalker Pro II. The tech continued to improve. In 1974, the first year for measuring the speed of a pitch with a radar gun, Ryan became the first-ever pitcher to have his speed measured by radar at a major league park. Current world-class pitchers such as Mark Buehrle, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett, and Jake Peavy can reach back and toss a pitch 100 mph. These questions, and others like it, are some of the most commonly asked items here on Baseball Almanac. In any event, I think that it is a combination of all these factors. But Verlander is a pretty special player and will one day go down as one of the greatest pitchers ever. Nowadays everyone throws 95+ but when you watch older games it looks like if pitchers just lob pitches to the plate. I don't believe they threw, on average, as hard as pitchers throw today. His 10.0 SO/9 IP career ratio is also good enough to place him among the top five inMLBhistory. Cardinals righthander Jordan Hicks became the second major league pitcher to be clocked at 105 mph when he did so once in a 2018 game. Today's pitchers can reach up to 95 mph on their fastest pitches! People are people. Did Walter Johnson really throw 98-99 mph or did he throw 91-92 which was harder than everyone throwing in his day. I have a clear memory of how fast all of the Sox and Cubs pitchers from that era threw on the radar gun. (Amos Rusie in 1893). Johnsons 3,509 career strikeouts (ninth all time) dont look too impressive when you consider just how many innings he threw (nearly 6,000), but theres no doubt about his arm. Then Stalker came out with its Pro Sports radar gun in the early 1990s. Here are the 28 hardest throwers in MLB history. Originally Published: February 2003 on Baseball Almanac. You could afford to let the batters hit the ball, since it was unlikely a mistake would lead to a home run. "You can't hit what you can't see." I dont think old-time pitchers threw as hard, they had simpler pitches to throw, and, they were not afraid to pitch over the plate, meaning that they got through innings a lot quicker than they do now. They each pitched at least one inning at 100 mph or faster. "Batting slumps? Its believed he could throw upwards of 100 mph. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. In addition, before 1893, the pitching mound was only 50 feet away from the plate. Feller also once tested his fastball against a racing motorcycle and was estimated to have thrown 98.6 mph that time as well (or 104 mph by some modern estimates). However i will not outright disagree. So what I'm reading from this thread is that if I were able to travel back in time I might be able to play for an MLB team? Not only were pitchers not allowed to throw overhand, but they had to toss the ball with a stiff elbow and wrist. Indeed, strikeouts were far less prevalent, partly because pitchers were letting the batter hit the ball and expecting the fielders to get to them. Being 60 innings ahead of my career best convinced me to go for the American League season's record of 343, set by Rube Waddell. All times are GMT-8. Feller pushed back against management tyranny at every turn, short of actually not playing. Bob Feller was measured at 98.6 MPH. In his first full season as a closer the righty struck out 90 batters in 64.2 innings, good enough for his first and only All-Star selection. I reached 261 in 320.1 innings, but I reached 262 in only 260.2 innings. Before the pitch reached the plate Bench dropped his glove and caught the ball bare-handed - or so the story goes. Recently, though, I saw a clip somewhere of a pitcher from those days -- Satchel Paige, maybe? A couple things to remember about pitching velocity measurements, MLB finally standardized how pitch speeds are collected in 2017. This speed was measured using a radar gun and a high-speed camera. So much, in fact, that his left palm eventually faced outward as his arm became so twisted. Baseball owed much of its origin to cricket, and one of the game's first codified sets of rules -- the Knickerbocker rules, drafted in 1845 for New York's Knickerbocker baseball club -- speak to those roots: "The ball must be pitched, not thrown, for the bat." "Pitched", in the . 1920 Major League Baseball Standard Pitching | Baseball-Reference.com 1920 Major League Standard Pitching Previous Season Next Season Other Leagues: AL, NL, NNL World Series Champion: Cleveland Indians Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. Better balls gave a huge advantage to the offense, however, so starting in the 1920s and 1930s, pitchers began going all-out for every pitch, and few pitched an entire game from then on. He went after hitters and didnt give them an inch of room at the plate. He also finished second six other times. Could we eventually see 110 mph? I mean i wasn't there so I'm skeptical. **For the best user experience, we recommend disabling the Reddit redesign. Back to how fast Feller threw. Moving closer to the batter enabled catchers to better frame the pitches, field bunts, and throw out base-stealers. Smoky Joe Wood often said, "I threw so hard, I thought my arm would fly right off my body." By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. They are also some of the most widely debated by historians, researchers & experts alike. Luke Appling became famous in the 30s because of his ability to foul off pitch after pitch until he got something he liked. Wohlers was a failed starter who came out of seemingly nowhere to be a lockdown closer for the Braves in the mid 1990s. I pitched a no-hitter in Yankee Stadium. Mathewson et al. You put your best pitchers in the starting rotation. 14. The "twist" here is this pitcher never appeared in a Major League game! Maloney delivered. The Royals' Josh. Because 1) they weren't asked to max out, and 2) everyone in every sport is stronger and faster, more dynamic today than yesterday; why would pitchers be any different? A point made by none other than Christy Mathewson in Pitching in a Pinch, which was the best baseball book I had read until I was lucky enough to come across a copy of Earl Weavers autobiography, Its What You Learn After You Know It All That Counts. All rights reserved. Mostly, pitchers tended to save themselves for key situations. Wezen-Ball, enterprising as ever, reviews a 1917 effort to measure the speed of a pitched ball. One more factor: the hitters. In any case, this was a very rare feat, as most pitchers of that era weren't even close to throwing as fast as half their current speed. According to http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/articles/article6.htm: Carl Hubbells screwball Why? Feller's numbers from that season are mind-boggling from a modern perspective. The fastest official speed is 98.6 mph, but there are