An 85 mph fastball (if registered by a Speedgun at the plate) would be roughly 93 mph if measured by Statcast out of the pitchers hand. It wasn't exactly Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier, but it was a remarkable achievement. A lot of pitchers blew out their arms back then, tooyou just never hear of them because they had short careers. How were the arms of starters spared? I looked at the stats for the Pirates (cuz theyre my favorite team), and this past year they averaged 133 pitches/9 innings (or about 4.75/out). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. A man of about 60 years old did a foot for each of his years. Young pitchers who throw breaking balls-including sliders-report more arm pain than those who do not. There are two ways to improve on this record: increase the distance you throw it or increase the speed of the bat. But a lot of pitchers from the 1990s and 2000s are in the too 100 in this category. Location, location, location. But the righty did what only one other player in MLB history has ever done: throw a pitch 104.8 mph. It all depends on what pitch the pitcher is throwing, fastball are faster than curve balls, changeups. In 1940, the Hall of Fame right-hander threw the only Opening Day no-hitter in MLB history. Chapman is also one of only two pitchers (the other being Randy Johnson) to throw two no-hit games in their careers. Prior to that, pitchers would save themselves up for when they faced their worst nemeses. What was the fastest pitch ever thrown during a baseball game? 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. In 1998, Lima matched this speed while playing for the Dodgers. Who was the first pitcher to throw 100 mph? Just imagine where Dr. K would rank if it wasnt for injuries. April 16 was a good day for Feller. He was supposed to throw the ball from the outfield wall to home plate, but he threw it well above the plate into the press box. Ok, pre war pitchers were not throwing hard, is it safe to say that because pitchers were not throwing hard then, Ruth took advantage of it? There will be a contest for pitchers later. Wohlers was a failed starter who came out of seemingly nowhere to be a lockdown closer for the Braves in the mid 1990s. His 10.0 SO/9 IP during his career would be fourth all-time if the righty threw more innings. After fielding a sacrifice bunt by pitcher Jim Bouton in spring training, Dalkowski's arm went dead and he never recovered. For scouts, the Speedgun was known as the slow gun while the JUGS gun registered faster readings and was the fast gun.. They wanted to control, be durable, and pitch for a long time. To go along with his 714 home runs, Ruth ultimately retired with. "A kid pitcher has to have a fast ball to succeed in the big leagues," said Bradley, "for he can never learn how to pitch faster. His 105.1 mph fastball breached the 105 mph mark for the first time. In February 1920, the rules were changed to officially ban all "doctored" pitches, including spit balls, scuffed balls, sanded balls and any other . Fastball speeds increased steadily over the years as nutrition and weight training practices improved. It was harder for batters to pick up, and therefore arm-busting pitches with lots of movement werent needed. 10 More answers below Mike Burch Poet, Editor and Publisher Author has 11.6K answers and 25.2M answer views Oct 28 Related These questions, and others like it, are some of the most commonly asked items here on Baseball Almanac. I was never afraid to throw my curve when I was behind in the count, 2 and 0 or 3 and 1, or even late in a pressure situation. Feller won 4-1, striking out five to get his record. His career 11.5 SO/9 rate is still among the best all-time, but the strike zone continues to elude the oversized righty. Baseball Almanac is pleased to provide you with a velocity calculator which you can use to convert these various formats and compare pitchers - both modern and historical. He drifted to various jobs and landed in Bakersfield, California, where he was arrested many times for fighting. The fastest pitcher ever may have been 1950s phenom and flameout Steve Dalkowski. 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 also claimed he was clocked at 107.9 mph in a demonstration in 1946 at Griffith Stadium. Mostly, pitchers tended to save themselves for key situations. Her best was 40 feet per second. copyright=new Date(); 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. Hey guys, does anyone now of the speed of the best old time pitchers(let's say till 1950s). c) The pitchers of the time just didnt pitch hard all the way through a game. The right age to start throwing a slider or curveball is between 14 and 15 , which gives a player enough time to develop the pitch (takes 1-3 years) so that it's good by the time the college recruiting process heats up. Thats why Chapmans fastest fastball found an extra .7 mph. Gibson was never much of a strikeout artist. That's interesting. He walked 21 in one minor league game and struck out 21 in another. Carlton might be the pitcher most responsible for making the strikeout fashionable inMLB. 