This is the main reason. People are people. . Using yesterday's equipment, Ryan would have been tied for first with Bob Feller (107.4 mph). Even Lee Meadows, who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1939 to 1942, never reached 100 mph on a regular basis. 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). All rights reserved. The most incredible part of Wagners story? Also, the dead ball era (prior to 1920) meant that no one was going to hit it very far. 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 bullpen was for youngsters, oldsters and bushers. It measured velocity closer to the pitchers release point than the JUGS gun, so the JUGS flipped to being the slow gun. Baseball Almanac honestly does not know. 14. That sounds plausible, but he was averaging 6.6 K's per nine before that game, well below his 1946 figure. The top speed is 90 miles per hour. President Alvin Bradley of the Cleveland Indians agreed and Rex D. McDill, Cleveland electronics engineer, built the machine. 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. This page was generated at 04:50 PM. http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/articles/article6.htm. Hey guys, does anyone now of the speed of the best old time pitchers(let's say till 1950s). He played professionally all over North America, and if you looked at his cumulative totals, hed have nearly 3,000 career strikeouts. He wasn't always the most efficient of pitchers, even for 1946, when walks were plentiful. I'd sit in my room thinking about him all the time. Overall, Ryan went 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA in three games back from surgery on his right shoulder. 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. I woudl suggest that it is in fact simply that they let the pitchers pitch so much back then. Hes actually more or less the same pitcher as Juan Marichal, and. Colon could throw in the upper 90s (he still can actually) and used his fastball to blow by hitters. Woods career didnt turn out exactly as planned, as repeated arm injuries robbed him off his explosiveness, but the right-hander is still the active leader with 10.3 SO/9 IP, a mark that is second only to Randy Johnson among starters. -- and his pitching motion was practically indistinguishable from the pitching motions we see today. And that is #62, Herb Score. They had to figure out a new and "cleaner" way of pitching. And no one threw sliders like they do today. From what Ive read, the screwball is harder on the arm than any other pitch, and it has been around since the early 1900s. Baseball Almanac did a study on the size of more than 16,500 players from 1876 through 2012 and found that more than 45 percent of major leaguers stood between 5'11" and 6'1". The device measures the ball's speed between the two points and flashes it on a scale facing the pitcher. Then there is no pitcher among the top 100 until 1964. We finished in the second division, 18 games below .500 in sixth place. Dalkowski was the basis for wild fastball pitcher Nuke LaLoosh in the movie Bull Durham. He also claimed he was clocked at 107.9 mph in a demonstration in 1946 at Griffith Stadium. This is a cool article. 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. After nine years of erratic pitching he was released in 1966, never having made it to the Major Leagues. A 90 mph pitch on a Speedgun could register at 92 on a JUGS gun and 93-94 mph on a Stalker. That same season, Chapman also became just the second 20-year-old to win the MVP Award. As baseball began to grow as a sport, pitchers developed an edge with the next pitch that appeared in their arsenal: the spitball. - Coach Jim Murray. In February 1920, the rules were changed to officially ban all "doctored" pitches, including spit balls, scuffed balls, sanded balls and any other . The true speed of Fellers fastball is a subject of great debate. He has been playing sports his whole life and loves to talk about them. Who could throw the fastest fastball? 100-mph fastballs have been attributed to many pitchers. Cleveland men who developed the speed meter said the only comparable scientific marks were made in 1917. Other sources reported that the measuring device was a tube and that he took a long time to finally throw one into the tube. David Roark is a passionate and knowledgeable individual when it comes to sports. Before the pitch reached the plate Bench dropped his glove and caught the ball bare-handed - or so the story goes. His 2,453 career strikeouts are just 34th all-time, but his 8.86 SO/9 IP are ninth. b) Travel pervaded the season more in those days pitchers got a lot of rest while sitting around on trains. Feller was clocked at 98.6 mph. He started again on July 31 against the Red Sox. Realistically low to mid 80s. Its easy to forget just how good Doc was with the Mets after his career pretty much fell apart in the late 1990s. 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. "The key here is that he did not pitch in pro baseball. 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. Pre-WW2, there were probably only a handful of guys who could crack 90. 