10 fastest pitches of all time
John Castro Ciku Njuguna
updated at April 21, 2023 at 8:00 AM
As the first line of defense for a team, the role of a pitcher can not be understated. The pitcher's primary function is to hurl perfect pitches against the offense. Scroll down and learn more about the most gifted pitchers and the fastest pitch ever thrown.
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The best pitchers are divided into two, the masters who have perfected a signature throw and the flamethrowers with fast and accurate hands. This article will explore the best pitchers of all time in MLB history.
The MLB calculates the speed of a pitch by the distance the ball travels from the time it leaves the pitcher’s hand to the time the catcher catches it. On average, pitching speeds tend to hit about 93 miles per hour, ranging from about 90 to 100 miles per hour. However, the fastest pitches ever thrown in the MLB have covered more than 100 miles per hour.
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FootballWhat is the fastest pitch ever thrown?
According to MLB stats, the fastest fastball ever recorded since 2008 was thrown by Aroldis Chapman. Between 2010 and 2016, Chapman kept up his performance in a range between miles per hour.
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Top 10 fastest pitches ever thrown in an MLB game
What is the fastest pitch ever thrown by a man? Nolan Ryan, whose fastest pitch ever thrown is estimated at 108 mph, is regarded as the king of fastballs. However, critics have also refuted the estimated lack of proper technology and the impossibility of speed. Bob Feller's 107.6 miles per hour stinker is also regarded as one of the fastest pitches.
What MLB pitchers throw 100 mph?
By the time of writing, no player has matched Nolan Ryan's record of 108 mph. However, here are the top pitchers with higher than 100 miles per hour records.
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Rank | Speed | Player | Team |
10. | 100.2 | Brusdar Graterol | Los Angeles Dodgers |
9. | 100.7 | Emmanuel Clase | Cleveland Guardians |
8. | 102.0 | Jacob deGrom | Texas Rangers |
7. | 102.8 | Edwin Diaz Andres Munoz Jhoan Duran Ryan Helsey | New York Mets Seattle Mariners Minnesota Twins St. Louis Cardinals |
6. | 103.1 | Felix Bautista Jordan Hicks Ryan Helsley | Baltimore Orioles St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals |
5. | 103.3 | Jhoan Duran | Minnesota Twins |
4. | 104.2 | Ryan Helsley | St. Louis Cardinals |
3. | 105.0 | Jordan Hicks | St. Louis Cardinals |
2. | 105.5 | Ben Joyce | University of Tennessee Volunteers |
1. | 105.8 | Aroldis Chapman | Cincinnati Reds |
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NBA10. 100.2 mph - Brusdar Graterol
Graterol has topped yearly charts as one of the best LA Dodgers and MLB performers. What is the fastest pitch Brusdar Graterol has thrown? He later hurled a 102.5 fastball during the sixth inning in a match between the Dodgers and the Giants in March 2021.
9. 100.7 mph - Emmanuel Clase
What pitches does Emmanuel Clase throw? According to Brooksbaseball, Clase has thrown more than 2400 pitches that ranged between 89 - 99 miles per hour. His best throws came in 2023 with a 100.7 fastball and a 100.2 mph cutter, one of the fastest in 2021.
8. 102.0 mph - Jacob deGrom
Jacob deGrom is one of many top throwers in the MLB to clock 102.0 miles per hour. Hunter Greene of the Cincinnati Reds and Shohei Otani of the Los Angeles Angels have also made their mark with flamethrowers of above 100 miles per hour severally.
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NBA7. 102.8 mph - Edwin Diaz/Andres Munoz
Relievers Edwin Diaz, Andres Munoz, Jhoan Duran and Ryan Helsey recorded 102.8 fastballs in various matches in 2022. Here is a summary of the hits and the games they were recorded in.