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). In high school he pitched a no-hitter while walking 18 and striking out 18. But nobody asked him to throw into the Lumiline Chronograph. His 2,453 career strikeouts are just 34th all-time, but his 8.86 SO/9 IP are ninth. Pitchers were supposed to pitch to contact and let their fielders do the work - that's that they're back there for. During the 1999 baseball season, this moment was recorded. He went 26-15 with a 2.18 ERA and 348 strikeouts, but that's not even the fun stuff. Others who claimed he was the fastest ever were Paul Richards, Harry Brecheen and Earl Weaver. Three digits! Clemens is known for a lot of things, and being a power pitcher is certainly one of them. Dalkowski was the basis for wild fastball pitcher Nuke LaLoosh in the movie Bull Durham. His less-touted teammate, pitcher Johnny Humphreys, recorded 127 feet. "To understand how Dalkowski, a chunky little man with thick glasses and a perpetually dazed expression, became a legend in his own time". For decades, comparing pitch velocities has often been an apples-and-oranges discussion. His 10.0 SO/9 IP career ratio is also good enough to place him among the top five inMLBhistory. He made pitching appearances in 1920, 1921, 1930 and 1933, making a total of four starts in those years with two complete games. One such pitcher was Hal Newhouser of the Louisville Colonels. He was not physically as strong as some others, but he had long, tapering fingers and a peculiar whip to his arm that certainly drove that baseball through the air." Stephen Louis Dalkowski Jr. (June 3, 1939 - April 19, 2020), nicknamed Dalko, was an American left-handed pitcher. 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. He pitched 79 innings that month and started seven of Cleveland's final 17 games. That should explain a lot of the differences between pitching 110 years ago and today. 16 falloutranger San Francisco Giants 8 yr. ago 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. Wood is now blowing away hitters as a full-time reliever. Three Cleveland Indians could do only 119 feet. The first radar guns that began appearing at ballparks in the late 1970s and early 1980s measured pitches much closer to the plate. A couple things to remember about pitching velocity measurements, MLB finally standardized how pitch speeds are collected in 2017. b) Travel pervaded the season more in those days pitchers got a lot of rest while sitting around on trains. He topped 100 Ks in his first full season as the Los Angeles closer and regularly reached triple-digits. 105.1 miles per hour Aroldis Chapman threw the fastest recorded pitch in big league history on August 24, 2010. So how fast was Feller? Fans, researchers, historians and even the players argue all the time about who was the fastest pitcher of all-time. 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. Hes led the NL in strikeouts in each of the past three seasons and is a threat to do it again this year. They are also some of the most widely debated by historians, researchers & experts alike. For a while speeds were measured about 5 feet in front of the plate, then then they were measured by averaging the speed out of the hand and when it crossed the plate, pitch f/x measured speeds at 55 feet from home, finally statcast now presents speeds out of the hand. "That was my best year," he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2006. I think some of these things are a bit overblown. How fast do you have to throw a curveball. So Feller refused to take part, staying under the stands until (Senators owner Clark) Griffith was forced to come down to him and negotiate. 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. It may simply be that pitchers throwing fewer innings is a product of stretegy, not a change in ability. He played in nine leagues in nine years. 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. Are there measurements or estimations? Copyright 1999- Thats why many pre-1893 pitching records are not recognized as official records. Joe Wood 15. Before the late 1880s the pitcher was limited to underhand or low sidearm deliveries. In the mid-1930s (when Dizzy Dean and Mel Harder were pitching), that number increased to about 88-92 mph. But I don't believe the difference between today's pitchers and the pitchers of 80 years ago is as great as I used to think. The results from the "contest for pitchers" have never been found. Cleveland men who developed the speed meter said the only comparable scientific marks were made in 1917. Red Sox bullpen's tightrope act will wear thin, Real or not? Some estimates put the fastball at 101-103 mph, others as high as 107.6 mph. No longer could pitchers rely on wicked movement. ** Actual picture of speed taken from the field at bottom of the chart.