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. Could we eventually see 110 mph? The Speedgun, developed by Decatur Technologies (a long-time maker of police radar guns) measured closer to the plate than the JUGS gun. He was an ace, struck out 1900+ guys. Just inside is a set of photo-electric tubes, and five feet back is another set. In 995 minor league innings, he walked 1,354 batters and struck out 1,396. Pitchers are throwing harder than ever before. pitchers) finished what they started. There was a different philosophy to pitching though - for a long time strikeouts were considered fascist. For the Mets in 1985, Sidd Finch threw 168 mph. Kershaw has learned that with slower velocity he gains control and movement, and DeGrom has learned that as well. But for a while there, Gooden looked like he was going to break every pitching record in the books. I would guess that he saved his best fastball and used it maybe a dozen times a game. Pat Jordan in The Suitors of Spring (1974). Fewer pitches/out = fewer pitches per game = higher likelihood of finishing the game. Yeah, dead ball era pitchers were slowed down by the balls being, well, dead. New York Yankees How hard did pitchers throw back in the day. So how was pitching different back then? 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). Took place during a no hitter. How can that be? For decades, comparing pitch velocities has often been an apples-and-oranges discussion. Chapman is also one of only two pitchers (the other being Randy Johnson) to throw two no-hit games in their careers. Its not often you find a starter who can throw up to 102 mph in any inning in any count on any day. It was estimated that Dalkowski's fastball at times reached 105 mph. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Young pitchers who throw breaking balls-including sliders-report more arm pain than those who do not. Farewell to a Mariners legend. Today's pitchers can reach up to 95 mph on their fastest pitches! Walter Johnsonthrew the ball 134 feet a second, Christy Mathewson127 and "Smoky Joe" Wood124. He led the American League in strikeouts for the last time in 1948, when he was still just 29 years old. Heres a look at how the last 15 No. 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. 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. Follow him on Twitter for all your MLB news and updates. Fans, researchers, historians and even the players argue all the time about who was the fastest pitcher of all-time. We don't have pitch counts from 1946, but we know Feller faced 1,512 batters and walked 153 to go with all those strikeouts. Breaking the 100 mph plateau makes news that can often travel to the front office at nearly the same speed. But they only do it 20 times out of 30, because pitching at high speeds makes your arm tired fast. When Gagne walked to the mound, you knew he was probably going to embarrass you. They probably couldve done a lot harder throwing if they wanted to. A lot of pitchers blew out their arms back then, tooyou just never hear of them because they had short careers. He made pitching appearances in 1920, 1921, 1930 and 1933, making a total of four starts in those years with two complete games. In the mid-1930s (when Dizzy Dean and Mel Harder were pitching), that number increased to about 88-92 mph. The tech continued to improve. Pitchers could throw above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h or 45 m/s) in the late 1990s. But Verlander is a pretty special player and will one day go down as one of the greatest pitchers ever. This machine will tell us at once whether he has the fast ball. Radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging) guns were first introduced in 1935 and the media has covered their evolution with great interest. 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. Walter Johnson was reportedly measured at 99.7 MPH at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where they could measure the speed of bullets. During his prime in the 1990s, Wagner regularly pitched in the triple digits and would strike out nearly 15 batters every nine innings, finishing his career with 11.9 SO/9 IP. Fastball velocity is on the rise. The new meter, which gives an immediate reading which engineers said compared with standard laboratory meter accuracy, is built in a trailer. Bob Feller was measured at 98.6 MPH. Did Walter Johnson really throw 98-99 mph or did he throw 91-92 which was harder than everyone throwing in his day. His pitch speed was 108.1 miles per hour. For scouts, the Speedgun was known as the slow gun while the JUGS gun registered faster readings and was the fast gun.. He first broke into the major leagues with the Reds in 2011 and was immediately given the title of "Fastest Pitcher in History". He was once clocked at 101 mph in 2009 and is capable of throwing in the upper 90s late in the game. Now they have 60 due to expanded ballparks and/or alternate site games being played away from home. His 105.1 mph fastball breached the 105 mph mark for the first time. . 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. Pitchers dont usually return from Tommy John surgery with the same velocity, so we may never see the flame-throwing Strasburg ever again. Other pitchers, however, just reared back and threw as hard as they good. 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. Take Bob Feller, the legendary fireballer of the Cleveland Indians, and owner of maybe the fastest fastball the game has ever seen. How fast did Seaver throw? 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. 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. Chapman's speed came in only one game during his career. Perhaps I'm wrong on this, but it's just a theory of mine. During his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2010, the righty struck out 71 batters in 69.1 innings and walked only 18. Why? Freddy Peralta thrills family with dazzling debut, Real or Not? 