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Date | Teams | Player | Speed |
May 7th 2022 | Minnesota Twins vs Oakland Athletics | Jhoan Duran | 102.8 |
September 1st 2022 | New York Mets vs Los Angeles Dodgers | Edwin Diaz | 102.8 |
April 14th 2022 | Seattle Mariners vs Chicago White Sox | Andres Munoz | 102.8 |
August 27th 2022 | St. Louis Cardinals vs Atlanta Braves | Ryan Helsley | 102.8 |
6. 103.1 mph - Felix Bautista
Felix Bautista of the Baltimore Orioles threw a 103.1 miles per hour stinker against the Toronto Blue Jays in August 2022. Alongside him, top throwers Jordan Hicks and Ryan Helsley have recorded the same speed. Jhoan Duran, whose records routinely appear among the best throwers in baseball, also hit 103.1 mph in May of 2022.
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NFL5. 103.3 mph - Jhoan Duran
One of the hardest-throwing pitchers of all time is Minnesota Twins reliever Jhoan Duran. He hit his fastest throw in 2022 after clocking 103.3 mph in the ninth inning in a match against the Cleveland Guardians. The Dominican rookie has had a series of impressive throws and hopes to hit 105 miles per hour in the 2022/23 season.
4. 104.2 mph - Ryan Helsley
Although publications offer different stats for Ryan Helsley's fastest throw. His speeds remain a top contender on our list of the hardest baseball pitching speeds.
In September 2022, the St Louis Cardinals reliever clocked 104.2 mph against the Milwaukee Brewers in a match that saw the Cardinals win by 6-2. According to Sportsnaut, the reliever clocked a second 104 record in the same month during the eighth inning in a match against the San Diego Padres.
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Baseball3. 105.0 mph - Jordan Hicks
Baseball players such as Jordan Hicks, and baseball legend, Aroldis Chapman share impressive 105.0 mph records in the MLB. St Louis Cardinals reliever Hicks became the first active player to hit 105 speeds twice in a match against the Philadelphia Phillies in May 2018.
The latest 105.0 mph strike by the reliever came in the 2022/23 pre-season in a match against the New York Mets. Hicks, whose scoreboard readings have routinely registered three digits joins legendary MLB pitchers such as Mauricio Cabrera, Aroldis Chapman and Neftali Feliz.
2. 105.5 mph - Ben Joyce
How fast does Ben Joyce throw? Although he was not playing in the majors, Joyce clocked 105.5 mph, a record that still stands as the fastest pitch ever thrown in college baseball.
1. 105.8 mph - Aroldis Chapman
The fastest pitch ever thrown in a game was hurled by Cincinnati Reds' best reliever Aroldis Chapman during a match against the San Diego Padres. The fastball that landed him in the Guinness World Record remains the fastest ever thrown.
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FootballWhat is the fastest pitch ever thrown by a woman?
The record for the fastest female hurler was taken by Lauren Boden at 69 miles per hour in September 2013. Although Boden holds the Guinness World Record, several sources name Raine Padgham as the fastest female flamethrower. In September 2020, the then fifteen-year-old prodigy stunned fans with an 83 mph toss.
What is the fastest pitch ever thrown in softball?
According to the Washington Post, the fastest softball pitch ever thrown in a game was slung by 'The King' Eddie Feigner. Records reveal that Eddie threw fastballs up to 114 miles per hour. However, the fastest ever recorded as a major league pitcher was 103 mph.
What is the fastest softball pitch ever thrown by a woman? The Guinness World Record records Monica Abbott as the fastest female hurler in softball. She threw a 77 mph fastball during a match against Carolina Diamonds in June 2012.
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FootballThe possibility of 100 mph fastballs remains the subject of debate. However, power pitchers like Nolan Ryan and Aroldis Chapman defy physical odds to top records.
READ ALSO: Top 20 best pitchers in the MLB of all time: rankings in 2023
Sports Brief recently published an article on the best-performing pitchers in MLB. The report covers a detailed summary of the latest MLB player pitching stats in addition to the historical greats.
Click on the link above to learn more about some of the greatest flamethrowers in the history of the MLB.