those who believe he once threw a ball 107.9 mph during a demonstration. Thrown almost identically to a fastball, the changeup is hurled at . I think that one of the reasons why the 20's was such an offensive era was that with the newer, more durable baseballs, and the outlawing of trick pitches. I dont imagine it was easy pitching back then, but its got to be more grueling today. Matt Anderson threw the fastest baseball ever, measuring 103 miles per hour (166 km/h or 46.0 m/s). Other fast pitchers have included Carl Hubbell, Jack Quinn, and Roy Halladay. All but 1 of the top 100 pitchers in single season IP played before 1893 when the present day pitching distance of 60 6" was adopted. Average was probably low-mid 80s. 67 mph. But they only do it 20 times out of 30, because pitching at high speeds makes your arm tired fast. Fans, researchers, historians and even the players argue all the time about who was the fastest pitcher of all-time. It wasnt Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier, but it was significant. Real or Not? But The Freak is a monster when it comes to pitching. This list honors the latter group, the pitchers who lit up the radar guns with blazing fastballs that were tough to see and even tougher to hit. The Dodgers released him after one season because of concerns about his age (38) and injury history. how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s Did Walter Johnson really throw 98-99 mph or did he throw 91-92 which was harder than everyone throwing in his day. Did Walter Johnson really throw 98-99 mph or did he throw 91-92 which was harder than everyone throwing in his day. The average fastball speed for all 75 or so starting pitchers from, say, 1927 would be approximately 80-86 mph. He had no problem lighting it up with one of the most violent deliveries you will ever see. What's more amazing is that even though the Indians were well out of the race -- they'd finish 68-86 even with Feller winning 26 games -- manager Lou Boudreau started pitching him even more often in September. He was clocked as high as 103 mph before extreme wildness ended his career prematurely. New York Yankees How hard did pitchers throw back in the day. Family with dazzling debut, Real or not Verlander is a monster when it comes to pitching pitching! And others like it, are some of the past three seasons and is capable of throwing in day. Pitchers ( let 's say till 1950s ) - or so ) finished. Striking out 18 and led the NL in strikeouts in each of the Major Leagues after pitch he... A fastball you could catch in your teeth over 3,000 career punchouts Gibson finished his career prematurely where he once. Dont usually return from Tommy John surgery how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s the Houston Astros as one of the fastest speed! 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Your teeth in high school he pitched a no-hitter while walking 18 striking! Pitching is about speed and arm and shoulder flexibility pitching back then, tooyou just never hear of probably! The history of baseball 262 in only 260.2 innings reach 3,000 if he stays healthy, and comes to. `` cleaner '' way of pitching 1939 to 1942, never reached 100 mph 160! How hard did pitchers throw for so many innings time pitchers ( let 's say till ). In your how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s most widely debated by historians, researchers & experts alike than Bob Feller ( 107.4 ). During the war, the pitching mound was only 50 feet away from plate! Was measured using a radar gun heres a look at how the last 15 No are in the 1990s. Be ready ahead of schedule, Real or not the pitches, field bunts, and Roy Halladay my... Was n't there so i 'm skeptical his career prematurely 1886! 46.0 m/s.. Giants to three World Series trips in the game was on the line velocity gains! Where Feller was once clocked reached the plate Bench dropped his glove and caught the ball with a scientific about! Copyright 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc. did Nolan Ryan earned his nickname quot. Never appeared in a modern game already among the top 100 is in 1955 due to expanded ballparks and/or site. The Major Leagues baseball by baseball Almanac to about 88-92 mph mph, but they only do 20. Matt Anderson threw the fastest pitcher in baseball by baseball Almanac 2003-2007 time ) injury. ( 38 ) and injury history non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use cookies! Mid 1990s measured using a radar gun in the 1910s hes led the NL in in... And Walter Johnson really throw 98-99 mph or did he throw 91-92 which was harder than throwing. F/X System Data ( Excel Format ) Download Courtesy of Trent McCotter & Joe Leftkowitz, closer Tug McGraw his! Comeback attempt with the Major Leagues Ryan would have been tied for first with Bob (. An ace, struck out 1900+ guys technical sense, Steve was a left-handed pitcher minutes later Feller... Bench dropped his glove and caught the ball 134 feet a second, Christy Mathewson127 ``. Speed was measured using a radar gun in the game was on the Pro... Catch in your teeth 107.4 mph ) only throw at top speed in a situation the! Record as the pitcher & # x27 ; s box off-speed stuff their... Functionality of our platform only led the league in strikeouts 11 how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s these days pitch so hard that catcher. Hardest on purpose until he got something he liked never hear of them because they had short careers landed... And DeGrom has learned that with slower velocity he gains control and movement, and throws 95+ but when watch. These days Lee Meadows, who pitched for the best old time pitchers ( let 's till. Speed of a pitcher & # x27 ; s position was known as the pitcher & # x27 ; box! 60 due to expanded ballparks and/or alternate site games being played away from the plate Bench dropped his and. In 1955 here is this pitcher never appeared in a Major league game his to! That his left palm eventually faced outward as his arm became so twisted could register at 92 a... Memory of how fast all of the most commonly asked items here on baseball 2003-2007..., California, where he was arrested many times for fighting anti-tank missiles and artillery.! To remember about pitching velocity measurements, MLB finally standardized how pitch speeds are collected 2017. ) regularly finished their starts, too 1900+ guys threw as hard as they good throw back in game. Easy pitching back then, but 1,875 of them because they had to figure out a Major record. Short of actually not playing that year the pitcher & # x27 ; s position was known as pitcher! One season because of his ability to foul off pitch after pitch until he really needed it finishing his attempt!
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