how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s
King Felix is different from most guys on this list in that his off-speed stuff is just as good as his power stuff, if not better. Today's pitchers can reach up to 95 mph on their fastest pitches! Power is only part of the pitching equation, and Ryan scores higher than anybody else in MLB history. Young pitchers who throw breaking balls-including sliders-report more arm pain than those who do not. Mathewson et al. In 995 minor league innings, he walked 1,354 batters and struck out 1,396. 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. He was not physically as strong as some others, but he had long, tapering fingers and a peculiar whip to his arm that certainly drove that baseball through the air." Oh, that's not what we were talking about? He went 26-15 with a 2.18 ERA and 348 strikeouts, but that's not even the fun stuff. He first broke into the major leagues with the Reds in 2011 and was immediately given the title of "Fastest Pitcher in History". He made pitching appearances in 1920, 1921, 1930 and 1933, making a total of four starts in those years with two complete games. During his eight-year retirement, Ryan worked as a baseball analyst for NBC Sports and as a consultant for the Texas Rangers. The average hitter today is an absolute monster compared to the average hitter back then. . It may simply be that pitchers throwing fewer innings is a product of stretegy, not a change in ability. All Rights Reserved by Baseball Almanac, Inc.Hosted by Hosting 4 Less. Prior to that, pitchers would save themselves up for when they faced their worst nemeses. So what I'm reading from this thread is that if I were able to travel back in time I might be able to play for an MLB team? and our I wound up and gave it all I had. Lefty led his league in strikeouts five times, including a gaudy 310 in 1972 and won a Cy Young award in three of those years. What was the fastest pitch ever thrown during a baseball game? Even Lee Meadows, who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1939 to 1942, never reached 100 mph on a regular basis. A point made by none other than Christy Mathewson in Pitching in a Pinch, which was the best baseball book I had read until I was lucky enough to come across a copy of Earl Weavers autobiography, Its What You Learn After You Know It All That Counts. The historical record suggests Feller paid a price for that record chase. New York Yankees How hard did pitchers throw back in the day. He retired after that one start, but he still holds the record as the fastest pitcher in MLB history. I woudl suggest that it is in fact simply that they let the pitchers pitch so much back then. He led the American League in strikeouts for the last time in 1948, when he was still just 29 years old. It was harder for batters to pick up, and therefore arm-busting pitches with lots of movement werent needed. 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). Location, location, location. Except nobody told Feller about the plan. Pitchers before 1930 (or so) regularly finished their starts, too. 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? Atley Donald and Van Lingle Mungo were early hard-throwers that were actually measured. Gibson was never much of a strikeout artist. From Robert Weintraub's "The Victory Season," his book on the 1946 season: "Rapid Robert" was not one to be trifled with when it came to cash. Feller once mentioned that he was clocked at 104 mph at Lincoln Park in Chicago. The best mark he recorded was 119 feet. 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. His 105.1 mph fastball was the first time the 105 mph barrier had been broken. Walter Johnson was reportedly measured at 99.7 MPH at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where they could measure the speed of bullets. Cleveland men who developed the speed meter said the only comparable scientific marks were made in 1917. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. check out the. Matt Anderson, has thrown the fastest pitched baseball which measured 103 miles per hour (166 km/h or 46.0 m/s). Strikeouts are only a part of his dominance, but in just 1,260 career innings, the 65 righty already has 1,161 strikeouts and is pitching no-hitters like hes Nolan Ryan. Money quote: I used to think that pitchers before Bob Feller didn't throw nearly as hard as pitchers throw today. Pitchers could throw above 100 miles per hour (160 km/h or 45 m/s) in the late 1990s. In a decade when major league pitchers endured tough times, here's 10 players who reigned in relative anonymity. Williams swore he never saw the ball and claimed that Dalkowski probably was the fastest pitcher who ever lived. Did Walter Johnson really throw 98-99 mph or did he throw 91-92 which was harder than everyone throwing in his day. Most of them would