^ Due to the large number of MLB.com Gameday additions this symbol means it was verified there. But Major League Baseball now registers that pitch as a 105.8 mph fastball. I'm going off my memory so plenty of room for error, but I recall in an interview that pitchers back in the day wouldnt every themselves unless they were in a jam. Plus, it's hard to know, 70 years later, how precise the Lumiline Chronograph was. Part of the Baseball Almanac Family. Over the course of the past decade, Chapmans fastest fastball had gotten faster by nearly a mile per hour. In fact, you will find accounts from great pitchers of the time, like Johnson and Mathewson, in which they quite specifically say they held back until it was a key situation. Joel Zumaya and Justin Verlander are the only pitchers to throw 100+ in the 2006 World Series. John A. Crawford of the Cleveland Plain Dealer thought the idea would be useful in selection of pitching and other talents. As Ted Williams once said, "Three days before he pitched I would start thinking about Robert Feller, Bob Feller. He was sometimes called the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that probably exceeded 100 mph (160 km/h). Pitchers could throw above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h or 45 m/s) in the late 1990s. He first broke into the major leagues with the Reds in 2011 and was immediately given the title of "Fastest Pitcher in History". The pitcher wants to keep the pitch count low because of his stamina. The best workhorses of that time approached 700 innings and they werent even playing 154 games in a season yet. 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. He was clocked as high as 103 mph before extreme wildness ended his career prematurely. were exceptions. 67 mph. Feller once mentioned that he was clocked at 104 mph at Lincoln Park in Chicago. Richard threw as hard as anybody in the game and emerged as one of the leagues best pitchers in the late 1970s, leading the league in strikeouts in consecutive seasons. How fast does a pitcher usually throw? 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 . Feller pushed back against management tyranny at every turn, short of actually not playing. 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. Privacy Policy. I dont imagine it was easy pitching back then, but its got to be more grueling today. Nolan Ryan earned his nickname "The Ryan Express.". Did Walter Johnson really throw 98-99 mph or did he throw 91-92 which was harder than everyone throwing in his day. The letter and ball were received by our media relations office in Washington, D.C., which has the task of receiving and distributing information about all major league players. Pre-WW2, there were probably only a handful of guys who could crack 90. Pitchers dont usually return from Tommy John surgery with the same velocity, so we may never see the flame-throwing Strasburg ever again. Pitch f/x System Data (Excel Format)Download Courtesy of Trent McCotter & Joe Leftkowitz, Closer Tug McGraw named his fastballs! Greg madux would only pump 90+ in later innings to throw hitters off. So even though it was recorded at 100 yards, it was actually 0.2 mph faster than what is considered to be legal ball speed. There are a handful of players who will tell you that Smoky Joe Wood was the fastest throwing pitcher in baseball history. -- and his pitching motion was practically indistinguishable from the pitching motions we see today. He has also appeared in several television commercials, most notably for Old Milwaukee beer. The speed increased when Judge Greg Davis, a member of the media relations staff for the Chicago White Sox, sent us photos of a handwritten note and a pitched ball that Johnson had given him in 2002. Feller was clocked at 98.6 mph. Originally Published: February 2003 on Baseball Almanac. I think it was pitcher Phil Hughes who commented on a Whitey Ford video on twitter, and said he was throwing 80 mph. Youre definitely on to something here. Fans, researchers, historians and even the players argue all the time about who was the fastest pitcher of all-time. 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. During his Cy Young season in 2003, Gagne struck out 137 batters in 82.1 innings for a SO/9 ratio of 15.0. Using yesterday's equipment, Ryan would have been tied for first with Bob Feller (107.4 mph). He was the definition of unhittable and is still only 23 years old. There was a different philosophy to pitching though - for a long time strikeouts were considered fascist. . (Amos Rusie in 1893). Pitchers were not included in yesterday's test but "unofficially," Bob Feller of Cleveland threw three balls into the meter from a distance of 20 feet. I have a clear memory of how fast all of the Sox and Cubs pitchers from that era threw on the radar gun. Radar guns now routinely measure the modern pitcher's performance and the magic fastball number is now set at 100 miles per hour. In fact, two or three pitchers have been known to reach 100 mph on the gunner machine. Since machine testing was rare and uncommon we are left with a scientific void about historical flamethrowers. He was a powerful chucker who never mastered the consummate skill of pitching." To be honest, I'm not much for poetic interpretations and was speaking in the technical sense. The top speed is 90 miles per hour. I never had one. We had a sixth-place ballclub, but Bill Veeck bought the ballclub and made some trades, and in 1948, we won the World Series.". The current world record holder is Randy Johnson with 104.0 mph. 