How fast did Babe Ruth throw?

Babe Ruth was a legendary baseball player and one of the most popular athletes in history. He is best known for his home run record, but he also had an impressive throwing ability. What is this? A study found that Babe Ruth threw the ball with an average speed of 97 miles per hour.
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How fast did pitchers throw in 1940?

The best pitchers' velocity in Ruth's day topped out at about 90 miles per hour, while relievers you've never heard of now flirt with 100 mph fastballs. But some objective measures of athleticism are consistent.
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How fast did Sandy Koufax throw a baseball?

Koufax was an American baseball legend. He possessed a 100-mph fastball and what announcer Vin Scully called “a twelve-to-six curveball” that started at 12 o'clock then dropped to 6 o'clock. From 1963–1966, he had the best four-year span of any pitcher in baseball history.
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Who threw the fastest pitch ever?

Fastest Pitchers in Baseball History
  • Dwight Gooden (Tie) Top speed: 100.0 miles per hour (1990) ...
  • Bartolo Colon (Tie) Top speed: 100.0 miles per hour (1999) ...
  • Roger Clemens (Tie) Top speed: 100.0 miles per hour (2001) ...
  • Josh Beckett (Tie) ...
  • Joba Chamberlain. ...
  • Billy Wagner (Tie) ...
  • Tony Pena (Tie) ...
  • Guillermo Mota (Tie)
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How fast did pitchers throw in the 1980s?

So when you read of 85-90 mph fastballs from the early 1980s, realize that they would be registering much faster with current measurement tech. An 85 mph fastball (if registered by a Speedgun at the plate) would be roughly 93 mph if measured by Statcast out of the pitcher's hand.
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Babe Ruth: The Pitcher



What was the fastest pitch in the 1940s?

In 1940, Bob Feller tried the same test with his pitch coming in at a whopping 103 miles per hour. Amazingly, there's video footage available of this event.
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What was the fastest throw in baseball history?

Ben Joyce's 105.5 MPH Fastball. The media could not be played.
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Who threw 106 mph?

There actually is a major leaguer who has thrown pitches at 101 mph and has a 106 mph exit velocity on a hit. Jacob deGrom, who was a shortstop for much of his college career at Stetson, had a 106 mph exit velocity on a single in 2015. He also has 47 101-plus mph pitches in his career.
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Did Nolan Ryan throw 100 mph?

The most widely quoted response is Nolan Ryan, whose fastball was "officially" clocked by the Guinness Book of World Records at 100.9 miles per hour in a game played on August 20, 1974, versus the Detroit Tigers. A record that's still included in the book.
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How fast did Nolan Ryan actually throw?

Nolan Ryan: 108.1 MPH

Nolan Ryan with a 108.1 MPH reading according to the doppler laser radar readings that were used in 1974.
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How fast was Mickey Mantle?

(Mickey's a blur as he races from home to first in the photo on the right.) He was clocked at an incredible 2.9 seconds from home to first on a left-handed drag bunt (after his 1951 World Series injury he slowed to a still blazing 3.1 seconds), and could round the bases in an amazing 13 seconds!
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How fast did Roger Clemens throw?

Clemens has jocularly referred to this pitch as "Mr. Splitty". By the time Clemens retired from Major League Baseball in 2007, his four-seam fastball had settled in the 91–94 mph range. He also threw a two-seam fastball, a slider in the mid 80s, his hard splitter, and an occasional curveball.
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What was the fastest pitch Babe Ruth hit?

Babe Ruth's fastball was still recorded as 100 mph multiple times even though it was being thrown closer to the plate in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This may have helped him top out at 100.9 mph.
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Who is the hardest pitcher ever?

Earl Weaver, who had years of exposure to both pitchers, said, "[Dalkowski] threw a lot faster than Ryan." The hardest throwers in baseball currently are recognized as Aroldis Chapman and Jordan Hicks, who have each been clocked with the fastest pitch speed on record at 105.1 mph (169 km/h).
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What pitcher can throw 100 mph?

As far as the technology of the time could tell us, Nolan Ryan threw a 100 mph fastball. Randy Johnson was clocked as high as 102. Bob Feller may have hit 104 in his day, although we only have some creative science experiments to rely on for that figure.
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Who threw 116 mph pitch?

That's not a pitch. Bauer is taking a running start and whipping a 3oz ball a short distance. He threw a ball 116.9 mph, not a pitch. It's semantics, we know.
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Who threw a 108 mph fastball?

Nolan Ryan's record 108 mph fastball. ... Nolan Ryan became baseball's first pitcher to 'light up” the radar at a major league park. On Aug. 20, 1974, in a game against the Detroit Tigers, then Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan pitched an 11-inning complete game 1-0 loss.
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Why is a 110 mph fastball impossible?

The number of pitchers who can break the 100 MPH has gone up dramatically in the last decade, with one who can throw 105. But breaking 110 MPH is nearly impossible, due to the physical limitations of human bones, muscles, and ligaments.
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How fast was Bob Gibson fastball?

How fast was Bob Gibson's Fastball? Bob Gibson's 4-seam fastball “sat” between 92-95 mph in the sample I considered. It's likely he actively varied his grip or intended velocity, producing a high velocity range, measured at 87-95, with numerous indications that he regularly exceeded 95 mph.
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How fast can Randy Johnson throw a baseball?

In the prime of his career, Johnson's fastball was clocked as high as 102 mph (164 km/h), with a low three-quarters delivery (nearly sidearm). His signature pitch was a slider that broke down and away from left-handed hitters and down and in to right-handed hitters.
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How fast did Randy Johnson throw?

Arizona Diamondbacks' Randy Johnson's fastest pitch came when he was 40 years old, tipping the scales at 102 mph.
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How good of a pitcher was Babe Ruth?

Ruth pitched in both the 1916 and 1918 World Series, compiling a 3-0 record and a 0.87 post-season ERA. He threw 13 shutout innings against the Dodgers in 1916, then added another 16 to his record string against the Cubs in 1918. His record of consecutive post-season shutout innings stood for more than 40 years.
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How fast does a 100 mph fastball reach home plate?

A 100-mph fastball takes roughly 375-400 milliseconds to reach the plate. For reference, the blink of an eye takes 300-400 milliseconds.
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What pitcher has the slowest fastball?

These are the four slowest MLB pitches thrown during the 2022 season and the slowest pitch ever recorded
  1. Brock Holt, Texas Rangers, 31 mph. ...
  2. Dee Strange-Gordon, Washington Nationals, 34.3 mph. ...
  3. Andrelton Simmons, Chicago Cubs, 39.1 mph. ...
  4. Luis González, San Francisco Giants, 39.6 mph. ...
  5. Andrelton Simmons, Chicago Cubs, 40.1 mph.
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Who throws the hardest in MLB?

1. Jhoan Duran, RP, Twins. Duran is the only pitcher in MLB averaging better than 100 mph on his fastball, and he's been a dominant reliever for Minnesota. He has a 2.81 ERA and 36/4 K/BB in 25.2 innings with four saves.
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