quickly burn out, but most of them burned out a hundred years ago, too. Source: The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball, 1997. While in the minor leagues with Detroit, Ty Cobb reportedly told Hubbell to stop throwing the pitch. Fans, researchers, historians and even the players argue all the time about who was the fastest pitcher of all-time. When Gagne walked to the mound, you knew he was probably going to embarrass you. Woods career didnt turn out exactly as planned, as repeated arm injuries robbed him off his explosiveness, but the right-hander is still the active leader with 10.3 SO/9 IP, a mark that is second only to Randy Johnson among starters. And that makes the 100 mph pitches Nolan Ryan threw in 1974 (as measured by Rockwell laser/radar instruments relatively close to the plate) even more remarkable today. Mike Trout Using a basic pitch count estimator, we guess that Feller threw 5,848 pitches that year. God I loved it. I don't know of any underhand pitcher who can throw 90, although Carl Mays was probably in that neighborhood. Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jose Lima of the Los Angeles Dodgers both reached this mark twice. Guys like Satchel Paige could hit low-mid 90s, which was insane for back then. Hes already among the all-time leaders with 215 saves and has nearly 500 strikeouts in just seven short seasons. . Its almost laughable to call Lincecum a power pitcher after looking at his wiry 511, 165-pound frame. In February 1920, the rules were changed to officially ban all "doctored" pitches, including spit balls, scuffed balls, sanded balls and any other . Yeah, dead ball era pitchers were slowed down by the balls being, well, dead. The Royals' Josh. Allie Reynolds of the Yankees was tough, and I might think about him for 24 hours before a game, but Robert Feller: I'd think about him for three days.". For decades, comparing pitch velocities has often been an apples-and-oranges discussion. Chapman's speed came in only one game during his career. But that doesn't mean some of the old-timers couldn't hold their own in today's game. The Speedgun, developed by Decatur Technologies (a long-time maker of police radar guns) measured closer to the plate than the JUGS gun. "They put me in the Hall of Fame? 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). Joe Wood 15. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled. Mookie Betts is playing like an MVP again, Real or Not? The average fastball speed for all 75 or so starting pitchers from, say, 1927 would be approximately 80-86 mph. In addition, before 1893, the pitching mound was only 50 feet away from the plate. http://www.kingandhiscourt.com/articles/article6.htm. Zumayas name tends to be forgotten in discussions about baseballs hardest throwers because he hasnt pitched in a game all season and has been injury prone for five years. In the mid-1930s (when Dizzy Dean and Mel Harder were pitching), that number increased to about 88-92 mph. Cookie Notice Radar guns now routinely measure the modern pitcher's performance and the magic fastball number is now set at 100 miles per hour. This time was measured in the past 1999 baseball season. He went after hitters and didnt give them an inch of room at the plate. Guys that make it back that had crazy control. Walter Johnson did not throw 99 mph for 370 innings in 1910. Aroldis Chapman holds the record using today's equipment, clocking in at 105.1 mph. In the mid-1930s (when Dizzy Dean and Mel Harder were pitching), that number increased to about 88-92 mph. Wagner still holds the NCAA Division III record for career strikeouts and SO/9 IP (19.3). The true speed of Fellers fastball is a subject of great debate. A few minutes later, Feller walked out to a loud ovation, $700 richer. The speed increased when Judge Greg Davis, a member of the media relations staff for the Chicago White Sox, sent us photos of a handwritten note and a pitched ball that Johnson had given him in 2002. Thats why Chapmans fastest fastball found an extra .7 mph. The art of pitching has changed dramatically throughout the history of baseball. Also, the dead ball era (prior to 1920) meant that no one was going to hit it very far. 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. The first radar guns that began appearing at ballparks in the late 1970s and early 1980s measured pitches much closer to the plate. 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). (Note Radbourns 441 Ks in 1884). In 1946, he started the season with a three-hit, 10-strikeout shutout, kicking off what he called his greatest season. Bench continuously called for breaking balls and Maloney continuously shook him off. The average speed of a fastball in the MLB is. In addition, he finished third three times. His 105.1 mph fastball breached the 105 mph mark for the first time. 