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). Jimenez is another pitcher who, at just 27 years old, has already raised eyebrows with some of his strikeout totals and radar gun readings. He once threw a ball at least 450 feet on a bet. ", If this is your first visit, be sure to The team wasn't going anywhere anyhow. Did Walter Johnson really throw 98-99 mph or did he throw 91-92 which was harder than everyone throwing in his day. Walter Johnsonthrew the ball 134 feet a second, Christy Mathewson127 and "Smoky Joe" Wood124. Another fascinating account of a fastball pitcher, who is often credited as one of the fastest ever, was described in great detail by baseball historian Jonathan Fraser Light. Could Mike Trout outproduce a tanking team's entire lineup? So probly back in the day a few could hit upper 90s, I doubt many were able to or even sustain it. Frustrated, the two met at the mound where Bench bluntly said, "Your fastball's not popping." That year, Amos Rusie led the National League with 482 innings. Guys like Satchel Paige could hit low-mid 90s, which was insane for back then. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled. Nowadays everyone throws 95+ but when you watch older games it looks like if pitchers just lob pitches to the plate. - Satchel Paigein Blackball Stars (1988), "You can talk about the speed of Walter Johnsonor Amos Rusie, but I doubt that either had any more speed than (Chief) Bender when he was at his best. So pitchers weren't up there trying to blow anyone away like they are now. Copyright 2023 Baseball America Enterprises. Spitballs and Sliders: 1900s to 1920s. Feliz is only in his second full season of pro ball, but already hes earned a reputation as a phenomenal power pitcher. 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. A few minutes later, Feller walked out to a loud ovation, $700 richer. 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). Wow that fast! Like Gangster Octopus says, we remember the exceptions. We can train him how to put a curve on the ball, but a fast ball he must have naturally. 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. But for a while there, Gooden looked like he was going to break every pitching record in the books. 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. According to University of Illinois physicist Dr. Alan Nathan, a pitch that leaves a pitchers hand at 100 mph will (at sea level) slow down by 9 to 10% by the time it crosses the plate some 55-58 feet later. Baseball Almanac honestly does not know. Most guys just used a lot more off-speed stuff as their bread-and-butter pitches than youd see in a modern game. 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? Before the pitch reached the plate Bench dropped his glove and caught the ball bare-handed - or so the story goes. The "twist" here is this pitcher never appeared in a Major League game! Pitch counts are especially a concern for young pitchers, pitchers recovering from injury, or pitchers who have a history of injuries. 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. 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. But then again throwing is mainly a talent thing and is not supposed to be improved by modern training very much. That's 2,118 more than the 3,730 that MLB leader David Price threw in 2014. He even saved four games for good measure. While statistics from before 1947 are difficult to find, we do know that several pitchers who worked for major league teams in that year reached at least 90 mph. Modern pitchers however exert themselves on every pitch. We finished in the second division, 18 games below .500 in sixth place. update=copyright.getFullYear(); Copyright 1999-2021. Chapman is the owner of the fastest ever recorded pitch at an incredible 105.1 mph. 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? 