How fast was the fastest pitch ever thrown in MLB history?

Answer 1

Aroldis Chapman - 105 mph pitch in Sept. 2010 Reds V PadresActualy the information below is false. Joel Zumaya never pitched 105 mph. He topped out officialy at 104.8 which is still fast enough to burn the hair off your face. However Aroldis Chapman of the worlds oldest, historical and first ever profesional baseball team the Cincinnati Reds officialy hit 105 MPH making him the record holder for the worlds fastest pitch every thrown. The crazy part he said he was not feeling at his top when he threw it. He hit 4 other pitches in the same game at 104. He threw a total of 25 pitches in this game after a weeks rest. This guy makes nolan Ryan look like a softball pitcher. However hes got a long way to go to be talked about being in the same league as nolan Ryan. Everyone knows that.

Here is the official answer according to the official MLB record books!

Pitcher

Radar Speed

Date / Box Score

LocationAroldis Chapman ^105.0 mph09-24-2010PETCO Ballpark

Joel Zumaya *

104.8 mph

10-10-2006

McAfee ColiseumNeftali Feliz ^103.4 mph09-01-2010Rangers BallparkBobby Parnell ^103.0 mph08-18-2010Minute Maid Park

Armando Benitez

102.0 mph

05-24-2002

Shea Stadium

Jonathan Broxton *

102.0 mph

05-14-2009

Citizens Bank Park

Bobby Jenks

102.0 mph

08-27-2005

Safeco Field

Randy Johnson

102.0 mph

07-09-2004

Pacific Bell Park

Matt Lindstrom

102.0 mph

05-16-2007

PNC Park

Robb Nen

102.0 mph

10-23-1997

Jacobs FieldHenry Rodriguez ^102.0 mph08-22-2010The Coliseum

Justin Verlander * †

102.0 mph

06-12-2007

Comerica Park

A.J. Burnett

101.0 mph

05-31-2005

PNC Park

Joba Chamberlain

101.0 mph

08-24-2007

Comerica Park

Rob Dibble

101.0 mph

06-08-1992

Candlestick Park

Kyle Farnsworth

101.0 mph

05-26-2004

Minute Maid Park

Eric Gagne

101.0 mph

04-16-2004

Pacific Bell Park

Ubaldo Jimenez **

101.0 mph

10-07-2009

Citizens Bank Park

Tim Lincecum *

101.0 mph

08-07-2009

AT&T Park

Jose Mesa

101.0 mph

05-01-1993

Cleveland Stadium

Joel Zumaya - 105 mphAt the Minnesota Twins Metrodome on July 3rd 2009, the Detroit Tigers Joel Zumaya threw a pitch that was registered at 105. It was in the bottom of the 10th inning i believe (although it may have been the bottom of the 11th, the innings tend to blend into each other in a 16 inning game). It has yet to be "officially" verified (and thus placed among the record books). He registered 1 other pitch at 104 and several more at 103. I personally watched the game and as a Tigers fan, have seen him pitch in about 85% of his games. On a side note, I was at the TIgers-Astros game on 06-27-06 when Zumaya threw 103 in the top of the 8th 3 times. Interestingly, Roger "The Rocket" Clemens started for Astros, and hit 97 mph once, but that pitch looked like a change up in comparison to Zumaya's fastballs. Seeing a fast pitch on TV does NO justice to witnessing that speed in person.

It should be noted though that the Metrodome is one of the the most notorious fields for the ball moving significantly quicker than other fields (and no, the "air conditioner" theory about blowing the ball is a fallacy, the difference in barometric pressure inside the aging dome as opposed to the outdoors or other modern domes is the most likely explanation for this widely known unusual behavior of the ball) This also may be part of the reason why the Twins play so well at home especially in recent history.

