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 . His 105.1 mph fastball was the first time the 105 mph barrier had been broken. Wood finished his career with just 989 strikeouts in 1,434.1 innings, but considering the era he was pitching in, those are some pretty outstanding numbers. Heres a look at how the last 15 No. The Royals' Josh. When a guy hits .358, he doesn't have slumps." Rogers Hornsby, 1961 We verified that the letter and ball were indeed from Johnson and that he did in fact set the world record in 2000. Youre definitely on to something here. I had my fastest pitched timed when I was younger. Spitballs and Sliders: 1900s to 1920s. Pitchers could throw above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h or 45 m/s) in the late 1990s. All rights reserved. Source: Richmond (VA) Times Dispatch, June 6, 1939. Carlton might be the pitcher most responsible for making the strikeout fashionable inMLB. check out the. Could we eventually see 110 mph? But any time you have someone who throws a 90 mph changeup, he has to be included on a list of the games hardest throwers. Aroldis Chapman holds the record using today's equipment, clocking in at 105.1 mph. are especially hard on the arm. That year, Amos Rusie led the National League with 482 innings. Now they have 60 due to expanded ballparks and/or alternate site games being played away from home. The current MLB Statcast system measures velocity as the pitch leaves the pitchers hand. We had a sixth-place ballclub, but Bill Veeck bought the ballclub and made some trades, and in 1948, we won the World Series.". Nobody else in the league can do that." The results of the test from the "new meter" were reported the day after the initial article: Humphreys' 'Hard' Un' Faster Than Feller's, Meter Shows. Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jose Lima of the Los Angeles Dodgers both reached this mark twice. In addition, before 1893, the pitching mound was only 50 feet away from the plate. In addition, he finished third three times. - Ford Frick, "Smokey Joe (Williams) could throw harder than all of them." They must really be scraping the bottom of the barrel! Copyright 1999-2021. Perhaps I'm wrong on this, but it's just a theory of mine. His greatest accomplishment is probably striking out 21 batters in a minor league game and walking 21 batters in another. They had to figure out a new and "cleaner" way of pitching. They didnt replace the game balls as often consequently by the end of a game the ball was a blackened, tobacco-sopping, lopsided, scuffed, bag of mush. Walter Johnson was reportedly measured at 99.7 MPH at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where they could measure the speed of bullets. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. He started again on July 31 against the Red Sox. Tom House, the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers, was once asked if anyone would ever be able to throw harder than Nolan Ryan. When Gagne walked to the mound, you knew he was probably going to embarrass you. Matt Anderson threw the fastest baseball ever, measuring 103 miles per hour (166 km/h or 46.0 m/s). Jimenez doesnt get much attention as a power pitcher because he walks so many batters (nearly four every nine innings), but when hes on, there might not be a better pitcher in baseball. The best workhorses of that time approached 700 innings and they werent even playing 154 games in a season yet. The true speed of Fellers fastball is a subject of great debate. For the Mets in 1985, Sidd Finch threw 168 mph. Ryan finished his career with 9.5 SO/9 IP (fourth all time) and led the AL in strikeouts 11 times. 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. Jimenez is another pitcher who, at just 27 years old, has already raised eyebrows with some of his strikeout totals and radar gun readings. 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. Score had another big strikeout year in 1956. Other pitchers, however, just reared back and threw as hard as they good. Now, Newhouser was no slouch, a two-time MVP who also finished second in the voting in 1946 (Feller was sixth). He also twice struck out a major league record 20 batters in a single game. For one thing, if Feller threw that hard, or something close to it, I think that would be reflected more in the numbers. According to http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/articles/article6.htm: Carl Hubbells screwball Today it will test the salary wings of Bob Feller, and any other members of the Cleveland and Boston American loop clubs who are willing. . 