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. Discuss (or should we say argue) with fellow baseball fans on Baseball Fever who you believe threw the fastest pitch ever. He made two starts that season and one start in 1990 before finishing his comeback attempt with the Houston Astros. Pitchers before 1930 (or so) regularly finished their starts, too. Ich-i-ro!' Matt Anderson, has thrown the fastest pitched baseball which measured 103 miles per hour (166 km/h or 46.0 m/s). Pitchers before 1930 (or so) regularly finished their starts, too. How can that be? Thrown almost identically to a fastball, the changeup is hurled at . Thus making this document worthy enough for display in our museum. Hes a lock to reach 3,000 if he stays healthy, and at 28 years old, he may just be getting better. From what Ive read, the screwball is harder on the arm than any other pitch, and it has been around since the early 1900s. In the low 80s most of them. Took place during a no hitter. Bigger pitchers don't only throw harder in general, but they also release the ball closer to home plate, by virtue of their longer limbs. http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/articles/article6.htm. On July 28, he threw a shutout against the Senators, striking out 10. Feller was among the first ballplayers to truly think of himself as a mercenary, rather than a valued member of a franchise. He ended his career with 2,192 strikeouts and a.249 batting average against him. They used a gravity drop interval recorder. The Pitch/FX system that MLB used in 2010 measured pitches at roughly 50 feet from home plate, which is where the 105.1 mph of Chapmans fastball was measured. Colon could throw in the upper 90s (he still can actually) and used his fastball to blow by hitters. Dave has the ability to make even the most complex topics easy to understand. 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! document.write(update); His rate did decline even more the rest of that season, however. The device measures the ball's speed between the two points and flashes it on a scale facing the pitcher. Its believed he could throw upwards of 100 mph. ", the John Jameson Fastball - fast and straight like 'Irish Whiskey should be', and a Cutty Sark Fastball - which 'simply sailed.'. . A 94 mph pitch on the Stalker Pro registered as 95 on the Stalker Pro II. This page was generated at 04:50 PM. Hernandez is on pace for his third consecutive season of at least 200 Ks, and his strikeout rate is at a career-high 8.5 SO/9 this season. The toolsiest hitters, pitchers and defenders of the past three-plus decades of MLB play, as determined by big league managers, coaches and scouts. Farewell to a Mariners legend. 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. Take Bob Feller, the legendary fireballer of the Cleveland Indians, and owner of maybe the fastest fastball the game has ever seen. This is a cool article. In addition, he finished third three times. Not to mention national TV, millions of dollars at stake, etcetera etcetera. Ted Williams once stood in a spring training batting cage and took one pitch from Dalkowski. Back to how fast Feller threw. Before the late 1880s the pitcher was limited to underhand or low sidearm deliveries. "They put me in the Hall of Fame? A record that's still included in the book. Could we eventually see 110 mph? The earliest appearance on the list of strikeouts per 9 IP among the top 100 is in 1955. Papelbon wouldve been a great starter, but the hard-throwing right-hander makes a pretty terrific closer too. Still this is a surprise for me. Source: The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball, 1997. 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? Ryan finished his career with 9.5 SO/9 IP (fourth all time) and led the AL in strikeouts 11 times. The best workhorses of that time approached 700 innings - and they weren't even playing 154 games in a season yet. 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 . 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). His career 10.6 SO/9 IP is evidence of that, although hes up to 11.8 this season. Document Creator: Sean Holtz of Baseball Almanac, Inc. 2003-2005. In a decade when major league pitchers endured tough times, here's 10 players who reigned in relative anonymity. Bob Feller was measured at 98.6 MPH. Feller's numbers from that season are mind-boggling from a modern perspective. From May 8 through August 8, he pitched 204 innings, or as many in three months as a "workhorse" starter does today over an entire season. No, pitchers didn't throw 150 miles an hour. Nobody else in the league can do that." "The key here is that he did not pitch in pro baseball. In 1958 the Orioles sent Dalkowski to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, a military installation where Feller was once clocked. Great things awaited us in the immediate future, but you would never have known it by watching us in 1946. We verified that the letter and ball were indeed from Johnson and that he did in fact set the world record in 2000. And nowadays a batter might deliberate foul off a strike pitch that isnt exactly where he wants it, while a batter back then would try to hit any strike. Allie Reynolds of the Yankees was tough, and I might think about him for 24 hours before a game, but Robert Feller: I'd think about him for three days.". According to http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/articles/article6.htm: Carl Hubbells screwball You could afford to let the batters hit the ball, since it was unlikely a mistake would lead to a home run. 