I'm sorry to say that, but I don't see it happening. From radar evidence we can be fairly certain that major league fastballs averaged around 88-89 mph in the 1980s before ticking up to 89-90 mph in the 1990s, coinciding with increased relief pitcher specialization. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'baseballscouter_com-box-4','ezslot_1',121,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-baseballscouter_com-box-4-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'baseballscouter_com-box-4','ezslot_2',121,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-baseballscouter_com-box-4-0_1');.box-4-multi-121{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:250px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}Due to the lack of velocity data for all division 1 teams across the country, it is difficult to pinpoint an exact number, but the average velocity of a division 1 pitcher seems to be around 89 miles per hour. Notice that pitchers are even bigger and stronger today than they were during the so-called Steroid Era (the hitters are too), even though half of the players suspended for PEDs or listed in the Mitchell Report were pitchers. Wood finished his career with just 989 strikeouts in 1,434.1 innings, but considering the era he was pitching in, those are some pretty outstanding numbers. Following Division I, we have Division II baseball. During his Cy Young season in 2003, Gagne struck out 137 batters in 82.1 innings for a SO/9 ratio of 15.0. With a larger sample in that bucket it is likely that data point would climb closer to the trend line of the rest of the graph. Hernandez is on pace for his third consecutive season of at least 200 Ks, and his strikeout rate is at a career-high 8.5 SO/9 this season. While that seems minor, it's actually an enormous boost over time. Hes naturally right-handed. Jimenez is another pitcher who, at just 27 years old, has already raised eyebrows with some of his strikeout totals and radar gun readings. Colleges would rather have guys who can hit a spot than throw hard.. All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. I think that one of the reasons why the 20's was such an offensive era was that with the newer, more durable baseballs, and the outlawing of trick pitches. To find the equivalent baseball pitch speed, we need to find how fast a ball should be going to cover a baseball pitching distance in 0.42 seconds. What do you think? 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). The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. He has been playing sports his whole life and loves to talk about them. All times are GMT-8. College baseball scouts evaluate players by arm strength, fielding range, speed, and hitting for power and average. Perhaps I'm wrong on this, but it's just a theory of mine. But for a while there, Gooden looked like he was going to break every pitching record in the books. 3: the flux density distribution over one pole pitch of the machine of Question 8 is as shown in the adjacent figure. Pitch Type report shows Average Speed by Pitch Type in the Majors Sources All except below are based on radar readings by the editor. Most of the pitchers who can hit 100 mph are relievers, only 12 of the 57 did it as a starting pitcher. xwOBA is formulated using exit velocity, launch angle I'd say the average guy would be 55 at best. Reds Notebook: Nick Senzel has surgery, two Reds on the HOF ballot, Jake Fraley homers, but Cincinnati Reds comeback falls short, Spring Game Thread: Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago White Sox. Year IP Rank; 2008: 194.0: 24th in : 2008: 40.2: . Feliz's 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). window.". The true speed of Fellers fastball is a subject of great debate. Velocity used to play second fiddle to control and a varied repertoire. Every several years, it appears that baseball players at the highest levels seem to be gaining a couple miles per hour on their fastball. By 1890 overhand pitching was legal, and that is when we first hear about pitchers who were fearsomely fast, such as Amos Rusie and Cy Young. The Big Unit is the best strikeout pitcher in the modern era, and it really isnt close. Pitchers like Michael Kopech and Trevor Bauer regularly work out with weighted baseballs and other "new age"-style exercises, with the sole purpose of adding an extra mph or two. ", If this is your first visit, be sure to The only other Red besides Chapman to hit that mark was Jumbo Diaz, who did it once last year. Its not often you find a starter who can throw up to 102 mph in any inning in any count on any day. Why has velocity been steadily increasing for the last two