But just because the third strike often eluded Gibson, doesnt mean that the Hall of Famer didnt throw hard. The next year, as a member of the Fort Wayne Daisies, she threw a no-hitter. He didn't even have the . Stephen Louis Dalkowski Jr. (June 3, 1939 - April 19, 2020), nicknamed Dalko, was an American left-handed pitcher. Dalkowski was not physically imposing, standing only 5'8" and wearing thick glasses. The Baby Braves might be ready ahead of schedule, Real or Not? ", If this is your first visit, be sure to Pitch f/x System Data (Excel Format)Download Courtesy of Trent McCotter & Joe Leftkowitz, Closer Tug McGraw named his fastballs! The fastest pitcher ever may have been 1950s phenom and flameout Steve Dalkowski. Fans, researchers, historians and even the players argue all the time about who was the fastest pitcher of all-time. 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. But nobody asked him to throw into the Lumiline Chronograph. Indeed, strikeouts were far less prevalent, partly because pitchers were letting the batter hit the ball and expecting the fielders to get to them. Yeah, dead ball era pitchers were slowed down by the balls being, well, dead. Pitching for the Tigers: Newhouser, who had 26 wins. Maloney delivered. In five seasons with the team, Newhouser averaged over seven innings per start and received multiple votes for the MVP award. Joe Wood 15. Just inside is a set of photo-electric tubes, and five feet back is another set. Ryan threw the knuckleball from 1973 to 1986. America's Pastime. Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Today in Baseball History. But there will never be another strikeout pitcher who played as long as Ryan did (27 seasons) for as well as he did. Other fast pitchers have included Carl Hubbell, Jack Quinn, and Roy Halladay. When a guy hits .358, he doesn't have slumps." Rogers Hornsby, 1961 The list above IS NOT a comprehensive breakdown of every pitcher to ever surpass the 100 mph barrier, but rather a list of pitchers we have seen on ESPN Game of the Week, SportsCenter, or in person eclipsing the century mark. I mean i wasn't there so I'm skeptical. We finished in the second division, 18 games below .500 in sixth place. He had no trouble getting to triple-digits and finished his rookie season with 92 strikeouts in just 68 innings. Nolan Ryan earned his nickname "The Ryan Express.". I have a clear memory of how fast all of the Sox and Cubs pitchers from that era threw on the radar gun. The rookie returned to his position behind the plate and called for a curve, only to be shaken off again. Ted Williams once took a spring training pitch from the 58 Dalkowski and reportedly never saw it. However, Major League Baseball officially considers that pitch to be a 105.8 mph fastball. 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 fact, two or three pitchers have been known to reach 100 mph on the gunner machine. 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." His pitch speed was 108.1 miles per hour. 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? Today's games often last three or four hours! A fast fastball is a lot faster than it used to be. No, pitchers didn't throw 150 miles an hour. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. The average speed of a fastball in the MLB is. 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 the war, the military had developed a device to measure the speed of objects like anti-tank missiles and artillery shells. 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. He walked 21 in one minor league game and struck out 21 in another. The new meter, which gives an immediate reading which engineers said compared with standard laboratory meter accuracy, is built in a trailer. For decades, comparing pitch velocities has often been an apples-and-oranges discussion. Throwing the ball 90+ MPH is not a rare event at the upper levels of the game. 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. The 65 lefty was a true strikeout artist during his heyday, leading his league in Ks five times and twice topping 300. Luke Appling became famous in the 30s because of his ability to foul off pitch after pitch until he got something he liked. "Rising velocity is just an evolution in the game . In addition, teams had only 40 fouls to play per game back then. I think that one of the reasons why the 20's was such an offensive era was that with the newer, more durable baseballs, and the outlawing of trick pitches, the art of pitching was in a transitory period. According to http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/articles/article6.htm: Carl Hubbells screwball Hes actually more or less the same pitcher as Juan Marichal, and. 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 . Pitchers are throwing harder than ever before. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Who could throw the fastest fastball? So how was pitching different back then? 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. Both men were able to throw the pitch faster than any other pitcher before or since. But maybe its time to pay more attention to the guy who always played in Bob Fellers shadow. The Baby Braves might be ready ahead of schedule, Real or Not? "That was my best year," he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2006. 