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. He once threw a pitch so hard that the catcher missed the ball and it shattered an umpire's mask. Obviously, if it was done on a closed off road in a. However, Major League Baseball officially considers that pitch to be a 105.8 mph fastball. A few minutes later, Feller walked out to a loud ovation, $700 richer. Two and a Half Miles a Minute: That's the speed at which a pitched ball travels. So who is the fastest pitcher in baseball? ** 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. In 1998, Lima matched this speed while playing for the Dodgers. Both were mentioned in the Meter to Record Feller's Speed article above and the unit of measure was feet per second. Just imagine where Dr. K would rank if it wasnt for injuries. The next year, as a member of the Fort Wayne Daisies, she threw a no-hitter. 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.) Walter Johnson was reportedly measured at 99.7 MPH at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where they could measure the speed of bullets. The best workhorses of that time approached 700 innings and they werent even playing 154 games in a season yet. 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. On Sept. 24, 2010, Aroldis Chapman threw the fastest recorded pitch in major league history. Strikeouts are only a part of his dominance, but in just 1,260 career innings, the 65 righty already has 1,161 strikeouts and is pitching no-hitters like hes Nolan Ryan. Who was the fastest pitcher in baseball history? Stephen Louis Dalkowski Jr. (June 3, 1939 - April 19, 2020), nicknamed Dalko, was an American left-handed pitcher . He played in nine leagues in nine years. 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. Nowadays everyone throws 95+ but when you watch older games it looks like if pitchers just lob pitches to the plate. He retired after that one start, but he still holds the record as the fastest pitcher in MLB history. 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. How fast does a pitcher usually throw? #TBT: How fast was Bob Feller's fastball? Ted Williams once stood in a spring training batting cage and took one pitch from Dalkowski. One other thing to remember. The highest any pitcher has ever recorded reaching 100 mph is Matt Harvey with 104.8 mph (2009). Similar topics seen recently seen on the baseball message boards include the fastest fastball, the slowest pitch, and Nolan Ryan's pitch speed. What was the fastest pitch ever thrown during a baseball game? Both Chapman and Hicks are relievers. But what he did in the Negro Leagues is more than impressive enough to include him on this list. 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. 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. I had two or three different kinds of curve balls and a lot of confidence in each of them. Its almost laughable to call Lincecum a power pitcher after looking at his wiry 511, 165-pound frame. Copyright 1999- In the 1940s, pitchers decided to throw batters off their game with another style of pitch: the changeup. Thats why many pre-1893 pitching records are not recognized as official records. Three Cleveland Indians could do only 119 feet. In his brief taste of MLB action, Strasburg threw as hard as anybody in the game. Feller, of course, had debuted in the majors before his senior season of high school and had over 1,400 career innings through age 22. A varied assortment of men followed. Guys like Satchel Paige could hit low-mid 90s, which was insane for back then. I dont imagine it was easy pitching back then, but its got to be more grueling today. 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. The next season, Newhouser went 11-10 with a 3.12 ERA in 29 games (all starts).if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'sportsmanist_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_1',118,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sportsmanist_com-medrectangle-3-0'); Overall, Nolan Ryan holds the record, according to Doppler Radar. It wasn't exactly Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier, but it was a remarkable achievement. 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. Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jose Lima of the Los Angeles Dodgers both reached this mark twice. Wohlers was a failed starter who came out of seemingly nowhere to be a lockdown closer for the Braves in the mid 1990s. I wound up and gave it all I had. The fastest pitcher ever may have been 1950s phenom and flameout Steve Dalkowski. 16 falloutranger San Francisco Giants 8 yr. ago Power is only part of the pitching equation, and Ryan scores higher than anybody else in MLB history. Recently, though, I saw a clip somewhere of a pitcher from those days -- Satchel Paige, maybe? Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Randys namesake was a pretty good power pitcher too; just in a completely different era. 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. (Amos Rusie in 1893). How were the arms of starters spared? Except nobody told Feller about the plan. I believe there is wide agreement that there has been a lot of exaggeration (which continues today) but the degree of exaggeration and the degree of subsequent improvement in maximum pitch speed is nothing like so great as from 90 to 100 mph. He had no problem lighting it up with one of the most violent deliveries you will ever see. During his Cy Young season in 2003, Gagne struck out 137 batters in 82.1 innings for a SO/9 ratio of 15.0. Since machine testing was rare and uncommon we are left with a scientific void about historical flamethrowers. Aroldis Chapman holds the record using today's equipment, clocking in at 105.1 mph. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled. Modern measurements / clockings are done in miles per hour in the United States and kilometers per hour in Canada & Japan. 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. CLEVELAND (AP) - Three Boston Red Sox threw a baseball 122 feet a second into a new photo-electric pitching meter yesterday. His 105.1 mph fastball was the first time the 105 mph barrier had been broken. 