Also, The biomechanical limits of the human body based on fixed ratios of arm bone lengths, tendon & ligament maximum strength and the size of the muscles required to throw XXX speed set a scientific and mathematically calculated limit on the speed a ball can be thrown at 105 mph. Any pitch reported to be faster was either thrown by Robocop or was recorded by an inaccurate or outdated radar gun. For instance, Bob Fellers "107 mph pitch" allegedly recorded at an airforce base was corrected and recalculated to be 98 mph, due to the primitive nature of the radar gun (which was just being developed at that time). accurate speed readings on radar guns (for the sake of "records") weren't developed enough to be reliable until the early 1990's, so any pitch speeds recorded before then should not be trusted as accurate.

--> All information (to the very best of my knowledge) is accurate, true and verifiable if you wish to research it.

-If Joel Zumaya could keep his shoulder in one piece, he would be much more formidable. Strangely enough, his offspeed power curveball (thrown between 83-87 mph) seems to be his most effective pitch because of the change of speed and movement that juxtaposes his laser beam 4SFB, but he unfortunately relies almost entirely on his 4SFB, which he typically throws about 90% of the time.

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Zumaya had one sole purpose in his life. To break the MLB record for fastest pitch. But human physiology will prevent this young athlete from a long successful career. Everyone thinks its amazing when some pitcher comes in and can rifle that ball 100+ mph across that plate, not just once, but pitch after pitch after pitch. Granted to some degree i think its a pretty amazing feat as well but to me the consequinces of that ability, don't make it so amazing anymore. The human arm can only handle so much torque. It doesnt matter how young you are, how healthy you are, or how much muscle you have. The tendons and ligaments in your arm WILL tear, when you keep pushing your arms threshold for torque allowance. As the person above said "if Zumaya could keep his shoulder in one piece", is the perfect example of pushing your arms limits. He's already done damage to his arm and WILL never be the same again. All those 100+ mph fastballs everyone has seen him throw have put an end to this possible future good player's career. So if anyone has heard the old saying " you'll throw your arm off" ? look at Zumaya, because the saying, scientifically true.

Aroldis Chapman - 104 mph pitch in Sept. 2010

At the Reds vs. Brewers game on September 1, 2010, Aroldis Chapman threw a fastball clocked at 104mph, but it is believed he can go to 105. So i would say that the fastest pitcher of our time has got to be Aroldis Chapman. Simply because there has never been any record of the pitch going faster for any reason at the Great American Ballpark in Ohio due to such things as A.C. changing the speed or then wind blowing or anything like that, it was just Aroldis's full out arm strength that got him the 104mph fastball across the plate in the Reds 6-1 win against the Brewers to complete the 3 game sweep. Putting the Reds 8 full games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Answer 2

I personally witnessed Joel Zumaya hit the radar gun at Minute Maid Park at 108 MPH on the scoreboard right field registered at 108. I was sitting behind home plate at the game on 26 June 2009 with my son. It was a ball that missed the strike zone, not sure why it isn't the official record.

Answer 3

In the 1982 Record Books it states that Nolan Ryan from the Texas Rangers threw a blazing fastball at 100.9 Miles Per Hour

Kris Rieder Monroe, WI 53566

AnswerAccording to the Baseball Almanac website:

Armando Benitez 102.0 mph 2002 Shea Stadium

Randy Johnson 102.0 mph 07-09-2004 SBC Park

Robb Nen 102.0 mph 10-23-1997 Jacobs Field

Eric Sjoberg 104.62 mph St.Johns high school mi

Answer

112 by john smoltz

AnswerI'll defer to the Baseball Almanac, cited in the first answer. More impressive, however, was J.R. Richard's 98mph slider during an All-Star appearance!

Smoltz nor any other human has ever thrown 112mph....

Answer 4

Cincinnati Red's Aroldis Chapman threw a pitch at a blistering 105 mph during the 2010-2011 season when they went to the playoffs and fell short in the first round to the Phillies. Still Aroldis is the fastest arm in the leagues history even though they came short in the Post-Season.

Answer 5

Aroldis Chapman for the Cincinatti Reds threw a 106mph that is believed by many to be the fastest pitch ever.

Answer 6

I think around the range of 105-115mph

Answer 7

130

Answer 8

107mph

Answer 9

109