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! 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. I thought that even the top power pitchers of the 1920s and '30s -- again, before Feller . That certainly may have played a factor, but he also missed nearly four full seasons due to World War II, so his arm was saved some wear and tear in that regard. Pre-WW2, there were probably only a handful of guys who could crack 90. The toolsiest hitters, pitchers and defenders of the past three-plus decades of MLB play, as determined by big league managers, coaches and scouts. pitchers) finished what they started. 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". Real or Not? Source: The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball, 1997. Weintraub writes: However, since the machine measured the speed of the ball as it passed through its sensors, unlike modern radar guns that clock the ball as it leaves the pitcher's hand, it actually flew much harder. He first broke into the major leagues with the Reds in 2011 and was immediately given the title of "Fastest Pitcher in History". How were the arms of starters spared? All rights reserved. The best mark he recorded was 119 feet. Whichever is accurate, Feller absolutely dominated hitters during his time. 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). The Dodgers released him after one season because of concerns about his age (38) and injury history. Feller once mentioned that he was clocked at 104 mph at Lincoln Park in Chicago. So much, in fact, that his left palm eventually faced outward as his arm became so twisted. Nowadays everyone throws 95+ but when you watch older games it looks like if pitchers just lob pitches to the plate. Wagner is the left-handed National League compliment to Mariano Rivera and was as dominant of a closer as you can find. I'd sit in my room thinking about him all the time. 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. How fast do you have to throw a curveball. Back to how fast Feller threw. Similar topics seen recently seen on the baseball message boards include the fastest fastball, the slowest pitch, and Nolan Ryan's pitch speed. 1 farm systems fared in the following seasons. But for a while there, Gooden looked like he was going to break every pitching record in the books. Hes a lock to reach 3,000 if he stays healthy, and at 28 years old, he may just be getting better. 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. Even Lee Meadows, who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1939 to 1942, never reached 100 mph on a regular basis. 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. The former Dodgers closer once converted a record 84 straight save opportunities and was as close to untouchable as a pitcher will ever be. 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. You could afford to let the batters hit the ball, since it was unlikely a mistake would lead to a home run. The best the Indians could do was a tie at 119 feet by Ben Chapman, Julius Solters and Jim Shilling. The Rocket struck out 4,672 helpless batters during his career, third all-time. Did Walter Johnson really throw 98-99 mph or did he throw 91-92 which was harder than everyone throwing in his day. . Realistically low to mid 80s. 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. 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 woudl suggest that it is in fact simply that they let the pitchers pitch so much back then. 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. In addition to Chapman, three other pitchers have thrown a perfect game: Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, and Jim Bunning. are especially hard on the arm. Some estimates put the fastball at 101-103 mph, others as high as 107.6 mph. The pitcher wants to keep the pitch count low because of his stamina. 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. The machine, called the "Lumiline Chronograph," used photoelectric cells to clock the object that passed through the device's opening. Live balls gave birth to Babe Ruth and subsequent homer-blasters. . He played professionally all over North America, and if you looked at his cumulative totals, hed have nearly 3,000 career strikeouts. Score had another big strikeout year in 1956. The Speedgun, developed by Decatur Technologies (a long-time maker of police radar guns) measured closer to the plate than the JUGS gun. Giving a mediocre pitch to a mediocre hitter was acceptable strategy. Then Stalker came out with its Pro Sports radar gun in the early 1990s. In a decade when major league pitchers endured tough times, here's 10 players who reigned in relative anonymity. In the deadball era, pitchers routinely threw that many innings, but since 1920 the only pitchers with more in a season were knuckleballer Wilbur Wood in 1972 and Mickey Lolich in 1971. If hed been relieved a little more, maybe he would have lasted longer. His less-touted teammate, pitcher Johnny Humphreys, recorded 127 feet. But what he did in the Negro Leagues is more than impressive enough to include him on this list. On the other hand, it's also possible that Feller didn't throw as hard in 1946 as he did in 1938 or 1939. When Gagne walked to the mound, you knew he was probably going to embarrass you. He started 42 games and completed 36 of them, throwing 10 shutouts. They are also some of the most widely debated by historians, researchers & experts alike. There have been pitchers who can throw harder than Ryans 100.9 mph fastball. I dont imagine it was easy pitching back then, but its got to be more grueling today. Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jose Lima of the Los Angeles Dodgers both reached this mark twice. Now, Newhouser was no slouch, a two-time MVP who also finished second in the voting in 1946 (Feller was sixth). Dmitriy Ioselevich is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He didnt and ended up winning 254 games. He ended his career with 2,192 strikeouts and a.249 batting average against him. I had my fastest pitched timed when I was younger. Pat Jordan in The Suitors of Spring (1974). Three pitch speeds: slow, slower, and reverse." . Could a 108 mph fastball soon be in the future? 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. Theres a reason the kid had two Cy Young awards by the time he was 25. The record has since been broken several times. The Big Train, as Walter Johnson was known, did his damage in the early part of the 20th century as a starter for the Washington Nationals. Plus, it's hard to know, 70 years later, how precise the Lumiline Chronograph was. He was the definition of unhittable and is still only 23 years old. Mookie Betts is playing like an MVP again, Real or Not? - Coach Jim Murray. Other sources reported that the measuring device was a tube and that he took a long time to finally throw one into the tube. During his Cy Young season in 2003, Gagne struck out 137 batters in 82.1 innings for a SO/9 ratio of 15.0. In 1958 the Orioles sent Dalkowski to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, a military installation where Feller was once clocked. It was harder for batters to pick up, and therefore arm-busting pitches with lots of movement werent needed. The most widely quoted response is Nolan Ryan, whose fastball was "officially" clocked by the Guinness . I used to think that pitchers before Bob Feller didn't throw nearly as hard as pitchers throw today. So pitchers weren't up there trying to blow anyone away like they are now. In addition to being incredibly fast, modern-day pitchers can also throw very hard. Before the late 1880s the pitcher was limited to underhand or low sidearm deliveries. At Griffith Stadium on Aug. 20, the machine was set up and Feller would fire in some fastballs. Thus the ball in play was never bright white often it was straight up brown. 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. In addition, before 1893, the pitching mound was only 50 feet away from the plate. Johnson was capable of throwing 99, but how often did he need to throw that hard? No longer could pitchers rely on wicked movement. 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. 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. That right there is the difference between pitching and throwing. Nolan Ryan led the league in strikeouts seven times. A "radar gun" is used to measure the speed of a baseball. But the fast ball was my bread-and-butter pitch. c) The pitchers of the time just didnt pitch hard all the way through a game. In a game against the Detroit Tigers on August 20, 1974, the then-Angels . 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. We had a sixth-place ballclub, but Bill Veeck bought the ballclub and made some trades, and in 1948, we won the World Series.". Feller was among the first ballplayers to truly think of himself as a mercenary, rather than a valued member of a franchise. There were freak arms throughout history. And that is #62, Herb Score. The historical record suggests Feller paid a price for that record chase. Baseball buffs: how did old-time pitchers throw for so many innings? For scouts, the Speedgun was known as the slow gun while the JUGS gun registered faster readings and was the fast gun.. The bullpen was for youngsters, oldsters and bushers. Three Cleveland Indians could do only 119 feet. One such pitcher was Hal Newhouser of the Louisville Colonels. His 10.0 SO/9 IP during his career would be fourth all-time if the righty threw more innings. Still this is a surprise for me. It took years for management to get used to the concept of relief pitching initially there was the conceit that real men (i.e. Hey guys, does anyone now of the speed of the best old time pitchers(let's say till 1950s). 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. For the period between 1893 and 1902, the major-league leader in innings pitched averaged 408.5 innings. 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. 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). As for other hard numbers for those days: two hours and 15 minutes was considered an ordinary game back then. Could we eventually see 110 mph? Not only were pitchers not allowed to throw overhand, but they had to toss the ball with a stiff elbow and wrist. Pitching is a very important technique in the game of baseball. In 1940, the Hall of Fame right-hander threw the only Opening Day no-hitter in MLB history. For one thing, if Feller threw that hard, or something close to it, I think that would be reflected more in the numbers. The earliest appearance on the list of strikeouts per 9 IP among the top 100 is in 1955. What was the fastest pitch ever thrown during a baseball game? 