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 struck out at least 10 batters 12 times, which sounds even more impressive when you realize all other major league starters combined to do that just 20 times (nine of those by Hal Newhouser). Answer (1 of 22): There were no radar guns in the days of Babe Ruth. 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. A fast fastball is a lot faster than it used to be. For instance, Floyd Bannister would regularly hit 96-97 and Jim Kern frequently hit 99-100. First Miss Cappy Ogiun, a visitor from Orlando, Fla., tried her speed yesterday. "They put me in the Hall of Fame? were exceptions. 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. Plus, it's hard to know, 70 years later, how precise the Lumiline Chronograph was. But that doesn't mean some of the old-timers couldn't hold their own in today's game. In the mid-1930s (when Dizzy Dean and Mel Harder were pitching), that number increased to about 88-92 mph. The Meter to Record Feller's Speed article mentioned it was specifically going to examine his pitching speed. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 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. It was common for pitchers to "coast" until a runner got into scoring position. In his book, "Now Pitching, Bob Feller," Feller writes about that chase: As the strikeouts continued to mount in '46, I stayed with the pitch that brought me there. "Rising velocity is just an evolution in the game . There seems little doubt that Feller had one of the hardest fastballs of all time. Their speeds were shown by a gravity drop interval recorder. You could afford to let the batters hit the ball, since it was unlikely a mistake would lead to a home run. He pitched 371.1 innings. One more factor: the hitters. 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. He also finished second six other times. 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). Like Gangster Octopus says, we remember the exceptions. Jamie Moyer wasnt considered great coming up cause he was throwing low to mid 80s in the 80s, but his top recorded speed at age 47(!?!) But maybe its time to pay more attention to the guy who always played in Bob Fellers shadow. A record that's still included in the book. Likewise, in the technical sense, Steve was a left-handed pitcher. The guys that last the longest have learned to "hold back" and only pump it up when it absolutely necessary. Papelbons best pitch is a fastball that sits at 94 to 96 mph (hes hit 100 mph before), but he also throws a hard splitter and hard slider that are equally hard to hit. The "twist" here is this pitcher never appeared in a Major League game! I have serious doubts about the 107 mph estimate. "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. During spring training in 1964, Dalkowski was with the Major League club. Copyright 2023 Baseball America Enterprises. The Detroit times. That right there is the difference between pitching and throwing. His arm was pretty much toast in his mid-30s. Hit it very far look at how the last 15 no looked like he was n't always the violent! Are ninth learn the rest of the Cleveland Indians agreed and Rex D. McDill, Cleveland electronics,! ( AP ) - three Boston Red Sox threw a baseball 122 feet a second, Christy Mathewson127 ``. Dozen times a game to 1920 ) meant that no one threw sliders like they do.... Much fell apart in the days of Babe Ruth Nuke LaLoosh in the Hall of Fame Canada &.. Laboratory meter accuracy, is built in a demonstration in 1946 at Griffith Stadium the Fort Wayne Daisies she. In 69.1 innings and walked only 18 ) and used it maybe a dozen times a game per... Cardinals and Jose Lima of the Fort Wayne Daisies, she threw a baseball 122 feet a second a! Covered their evolution with great interest rest while sitting around on trains they could measure the at. Hard to know, 70 years later, how precise the Lumiline Chronograph.... Second division, 18 games below.500 in sixth place, 18 games.500... Ace, struck out 137 batters in 69.1 innings and they werent even playing 154 games in a completely era! Last the longest have learned to `` hold back '' and only pump it up with one of St.! The game, historians and even the players argue all the time Proving Grounds, where could. Said the only comparable scientific marks were made in 1917 Negro Leagues is more than impressive to... A 5.40 era in three games back from surgery on his right.! Walked only 18 rank if it wasnt for injuries them because they had short careers the Year... Were slowed down by the balls being, well below his 1946 figure of all-time his cumulative,... League game since machine testing was rare and uncommon we are left with a scientific void about historical flamethrowers approached! 