Who Threw The Fastest Baseball?
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The answer to who threw the fastest baseball can be found by looking at the record books. But there is more to the story than just the numbers.
Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan was born on January 31, 1947, in Refugio, Texas. Ryan was drafted by the New York Mets in the first year of the amateur draft in 1965. Ryan made his Major League debut on September 11, 1966. He was traded to the California Angels in 1972. He set a single-season record for strikeouts in 1973. Ryan became the Angels’ all-time leader in strikeouts. He led the league in strikeouts a record nine times. Ryan also set the all-time career record for strikeouts in 1981. He retired from baseball in 1993.
His record
Nolan Ryan was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 27 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the California Angels and Houston Astros, and also played for the New York Mets and Texas Rangers. Ryan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Ryan’s 5,714 strikeouts are an MLB record by a considerable margin. He is also attributed with popularizing the split-finger fastball as a major league pitch. While his career winning percentage was .526 and he only had a record of 324-292, Ryan is revered by baseball fans for his exceptional fastball pitching, as well as his durability, leading the league in strikeouts nine times.
Why he was the fastest
Nolan Ryan was baseball’s all-time strikeout leader until Randy Johnson surpassed his total in 2004. He also held the record for the most no-hitters in a career with seven, a mark he shares with Sandy Koufax. Ryan pitched until he was 46 years old, retiring after 27 seasons in 1993. So how did Ryan achieve such longevity and dominance on the mound?
Part of it had to do with his tremendous talent, of course. But another big reason was his abnormal ability to throw a baseball extremely fast — often faster than anyone else. In fact, Ryan’s fastball has been clocked as high as 108 miles per hour, which is thought to be the fastest pitch ever thrown in major league baseball.
Aroldis Chapman
Aroldis Chapman, a Cuban-born pitcher who currently plays for the New York Yankees, has been recorded as throwing the fastest fastball in baseball history. In September 2010, Chapman threw a fastball 105.1 miles per hour (169.1 km/h) to Cincinnati Reds’ batter Brandon Phillips.
His record
On September 24, 2010, Chapman threw the fastest recorded pitch in major league history at 105.1 miles per hour (169.1 km/h) to San Diego Padres’ Tony Gwynn Jr.. The previous record of 102.8 mph (165.9 km/h) was held by Mark Wohlers and had stood since May 17, 1996. Chapman’s 105.1 mph record was broken less than a month later by Nathan Eovaldi of the New York Yankees, who reached 105.8 mph on October 8, 2010.
Why he was the fastest
Aroldis Chapman is a Cuban-born professional baseball pitcher who plays for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs. Chapman bats and throws left-handed, and is nicknamed “the Cuban Missile” or “Cuban Flame Thrower”.
In 2010, Chapman became the first MLB player to be clocked at over 100 miles per hour (161 km/h) on a pitch, and he has since been recorded as throwing as fast as 105.1 miles per hour (169.0 km/h). His fastest recorded pitch was on September 24, 2010, against the San Diego Padres, when he reached 105.1 miles per hour (169 km/h).
Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson is a former professional baseball player who played for 22 seasons, from 1988 to 2009. He is best known for his time with the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, and New York Yankees. Johnson was nicknamed “The Big Unit” and is considered one of the best pitchers in baseball history. He was a ten-time All-Star and won five Cy Young Awards.
His record
Randy Johnson holds the record for the fastest baseball pitched at 104.8 mph. He set this record on September 24, 2004, while pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the San Diego Padres.
Why he was the fastest
Randy Johnson was a 6’10” left-handed pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1988 to 2009, for six teams. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest pitchers of all time, and he holds many pitching records. He was nicknamed “The Big Unit”.
A ten-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, Johnson also brought home five Cy Young Awards, indicating that he was the best pitcher in his league during those years. In 1999, he won the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award, which is given to the top athlete in each sport. He is one of only four pitchers in MLB history to win four consecutive Cy Young Awards, and he did it in 1999–2002.