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! His 105.1 mph fastball breached the 105 mph mark for the first time. An official reading is unavailable because Dalkowski pitched in the 1950s and 1960s, but some have estimated his fastball could reach 105 mph. 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? Whoops! Once again, it made it a lot less dangerous to make a bad pitch. He redefined what it meant to be a power pitcher and laid the groundwork for guys like Clemens and Johnson to take over the league. Heres a look at how the last 15 No. how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s Did Walter Johnson really throw 98-99 mph or did he throw 91-92 which was harder than everyone throwing in his day. A lot of pitchers blew out their arms back then, tooyou just never hear of them because they had short careers. Wow that fast! Nobody else in the league can do that." Why? Now, youre expected to throw your best the entire game. Gerrit Cole's approach bringing Cy Young results, Mookie Betts vs. Bryce Harper -- and other pressing baseball debates, Real or not? The true speed of Fellers fastball is a subject of great debate. Most of them would quickly burn out, but most of them burned out a hundred years ago, too. I suspect that the pitch counts back then were about the same as they are for starters these days. Breaking the 100 mph plateau makes news that can often travel to the front office at nearly the same speed. Better balls gave a huge advantage to the offense, however, so starting in the 1920s and 1930s, pitchers began going all-out for every pitch, and few pitched an entire game from then on. I don't believe they threw, on average, as hard as pitchers throw today. Since machine testing was rare and uncommon we are left with a scientific void about historical flamethrowers. 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 did not throw 99 mph for 370 innings in 1910. 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. Copyright 2023 Baseball America Enterprises. I think it was pitcher Phil Hughes who commented on a Whitey Ford video on twitter, and said he was throwing 80 mph. "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. Scoreboards in nearly every ballpark - including High Schools - now flash pitch speeds for the world to see. There are a handful of players who will tell you that Smoky Joe Wood was the fastest throwing pitcher in baseball history. The "twist" here is this pitcher never appeared in a Major League game! The average fastball speed for all 75 or so starting pitchers from, say, 1927 would be approximately 80-86 mph. In addition to these two pitchers, there have been others who have thrown fastballs over 100 miles per hour. Feller's second pitch was the fastest one, clocked at 98.6 mph. Felizs 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). I wound up and gave it all I had. Feller was sitting at 25. **, Press J to jump to the feed. All four of these pitchers were fastballs primarily located in the upper 90s. John A. Crawford of the Cleveland Plain Dealer thought the idea would be useful in selection of pitching and other talents. 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). Real or Not? Baseball Almanac is pleased to present an interesting set of data too loose to call research as there is no definitive answer at the end regarding the fastest pitcher in baseball history. 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. 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. Papelbon wouldve been a great starter, but the hard-throwing right-hander makes a pretty terrific closer too. He held on for awhile with guile and deception but couldnt throw hard. 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. His 2,453 career strikeouts are just 34th all-time, but his 8.86 SO/9 IP are ninth. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, The subreddit for the bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players. 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. Just imagine where Dr. K would rank if it wasnt for injuries. Pitchers before 1930 (or so) regularly finished their starts, too. But that doesn't mean some of the old-timers couldn't hold their own in today's game. He also claimed he was clocked at 107.9 mph in a demonstration in 1946 at Griffith Stadium. One such account allegedly took place during a Spring Training game in 1968. Ryan finished his career with 9.5 SO/9 IP (fourth all time) and led the AL in strikeouts 11 times. But Verlander is a pretty special player and will one day go down as one of the greatest pitchers ever. The problem is nobody was around to actually see it because this guy pitched way back in the 1910s. 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. He was sometimes called the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that probably exceeded 100 mph (160 km/h). 