He played in nine leagues in nine years. Tom House, the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers, was once asked if anyone would ever be able to throw harder than Nolan Ryan. and our I pitched a no-hitter in Yankee Stadium. I set my sights on the number 343 and went into every game the rest of the season with two goals always in mind: win the game, and strike out as many as I can. 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. "That was my best year," he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2006. The historical record suggests Feller paid a price for that record chase. This is the main reason. I dont imagine it was easy pitching back then, but its got to be more grueling today. 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. It measured velocity closer to the pitchers release point than the JUGS gun, so the JUGS flipped to being the slow gun. We can train him how to put a curve on the ball, but a fast ball he must have naturally. I wound up and gave it all I had. Both Chapman and Hicks are relievers. Discuss (or should we say argue) with fellow baseball fans on Baseball Fever who you believe threw the fastest pitch ever. His career 11.5 SO/9 rate is still among the best all-time, but the strike zone continues to elude the oversized righty. document.write(update); Bob Feller had his fastball tested by the army at 98.6 mph. At the Aberdeen Proving Grounds he was measured using the ever-popular speeding motorcycle test, once used in 1914 with Walter Johnson who reached 99.7 mph, and Feller reached 98.6 mph. Could a 108 mph fastball soon be in the future? Bob Feller was measured at 98.6 MPH. 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. 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. His 10.0 SO/9 IP during his career would be fourth all-time if the righty threw more innings. 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. Often a starting pitcher will be removed from the . But maybe its time to pay more attention to the guy who always played in Bob Fellers shadow. There were freak arms throughout history. I thought that even the top power pitchers of the 1920s and '30s -- again, before Feller -- topped out around 90 miles an hour. John A. Crawford of the Cleveland Plain Dealer thought the idea would be useful in selection of pitching and other talents. I would guess that he saved his best fastball and used it maybe a dozen times a game. Pitchers dont usually return from Tommy John surgery with the same velocity, so we may never see the flame-throwing Strasburg ever again. I'd sit in my room thinking about him all the time. On Sept. 24, 2010, Aroldis Chapman threw the fastest recorded pitch in major league history. Are there measurements or estimations? Obviously, if it was done on a closed off road in a. Up until 10 years ago, people werent just trying to throw gas. Red Sox bullpen's tightrope act will wear thin, Real or not? 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. He made pitching appearances in 1920, 1921, 1930 and 1933, making a total of four starts in those years with two complete games. Walter Johnson, often cited as the fastest throwing pitcher in Major League history by experts, believed that Wood was faster than himself and once said, "Mister, no man alive can throw a baseball harder than Joe Wood." "I won the All-Star Game in Boston. On the other hand, it's also possible that Feller didn't throw as hard in 1946 as he did in 1938 or 1939. A 90 mph pitch on a Speedgun could register at 92 on a JUGS gun and 93-94 mph on a Stalker. One other thing to remember. Young pitchers who throw breaking balls-including sliders-report more arm pain than those who do not. 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. During his Cy Young season in 2003, Gagne struck out 137 batters in 82.1 innings for a SO/9 ratio of 15.0. Ryan finished his career with 9.5 SO/9 IP (fourth all time) and led the AL in strikeouts 11 times. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled. I don't know of any underhand pitcher who can throw 90, although Carl Mays was probably in that neighborhood. I had two or three different kinds of curve balls and a lot of confidence in each of them. Aroldis Chapman holds the record using today's equipment, clocking in at 105.1 mph. So how was pitching different back then? The best mark he recorded was 119 feet. The next year, as a member of the Fort Wayne Daisies, she threw a no-hitter. Radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging) guns were first introduced in 1935 and the media has covered their evolution with great interest. So how fast was Feller? Guys that make it back that had crazy control. He went after hitters and didnt give them an inch of room at the plate. 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. The average fastball speed for all 75 or so starting pitchers from, say, 1927 would be approximately 80-86 mph. Perhaps I'm wrong on this, but it's just a theory of mine. 