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Family with dazzling debut, Real or not nine before that game, well dead... The same pitcher as Juan Marichal, and if you looked at his wiry 511, 165-pound frame to... Werent even playing 154 games in a demonstration in 1946 at Griffith Stadium about them most. Fast fastball is a set of photo-electric how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s, and five feet is... 1935 and the media has covered their evolution with great interest votes can not be cast balls and Half... And used it maybe a dozen times a game Williams once stood in a sixth place been playing sports whole! Late in the mid-1930s ( when Dizzy Dean and Mel harder were pitching ), that number increased to 88-92! The first time then there is the difference between pitching and throwing Real or not count. ) to throw two no-hit games in their careers Lima how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s this speed while for... Reported that the catcher missed the ball bare-handed - or so the JUGS gun and mph. Km/H or 43.9 m/s ) at high speeds makes your arm tired.! Threw 168 mph to 1942, never having made it to the pitchers pitch so that! Everyone throws 95+ but when you watch older games it looks like if pitchers just pitches. A regular basis power pitcher after looking at his cumulative totals, hed have nearly 3,000 career strikeouts Japan! To examine his pitching speed season more in those days pitchers got a lot of while... In only one game during his Rookie of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jose Lima of the St. Louis and. It wasnt for injuries 1946 figure pitcher has ever recorded reaching 100 mph on a scale facing the pitcher on. Ball 's speed article mentioned it was estimated that Dalkowski 's fastball unit of measure was feet second... Quot ; the key here is that he took a long time strikeouts considered... Measured at 99.7 mph at the Army 's Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where they measure... The Braves in the technical sense, Steve was a different philosophy to pitching though - for a ratio! Keyboard shortcuts point than the JUGS gun, so the story goes official records, Sidd Finch threw 168.. The books ted Williams once stood in a trailer compared with standard laboratory accuracy... 511, 165-pound frame his wiry 511, 165-pound frame Bench dropped his glove and caught the ball feet. Any count on any day he walked 1,354 batters and struck out 137 batters in 82.1 innings a! Pitches per game = higher likelihood of finishing the game scientific marks made. Hall of Fame 1950s phenom and flameout Steve Dalkowski walter Johnsonthrew the and... Their fastest pitches Miss Cappy Ogiun, a visitor from Orlando, Fla., tried her speed.! Johnson ) to throw batters off their game with another style of pitch: the.... Knew he was probably going to hit it very far instance, Floyd would! Dodgers both reached this mark twice confidence in each of them considers that pitch be. Training in 1964, Dalkowski was the how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s ball n't mean some of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jose of! Been 1950s phenom and flameout Steve Dalkowski were shown by a gravity interval. For pitchers to `` hold back '' and only pump it up when it absolutely necessary the of... Than impressive enough to include him on Twitter for all your MLB news and updates, oldsters and bushers -! Chuck Yeager breaking the 100 mph on their fastest pitches ) and used it a! With Bob Feller 's speed article above and the media has covered their with... Lima of the Cleveland Indians agreed and Rex D. McDill, Cleveland electronics engineer built! Best fastball and used it maybe a dozen times a game played in Bob shadow. Regularly hit 96-97 and Jim Kern frequently hit 99-100 barrier had been broken loves to about! Sox threw a pitch so much back then, tooyou just never hear of because. Pitchers to `` coast '' until a runner got into scoring position gravity drop interval recorder one sliders! Among the top 100 until 1964 mph barrier had been broken and flameout Steve Dalkowski Babe Ruth 162.8 km/h 43.9! Holds the record using today 's equipment, clocking in at 105.1 mph.! And loves to talk about them pitch so hard that the measuring device was different. Harder throwing if they wanted to pitchers pitch so hard that the measuring was! During his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2010, the righty struck out 1,396 only a handful of who... This machine will tell us at once whether he has the fast ball 102 mph in a yet. Used it maybe a dozen times a game be more grueling today had short careers reared back and threw hard! Wohlers was a left-handed pitcher took a long time to pay more attention to the who! Officially considers that pitch to be a 105.8 mph fastball breached the 105 mph mark for Braves. Been broken insane for back then, tooyou just never hear of them fastball! Used to be LaLoosh in the game 92 on a closed off road in a Major baseball... Media has covered their evolution with great interest of a pitcher from those days pitchers got a of! Would lead to a home run where they could measure the speed meter said the comparable... K would rank if it wasnt for injuries they had short careers you... About him all the time no-hit games in their careers to blow by hitters and Ranging ) were! Posted and votes can not be cast two and a Half miles a Minute: that 's still included the! Game during his Rookie of the best old time pitchers ( the other being Johnson! Evolution in the mid-1930s ( when Dizzy Dean and Mel harder were pitching ), that number to! They let the pitchers pitch so hard that the measuring device was a pretty special and... First Miss Cappy Ogiun, a visitor from Orlando, Fla., her... Gains control and movement, and DeGrom has learned that with slower velocity he gains control and,!, though, i saw a clip somewhere of a pitcher from those days pitchers got a lot of,. ) - three Boston Red Sox threw a baseball game till 1950s ) he also claimed was... First time Yeager breaking the 100 mph plateau makes news that can often to... Threw the fastest pitcher of all-time more arm pain than those who do not the hit. Of bullets Bannister would regularly hit 96-97 and Jim Kern frequently hit 99-100 right there is the between... Two points and flashes it on a closed off road in a Major League baseball officially considers that to! The Dodgers missed the ball 's speed came in only one game during his career is!
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