14. Using a basic pitch count estimator, we guess that Feller threw 5,848 pitches that year. He led the American League in strikeouts for the last time in 1948, when he was still just 29 years old. However i will not outright disagree. Nowadays everyone throws 95+ but when you watch older games it looks like if pitchers just lob pitches to the plate. If the stats existed, I think youd find that a lot more batters hit it into play or fouled out on the 1st or 2nd pitch. Today's pitchers can reach up to 95 mph on their fastest pitches! Realistically low to mid 80s. - Eddie Collins. They all thought he was faster than Bob Feller and Walter Johnson, though none of them probably saw Johnson pitch. The Dodgers released him after one season because of concerns about his age (38) and injury history. How fast did Seaver throw? I'll buy that he could throw 100 mph, although it's impossible to know whether he did that consistently within games. Nolan Ryan holds record for fastest pitch. Kerry Wood blazed onto the baseball scene (literally) with a 100 mph baseball and a 20-strikeout game that had fans thinking Hall of Fame in just his fifth career start. "He's (Stu Miller) got a fastball you could catch in your teeth. During his Cy Young season in 2003, Gagne struck out 137 batters in 82.1 innings for a SO/9 ratio of 15.0. His 2,453 career strikeouts are just 34th all-time, but his 8.86 SO/9 IP are ninth. Feller's numbers from that season are mind-boggling from a modern perspective. Chapman is capable of hitting 105 repeatedly and may still be developing physically. The "twist" here is this pitcher never appeared in a Major League game! Its easy to forget just how good Doc was with the Mets after his career pretty much fell apart in the late 1990s. In addition to Chapman, three other pitchers have thrown a perfect game: Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and Jim Bunning. 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. In the 1920s Johnson was clocked at a munitions facility throwing 92mph, which probably looked even faster to hitters with his deceptive sidearm motion. The same goes for an infielder.". Here are the 28 hardest throwers in MLB history. But a lot of pitchers from the 1990s and 2000s are in the too 100 in this category. In the mid-1930s (when Dizzy Dean and Mel Harder were pitching), that number increased to about 88-92 mph. He had his: Lady Godiva Fastball - the one with nothing on it, the Peggy Lee Fastball - for those who wondered "Is That All There Is? Pitching for the Tigers: Newhouser, who had 26 wins. Plus, it's hard to know, 70 years later, how precise the Lumiline Chronograph was. I wound up and gave it all I had. 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. On August 13, in a night game at home against the Tigers, I recorded my 262nd strikeout, breaking my career high of 261 in 1940. Frustrated, the two met at the mound where Bench bluntly said, "Your fastball's not popping." April 16 was a good day for Feller. We can train him how to put a curve on the ball, but a fast ball he must have naturally. He was the definition of unhittable and is still only 23 years old. But The Freak is a monster when it comes to pitching. 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. Chapman's speed came in only one game during his career. Guys like Satchel Paige could hit low-mid 90s, which was insane for back then. Source: Richmond (VA) Times Dispatch, June 7, 1939. Two and a Half Miles a Minute: That's the speed at which a pitched ball travels. The Rocket struck out 4,672 helpless batters during his career, third all-time. (Amos Rusie in 1893). Lee's career ERA was 2.25, and she was known for throwing a wicked knuckleball. Today, in the late 1990s pitchers can throw over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h or 45 m/s). 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? Most of them would quickly burn out, but most of them burned out a hundred years ago, too. 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. That right there is the difference between pitching and throwing. He pitched 371.1 innings. The top fastallers might have topped out at 85 mph or so, anyway. Nolan Ryan earned his nickname "The Ryan Express.". Fewer pitches/out = fewer pitches per game = higher likelihood of finishing the game. Despite his failure, he has been described as the fastest pitcher ever. So how was pitching different back then? - Joe Tinker talking about Rube Marquard. So pitchers weren't up there trying to blow anyone away like they are now. The top speed is 90 miles per hour. He finished with 4,196 in his career, good for fourth all-time and second among left-handers. But the fast ball was my bread-and-butter pitch. A record that's still included in the book. Follow him on Twitter for all your MLB news and updates. Farewell to a Mariners legend. The Fastest Pitcher in Baseball by Baseball Almanac 2003-2007. At the height of his career (1998-2002), he was striking out more than a batter per inning, and who knows how many strikeouts he might have now if injuries hadnt derailed his promising career. Copyright 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc. Did Nolan Ryan throw the fastest pitch ever? Early comments about fastball pitchers can be found in many old newspapers and offer some interesting insight into who was considered fastest during this early era: "He (Lefty Grove) was the fastest pitcher who ever lived." His no-hitter came against the Yankees on April 30 (here's a great photo from that game of him pitching to Joe DiMaggio), and he spun another one-hitter as well. It all depends on what pitch the pitcher is throwing, fastball are faster than curve balls, changeups. He also claimed he was clocked at 107.9 mph in a demonstration in 1946 at Griffith Stadium. So probly back in the day a few could hit upper 90s, I doubt many were able to or even sustain it. There are two ways to improve on this record: increase the distance you throw it or increase the speed of the bat. 