105 MPH---Chapman throws fastest pitch ever recorded

[underpants]

Chapman throws fastest pitch ever recorded

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=sh-redspadres092410

SAN DIEGO – Aroldis Chapman(notes) was summoned from the bullpen one batter too late to make a difference in the game. No matter. The 22-year-old Cincinnati Reds left-hander made do by making history Friday night, throwing the fastest pitch recorded in a major league game, a 105-mph fastball.

But the lingering memory was of a now-you-see-it, did-I-actually-see-it fastball to Tony Gwynn(notes) in the eighth inning. The pitch was not a fluke: Chapman threw 25 pitches in his 1 1/3 innings of relief, and every one was at least 100 mph. He didn’t throw a slider. He didn’t throw a changeup. Why would he?

“I didn’t see it until the ball was behind me,” Gwynn said. “I was trying not to look at the radar reading because I’d be intimidated. I saw how hard he was throwing and just tried to be slow and work my hands.”

The 105-mph pitch was inside for a ball and evened the count at 2-2. Gwynn had fouled off the previous two pitches and fouled off the next before striking out. He ought to be pleased with his effort, forcing Chapman to make seven pitches, the slowest of which was 102 mph.

Gwynn’s father, Tony, a Hall-of-Famer and one of baseball greatest hitters, never saw a pitch as fast as the one Chapman threw. Maybe nobody else has, either. Since radar guns were introduced in the 1980s, the fastest pitch recorded was 104.8 mph by Joel Zumaya(notes) of the Detroit Tigers in a playoff game Oct. 10, 2006. Chapman, who defected from the Cuban national team in 2009, was clocked at 104 on Sept. 1 in his second major league appearance and also hit 105 mph with a pitch for Triple-A Louisville earlier this season.

[trumad]

1. I predict in 10 years this will be common...

High School ball players are routinely throwing in the high nineties and more....

[Ter]

2. Radar has changed over the years

They measure when the ball was leaving the arm. They used to measure when it was approaching the batter. No way of telling what Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson in their primes would be measured at today.

[SidDithers]

3. Still not as fast as Sidd Finch...

:)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119283/index.htm

Sid

[El Supremo]

4. Does anyone remember this pitcher? >>

[ProfessorGAC]

5. But Guys Are Hitting It

He's not just blowing them past the hitters. They're catching up.

I see the velocity, but i don't see much movement. Throw a MLB hitter anything that doesn't move from a straight line and sooner than later you'll get hit.

They're going to have to work on his grip to get a different spin on the ball.

Impressive velocity to be sure, but i dunno. . .