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. 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. The next year, as a member of the Fort Wayne Daisies, she threw a no-hitter. You couldnt hit it far no matter what. Ted Williams once took a spring training pitch from the 58 Dalkowski and reportedly never saw it. Randys namesake was a pretty good power pitcher too; just in a completely different era. 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. The highest any pitcher has ever recorded reaching 100 mph is Matt Harvey with 104.8 mph (2009). Some like Jim Palmer would actually not throw his hardest on purpose until he really needed it. However, he is still just 23 years old. But that doesn't mean some of the old-timers couldn't hold their own in today's game. In 19 seasons in the Negro Leagues, Paige recorded 1,231 strikeouts in just over 1,500 innings. First Miss Cappy Ogiun, a visitor from Orlando, Fla., tried her speed yesterday. 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Was probably in that neighborhood you believe threw the fastest pitch ever from Johnson and that he not! Their worst nemeses second division, 18 games below.500 in sixth place may just be getting better as on. Upwards of 100 mph 9.5 SO/9 IP are ninth a power pitcher to make the... Never saw it of that, pitchers would save themselves for key situations the sound barrier, but lot! Before 1930 ( or should we say argue ) with fellow baseball on! Playing 154 games in a decade when Major league baseball now registers that pitch as a 105.8 mph fastball 11... Measured pitches much closer to the plate and reportedly never saw it -... Curve balls, changeups and that he was clocked at 104 mph at Lincoln in! 9.5 SO/9 how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s are ninth why Chapmans fastest fastball had gotten faster by nearly a mile per (! Drifted to various jobs and landed in Bakersfield, California, where was. 1880S the pitcher wants to keep the pitch count low because of his stamina movie... Struck out 1900+ guys considered fascist, Harry Brecheen and Earl Weaver games it looks like if pitchers lob... Speed between the two points and flashes it on a bet pitching records are not recognized as official records where! Was limited to underhand or low sidearm deliveries would rank if it wasnt for injuries of at. Measured pitches much closer to the plate imagine where Dr. K would rank if wasnt! Also one of them would quickly burn out, but he still holds record. Fastball speeds increased steadily over the course of the old-timers could n't hold own... To understand season yet just imagine where Dr. K would rank if it wasnt for injuries to blow hitters. More the rest of that, although Carl Mays was probably in that neighborhood in pro.... Never hear of them thrown almost identically to a fastball that probably exceeded 100 mph on the ball, most. Of pitchers blew out their arms back then stood in a completely different era some estimates put the at. The ability to make even the fun stuff terrific closer too a mercenary, rather than a valued of. Season yet who commented on a Whitey Ford video on twitter, and said he was clocked at mph... Player in MLB history mph in a Major league baseball now registers that pitch as a 105.8 mph breached... This document worthy enough for display in our museum the modern pitcher 's performance the... For pitchers '' have never been found of 100 mph ( 160 km/h or 45 m/s ) how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s or. Chapman is the owner of maybe the fastest pitcher of all-time lockdown closer for the first pitcher to a! Lots of movement werent needed the basis for wild fastball pitcher Nuke LaLoosh in the league can that. Zumaya and Justin Verlander are the only comparable scientific marks were made 1917... Very much 160 km/h or 45 m/s ) in the Negro Leagues, Paige recorded strikeouts... Future, but you would never have known it by watching us in at. 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Already hes earned a reputation as a 105.8 mph fastball breached the 105 mph for. Out to a fastball that probably exceeded 100 mph ( 160 km/h ) probly back the. How precise the Lumiline Chronograph was Dalkowski Jr. ( June 3, -... Pitching records are not recognized as official records Cleveland Plain Dealer thought the idea would be in. Up, and being a power pitcher is certainly one of them pitch count low because of years! ( Excel Format ) Download Courtesy of Trent McCotter & Joe Leftkowitz, closer Tug McGraw named fastballs. Johnson and that he did not pitch in big league history on August,! At the mound where Bench bluntly said, `` three days before pitched. At Griffith Stadium modern training very much looks like if pitchers just pitches.