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. b) Travel pervaded the season more in those days pitchers got a lot of rest while sitting around on trains. Most guys just used a lot more off-speed stuff as their bread-and-butter pitches than youd see in a modern game. 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. When Gagne walked to the mound, you knew he was probably going to embarrass you. Why? 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. They had to figure out a new and "cleaner" way of pitching. Hes naturally right-handed. Walter Johnson did not throw 99 mph for 370 innings in 1910. He once threw a pitch so hard that the catcher missed the ball and it shattered an umpire's mask. Feller was clocked at 98.6 mph. Feller was going for Rube Waddell's American League strikeout record of 343. In February 1920, the rules were changed to officially ban all "doctored" pitches, including spit balls, scuffed balls, sanded balls and any other . 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. His 105.1 mph fastball was the first time the 105 mph barrier had been broken. Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers, Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink. And no one threw sliders like they do today. are especially hard on the arm. Now, youre expected to throw your best the entire game. Who was the first pitcher to throw 100 mph? But that doesn't mean some of the old-timers couldn't hold their own in today's game. Lee's career ERA was 2.25, and she was known for throwing a wicked knuckleball. Mathewson et al. Back in the 1880s-90s, these guys threw over 400 innings a season with regularity. He didn't even have the highest strikeout rate in the league in 1946; that belonged to Newhouser, who struck out 8.46 batters per nine innings compared to Feller's 8.44. The bullpen was for youngsters, oldsters and bushers. I am scertain that most pitchers probably had shortened carrers because of the overuse, but the exceptions stick out in historythe Cy Younsg, Gorver Cleveland Alexanders and Walter Johnsons. In 1987, McGwire set the record when he threw his fastball at 101.4 miles per hour (162.8 km/h or 43.9 m/s). http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/articles/article6.htm. 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. The pitcher wants to keep the pitch count low because of his stamina. To go along with his 714 home runs, Ruth ultimately retired with. 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. Oh, that's not what we were talking about? The average speed of a fastball in the MLB is. 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. Yeah, dead ball era pitchers were slowed down by the balls being, well, dead. In 1947, his K's per 9 dropped from 8.4 to 5.9 (although that still led the league). 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. He was loyal to the Indians, but only because they paid him. Using yesterday's equipment, Ryan would have been tied for first with Bob Feller (107.4 mph). Document Creator: Sean Holtz of Baseball Almanac, Inc. 2003-2005. I suspect that Satchel Paige and Lefty Grove and Dazzy Vance topped out in the low or middle 90s, which was frightening then and would be enough to keep them gainfully employed now. 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. During spring training in 1964, Dalkowski was with the Major League club. Except nobody told Feller about the plan. He retired after that one start, but he still holds the record as the fastest pitcher in MLB history. But nobody asked him to throw into the Lumiline Chronograph. Guys like Satchel Paige could hit low-mid 90s, which was insane for back then. Feller once mentioned that he was clocked at 104 mph at Lincoln Park in Chicago. I would assume Ford threw in the mid-high 80s, topping out around 90. 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." Radar guns now routinely measure the modern pitcher's performance and the magic fastball number is now set at 100 miles per hour. They used a gravity drop interval recorder. Matt Anderson, has thrown the fastest pitched baseball which measured 103 miles per hour (166 km/h or 46.0 m/s). Heres a look at how the last 15 No. King Felix is different from most guys on this list in that his off-speed stuff is just as good as his power stuff, if not better. I reached 261 in 320.1 innings, but I reached 262 in only 260.2 innings. I have serious doubts about the 107 mph estimate. Mookie Betts is playing like an MVP again, Real or Not? Bob slept well that night. 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. Broxton hasnt been good in about three years, and his fastball has lost more than a little bit of zip, but as recently as 2008 or 2009, Broxton threw as hard as any Dodgers pitcher since, well, Eric Gagne. Matt Anderson threw the fastest baseball ever, measuring 103 miles per hour (166 km/h or 46.0 m/s). Feller won 4-1, striking out five to get his record. Real or Not? 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? 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