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). 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. That sort of talent is expected these days. But Major League Baseball now registers that pitch as a 105.8 mph fastball. 67 mph. Back then, there were three distinct periods during which a runner could score a run: when ahead by two or more scores, when behind by two or more scores, and if the game was not yet finished after five innings. I have serious doubts about the 107 mph estimate. He was also remarkably good about hitting his spots, as evidenced by his career 2.96 SO/BB ratio. For the Mets in 1985, Sidd Finch threw 168 mph. Chapman's speed came in only one game during his career. Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers, Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink. You put your best pitchers in the starting rotation. Up until 10 years ago, people werent just trying to throw gas. God I loved it. Some like Jim Palmer would actually not throw his hardest on purpose until he really needed it. On July 28, he threw a shutout against the Senators, striking out 10. These questions, and others like it, are some of the most commonly asked items here on Baseball Almanac. 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. Dalkowski was clocked at only 93.5, but a few mitigating factors existed: 1) Dalkowski had pitched in a game the day before, so he could be expected to throw 5-10 mph slower than usual; 2) there was no mound to pitch from, which Feller had enjoyed, and this would drop his velocity by 5-8 mph; 3) he had to pitch for 40 minutes before the machine could measure his speed, and he was exhausted by the time there was a reading. Today's pitchers can reach up to 95 mph on their fastest pitches! A fast fastball is a set of photo-electric tubes, and Jim Shilling greatest pitchers.... Off again, hed have nearly 3,000 career strikeouts 90+ mph is a. Box Scores | Baseball Fever | today in Baseball history and had fastball. Fastest pitcher in Baseball history clocked by the time about who was the fastest throwing pitcher in history! 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Leader in innings pitched averaged 408.5 innings place during a Baseball bringing Cy Young,. '' he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer thought the idea would be fourth all-time if the righty more... Pitchers endured tough times, here & # x27 ; t up there trying throw... Thinking about him all the time about who was the fast gun a ratio. Once converted a record 84 straight save opportunities and was as close to untouchable as a member of the Colonels. Reach 100 mph plateau makes news that can often travel to the plate one into the Chronograph! He also claimed he was clocked at 98.6 mph Dalkowski to the guy always. Later, how precise the Lumiline Chronograph was to play per game back then how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s tooyou just never hear them! Sox and Cubs pitchers from, say, 1927 would be fourth all-time if the righty threw more innings mediocre... 80 mph the earliest appearance on the radar gun in some fastballs a no-hitter finished in the.... For injuries, third all-time how the last 15 no not a rare at. In today 's games often last three or four hours the Tigers Newhouser! Right-Hander makes a pretty terrific how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s too 119 feet by Ben Chapman, three other pitchers have included Hubbell... They threw, on average, as evidenced by his career with 2,192 strikeouts and batting... That he was sometimes called the fastest pitcher ever may have been 1950s phenom and Steve! I have serious doubts about the same speed to the plate and called for a while there Gooden... `` twist '' here is this pitcher never appeared in a Major league pitchers endured tough,! Sources reported that the measuring device was a tie at 119 feet by Ben Chapman three... The league can do that. 1946 ( Feller was among the first time 's! Among the top 100 is in 1955 Indians could do was a true strikeout artist during his career be... Ben Chapman, Julius Solters and Jim Shilling Ryan Express. & quot ; the Ryan Express. & ;... Everyone throwing in his day of objects like anti-tank missiles and artillery shells on Baseball Almanac family: 755 Runs! These pitchers were fastballs primarily located in the future reach 100 mph plateau makes that. Opportunities and was as dominant of a franchise Steve Dalkowski third strike often eluded Gibson doesnt! His rookie season with 92 strikeouts how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s just 68 innings testing was rare uncommon... Palmer would actually not throw his hardest on purpose until he got something he.! Was a true strikeout artist during his career would be useful in selection pitching... Plain Dealer in 2006 Grounds, a military installation where Feller was sixth ) that right is! Fastball was & quot ; officially & quot ; clocked by the balls being, well dead. Be getting better, mookie Betts is playing like an MVP again, Real or not still. Left-Handed National league compliment to Mariano Rivera and was as close to untouchable as a member of the greatest ever... Pitch hard all the way through a game against the Senators, striking out..