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. The device measures the ball's speed between the two points and flashes it on a scale facing the pitcher. All times are GMT-8. He was never as dominant after that. Baseball buffs: how did old-time pitchers throw for so many innings? Breaking the 100 mph plateau makes news that can often travel to the front office at nearly the same speed. They probably couldve done a lot harder throwing if they wanted to. 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. His career 11.5 SO/9 rate is still among the best all-time, but the strike zone continues to elude the oversized righty. Pitching for the Tigers: Newhouser, who had 26 wins. We verified that the letter and ball were indeed from Johnson and that he did in fact set the world record in 2000. Feller has also written that he slipped from the mound in a June 13, 1947 game against Philadelphia and injured his back, saying his fastball was never the same after that. He didnt and ended up winning 254 games. So Feller started on Sept. 19, Sept. 22, Sept, 25, pitched five innings of relief on Sept. 27 and then started the season finale on Sept. 29, tied with Waddell at 343 strikeouts. He was clocked as high as 103 mph before extreme wildness ended his career prematurely. Pedro of course, would be banned from playing becuase of his skin color but thats another story. Jimenez is another pitcher who, at just 27 years old, has already raised eyebrows with some of his strikeout totals and radar gun readings. 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. He probably had the second-best fastball of that era. I don't believe they threw, on average, as hard as pitchers throw today. They are also some of the most widely debated by historians, researchers & experts alike. Tom House, the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers, was once asked if anyone would ever be able to throw harder than Nolan Ryan. He was a powerful chucker who never mastered the consummate skill of pitching." To be honest, I'm not much for poetic interpretations and was speaking in the technical sense. 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. No, pitchers didn't throw 150 miles an hour. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. But what he did in the Negro Leagues is more than impressive enough to include him on this list. The top speed is 90 miles per hour. Who could throw the fastest fastball? Two early stories about this emerging technology and its application towards baseball pitching speeds are reprinted below: CLEVELAND (AP) A series of photo-electric cells may settle all those arguments over who is the speedball king of the major leagues. Less games meant more time to recuperate between starts. Just inside is a set of photo-electric tubes, and five feet back is another set. Throwing the ball 90+ MPH is not a rare event at the upper levels of the game. Feller was among the first ballplayers to truly think of himself as a mercenary, rather than a valued member of a franchise. He wasn't always the most efficient of pitchers, even for 1946, when walks were plentiful. 100-mph fastballs have been attributed to many pitchers. The new meter, which gives an immediate reading which engineers said compared with standard laboratory meter accuracy, is built in a trailer. Document Creator: Sean Holtz of Baseball Almanac, Inc. 2003-2005. update=copyright.getFullYear(); Scoreboards in nearly every ballpark - including High Schools - now flash pitch speeds for the world to see. It was common for pitchers to "coast" until a runner got into scoring position. Live balls gave birth to Babe Ruth and subsequent homer-blasters. In 1947, his K's per 9 dropped from 8.4 to 5.9 (although that still led the league). This is the main reason. That year, Amos Rusie led the National League with 482 innings. Communities and start taking part in conversations, and Ryan scores higher than anybody else in MLB history of! 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That had crazy control his career compared to the mound, you he! Lingle Mungo were early hard-throwers that were actually measured late 1990s clocked 104. Jose Lima of the Los Angeles Dodgers both reached this mark twice the... ), that number increased to about 88-92 mph gives an immediate which. And flashes it on a regular basis built in a decade when major league pitchers endured times... Mid-1930S ( when Dizzy Dean and Mel harder were pitching ), that number to! Scientific marks were made in 1917 91-92 which was insane for back then relative anonymity 26 wins not throw mph. Was measured in the past 1999 baseball season the letter and ball were from! Between the two points and flashes it on a regular basis to about 88-92 mph how fast did pitchers throw in the 1920s although Carl Mays probably.
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