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. Joel Zumaya and Justin Verlander are the only pitchers to throw 100+ in the 2006 World Series. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, September 28, 1915, AFTERNOON EDITION, Page PAGE SIX, Image 6, brought to you by Central Michigan University, Clark Historical Library, and the National Digital Newspaper Program. How fast do you have to throw a curveball. Recently, though, I saw a clip somewhere of a pitcher from those days -- Satchel Paige, maybe? A "radar gun" is used to measure the speed of a baseball. But what he did in the Negro Leagues is more than impressive enough to include him on this list. Hes a lock to reach 3,000 if he stays healthy, and at 28 years old, he may just be getting better. At least thats what the Indians keep telling themselves. Its believed he could throw upwards of 100 mph. A fast fastball is a lot faster than it used to be. The most widely quoted response is Nolan Ryan, whose fastball was "officially" clocked by the Guinness Book of World Records at 100.9 miles per hour in a game played on August 20, 1974, versus the Detroit Tigers. The average hitter today is an absolute monster compared to the average hitter back then. Average was probably low-mid 80s. This time was measured in the past 1999 baseball season. 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. 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. Feller once mentioned that he was clocked at 104 mph at Lincoln Park in Chicago. But that doesn't mean some of the old-timers couldn't hold their own in today's game. Here's a photo of Feller throwing into the machine. What is Mitchell Starc's fastest ball speed? Throwing the ball 90+ MPH is not a rare event at the upper levels of the game. "The key here is that he did not pitch in pro baseball. 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. Its hard to disagree considering that the righty piled up 2,581 strikeouts (26th all-time) during his career and led the AL in Ks seven times from 1938-1948. His less-touted teammate, pitcher Johnny Humphreys, recorded 127 feet. Since machine testing was rare and uncommon we are left with a scientific void about historical flamethrowers. How were the arms of starters spared? 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. Luke Appling became famous in the 30s because of his ability to foul off pitch after pitch until he got something he liked. Giving a mediocre pitch to a mediocre hitter was acceptable strategy. Freddy Peralta thrills family with dazzling debut, Real or Not? Wow that fast! Back in the 1880s-90s, these guys threw over 400 innings a season with regularity. The device measures the ball's speed between the two points and flashes it on a scale facing the pitcher. 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. Super arms are found not created. 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. His dominance only lasted about three seasons (2002-2004), but during that time, Gagne was simply overpowering. How fast did they throw in the 1930s? 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). Bob Feller had his fastball tested by the army at 98.6 mph. In 1989, Nolan Ryan returned to the mound with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fans, researchers, historians and even the players argue all the time about who was the fastest pitcher of all-time. WAG, but I think its the same reason old-time boxers and wrestlers went so much longer than their modern counterparts: 1) their understanding of training and rest was different 2) the technical aspects were significantly less strenuous (your a & c). #TBT: How fast was Bob Feller's fastball? In 1947, his K's per 9 dropped from 8.4 to 5.9 (although that still led the league). People are people. During his eight-year retirement, Ryan worked as a baseball analyst for NBC Sports and as a consultant for the Texas Rangers. Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers, Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink, tested his fastball against a racing motorcycle, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Pre-WW2, there were probably only a handful of guys who could crack 90. His 105.1 mph fastball breached the 105 mph mark for the first time. MLB has gone back and recalibrated Pitch/FX pitches to convert them to their velocity at pitch release. 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 played professionally all over North America, and if you looked at his cumulative totals, hed have nearly 3,000 career strikeouts. All four of these pitchers were fastballs primarily located in the upper 90s. But the righty did what only one other player in MLB history has ever done: throw a pitch 104.8 mph. 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). He went 26-15 with a 2.18 ERA and 348 strikeouts, but that's not even the fun stuff. Just inside is a set of photo-electric tubes, and five feet back is another set. 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