decades? The Speedgun, developed by Decatur Technologies (a long-time maker of police radar guns) measured closer to the plate than the JUGS gun. Farewell to a Mariners legend. At the height of his career (1998-2002), he was striking out more than a batter per inning, and who knows how many strikeouts he might have now if injuries hadnt derailed his promising career. James Paxton ended his no-hitter by throwing his three fastest pitches of the night, Michael Kopech hit 110 mph during his first max-velocity workout of the year, Cardinals rookie Jordan Hicks appears to have taken the title of Fastest Pitcher in Baseball. Dmitriy Ioselevich is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Fast pitches give the batter less time to react, make a decision and put a good swing on the ball. Gibson was never much of a strikeout artist. The average fastball velocity for pitchers 10 years old and younger is between 40-50 mph. Who was president when the Orioles threw out the first pitch? The tech continued to improve. In the last eight years, the league-average fastball has risen about 1 mile per hour. All except below are based on radar readings by the editor. The average pitching speed for an MLB player is about 93 miles per hour. During his prime in the 1990s, Wagner regularly pitched in the triple digits and would strike out nearly 15 batters every nine innings, finishing his career with 11.9 SO/9 IP. But The Freak is a monster when it comes to pitching. Before digging into the numbers, lets address a question that many Division 1 baseball hopefuls want to know: Is velocity really that important when playing D1 college baseball? At 90 mph, a bit faster than the 87 mph of the average big-league fastball, the hitter has 0.42 seconds to get his bat on the ball. 11 to 12 Year-Olds Among 11 and 12-year-olds, the average fastball speed is 50-60 mph. Birdsell mixes in a firm, tight slider and a budding changeup that's shown growth over the course of his career. In prior decades if a top pitcher blew out his arm or shoulder he would either try to continue to pitch at a much lower level of effectiveness or his career would be ended and he would be replaced by another, presumably less effective, pitcher. League Year-By-Year Pitching--Averages Table; Year Tms #P PAge R/G ERA G GF CG SHO tSho SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF WHIP BAbip H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W E; 2022: 30: 871: 28.8: 4.28 Whats the average speed thrown in the pros? FanGraphs detailed in Apri how the average fastball velocity jumped from 91.7 mph in 2008 to 93.7 mph this season. His dominance only lasted about three seasons (2002-2004), but during that time, Gagne was simply overpowering. His statistics, however, indicate that his pitches very likely reached those speeds. The movement of a pitch is defined in inches, both in raw numbers and as a measurement against average. Despite a team ERA of 5.05 thus far, Troy bats are doing their part in giving their pitchers run support scoring 10.2 runs per game with a team batting average of .325. Batted Ball Exit Velocity by Age Bob Feller and Satchel Paige were the heat-bringers of the 1940s and 50s. In addition to being incredibly fast, modern-day pitchers can also throw very hard. 70 mph. Today's pitchers can reach up to 95 mph on their fastest pitches! the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. Follow him on Twitter for all your MLB news and updates. Data Provided By We'll never know because there were no precise radar recordings available until around 50 years ago, but it's probably about 5 MPH slower than they do now. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Control of at least one off-speed pitch and developing another; Strike out to walk ratio of . He laughed at what I got, convinced he could blow me out of the water. Ten years ago, training facilities that focused solely on increasing pitching performance were a dime a dozen. Then along came Nolan Ryan in the 1970s and 80s to strike fear into hitters everywhere. and 32 degrees. Now we know that velocity is a critical factor and one of the primary reasons that strikeouts are up and scoring is down across baseball. On the flip side, there were 80 pitchers who averaged 94 mph or higher. Another reason that pitchers throw harder today is because of the way they are groomed as kids and teenagers. In . Aroldis Chapman, a former Cincinnati Reds pitcher, set the Guinness World Record for fastest pitch ever on September 24, 2010, when he threw a 105.1-mph fastball against the San Diego Padres. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. He is sometimes referred to as the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that probably exceeded 100 mph. Johnsons 3,509 career strikeouts (ninth all time) dont look too impressive when you consider just how many innings he threw (nearly 6,000), but theres no doubt about his arm. His 105.1 mph fastball was the first time the 105 mph barrier had been broken. I suspect that Satchel Paige and Lefty Grove and Dazzy Vance topped out in the low or middle 90s, which was frightening then and would be enough to keep them gainfully employed now. For a batter, Best Speed is an average of 50% of his hardest hit balls. in "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second Mookie Betts is playing like an MVP again, Real or Not? Coaches have learned to avoid abusingtheir players young arms. 16. Despite over 3,000 career punchouts Gibson finished his career averaging just 7.3 SO/9 and only led the league in strikeouts once. MLB has gone back and recalibrated Pitch/FX pitches to convert them to their velocity at pitch release. Last year there were only 8 pitchers who averaged 86 mph or lower with their fastball. Walter Johnson was reportedly measured at 99.7 MPH at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where they could measure the speed of bullets. In fact, since 2008 when PITCHf/x was installed in every ballpark, there have been 57 pitchers who reached the magical 100 mph threshold at least once. Yeah pitching is about speed and arm and shoulder flexibility. Today's games often last three or four hours! The fact is, it is important, but it is not everything. Yeah, well teams dont do that anymore. Fastball use held steady from 2010 through 2015 at between 56.8% and 57.8%. organization although he never reached the majors. Walter Johnson and Smoky Joe Wood were the famous fireballers of the Dead Ball Era. The pitcher is the player who throws the ball. When starters threw fastballs below 92 mph in 2019, batters hit .307 and slugged .561 -- meaning they were collectively, more or less, J.D. But maybe its time to pay more attention to the guy who always played in Bob Fellers shadow. The epidemic of Tommy John surgery can be blamedsquarely on the elbow torque from the extreme fastball speed and throwing hard breaking balls like the cutter. Guys throw too hard and have too much nasty off-speed stuff, so that model . All major league baseball data including pitch type, velocity, batted ball location, and play-by-play data provided by Sports Info Solutions. One of them was a knuckleballer (R.A. Dickey). So pitchers pacing themselves was a n. velocity and launch angle. 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. The average velocity for the 97 right-handed pitchers studied in the West Coast Conference was 87.3 mph. The Mets average perceived velocity is 89.92 MPH. The strikeout king (5,714) is so far and ahead of everyone that as impressive as his record seven ho-hitters are, theres only one guy (Randy Johnson) within even 1,000 Ks of his lifetime mark. Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. xERA is a simple 1:1 translation of xwOBA, converted to Both men were able to throw the pitch faster than any other pitcher before or since. . Remember former Reds General Manager Dan OBrien and his infamous pitch to contact mantra? Its hard to disagree considering that the righty piled up 2,581 strikeouts (26th all-time) during his career and led the AL in Ks seven times from 1938-1948. RedlegNation.com is an independent news source and is not affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds, Major League Baseball, any of the Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates or Minor League Baseball. In 1940, the walk rate was 8.6% of all batters. An 85 mph fastball (if registered by a Speedgun at the plate) would be roughly 93 mph if measured by Statcast out of the pitchers hand. Bronson Arroyo was another. On the flip side, there were 80 pitchers who averaged 94 mph or higher. His pitch speed was 108.1 miles per hour. The fact of the matter is, whether we like it or not, it is happening. Baseball isn't like other sports, where we see people running faster or swimming harder or whatever, where today's records are smashing the records from 10 years ago. An 85 mph fastball (if registered by a Speedgun at. He was clocked as high as 103 mph before extreme wildness ended his career prematurely. Pitch shows natural sink and has a good spin rate. Jonathan Broxton has done it 51 times but all of those came before he joined the Reds. . Throwing 95 to 100 mph puts tremendous strain on the elbow. Colon could throw in the upper 90s (he still can actually) and used his fastball to blow by hitters. Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 12:52AM. In 2003, Billy Wagner threw 25 pitches that were 100 miles per hour or faster. We asked the experts. Again, keep in mind that this study does not reflect velocity data from every single division 1 pitcher in 2012. The Astros ace ranks second in baseball in vertical movement of his fastball, at 11.2 inches, with an average velocity of 95 mph. Aroldis Chapman has been thrilling Reds fans with his blazing fastball ever since he burst upon the scene in 2010. In my my high school league I'd say the average speed was 75. Baseball Pitching Velocity Chart from age 8-22+ Show entries Age Level Low Velocity All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. Dedicated to Teaching Baseball and Fast Pitch Softball. He was a left-handed pitcher who played in the Baltimore Orioles. How Many High School Pitchers Throw 90 MPH? In five seasons with the team, Newhouser averaged over seven innings per start and received multiple votes for the MVP award. Published by at 14 Marta, 2021. Has some life up in the zone; hitters . As a result, the average fastball speed has, broadly, risen steadily over time.You may notice a slight dip in average velocity from 2017 to this season, but as September begins and teams fill out their bullpens with even more hard-throwing talent, it's quite possible that number will continue to climb.But that's not the only interesting way fastball velocity has increased in the last decade. Atley Donald and Van Lingle Mungo were early hard-throwers that were actually measured. Thats why Chapmans fastest fastball found an extra .7 mph. As shown by Hunter Atkins (ESPN), pitchers have gone from 61 189 pounds in the 1950s up to 63 206 pounds today. In 1980 it sat at 8.2%. Ryan threw the knuckleball from 1973 to 1986. What's the average pitching speed by age in baseball? Bob Feller was measured at 98.6 MPH. average fastball speed in 1990. A Batted Ball Event represents any batted ball that 100-mph fastballs have been attributed to many pitchers. With the new pitch clock showing early success at speeding up the sport, . There is more to pitching than velocity only. While that seems minor, it's actually an enormous boost over time. For a batter, Best Speed is an average of 50% of his hardest hit balls. Do you have a blog? Medium high-leg kick. The average fastball is between 50-60 mph. They reached a record average of 93.1 mph in 2019, including 92.6 mph for starters, according to Statcast. Wohlers was a failed starter who came out of seemingly nowhere to be a lockdown closer for the Braves in the mid 1990s. Location is more important. Have you ever heard the story of how the Big Red Machine superstars laughed at trainer Larry Starr when he had a Nautilus machine installed at Riverfront Stadium? His fastball generates 29.4 percent whiffs per swing, seventh in . How can that be? raw numbers and as a measurement against average. 76 mph. In 1989, Nolan Ryan returned to the mound with the Los Angeles Dodgers. attempt. That speed was measured by a laser radar when it was 9-10 feet from the plate; if measured at the standard . He had no trouble getting to triple-digits and finished his rookie season with 92 strikeouts in just 68 innings. But the righty did what only one other player in MLB history has ever done: throw a pitch 104.8 mph. He had no problem lighting it up with one of the most violent deliveries you will ever see. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Copyright 1999-2021. He went after hitters and didnt give them an inch of room at the plate. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. check out the. He's 25, 6'3 and 250 lbs but . The next year, Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees broke this record again with a ball that traveled at 103.3 miles per hour (167.4 km/h or 45.5 m/s). It takes a 60 mph fastball 0.42 seconds to travel 37 feet. There are a lot more camps, clinics, personal pitching instructors and fitness clubs available to todays young pitchers. The range is typically from about 90 to 100 miles per hour. As velocity goes up, ERA goes down. Those of you who have taken a ballpark tour of GABP might have seen the Reds modern strength and conditioning facility. Chapman is the owner of the fastest ever recorded pitch at an incredible 105.1 mph. Because righties are more common, MLB teams sometimes pass on them out of high school to allow them more time to develop in college. 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. For the Mets in 1985, Sidd Finch threw 168 mph. Or write about sports? exit velocity of 95 mph or higher. Compare that to the 91.7 mph average in 2008. What to do with the Cincinnati Reds: So Far, So Good, Reds score 10 runs in the 8th inning, blow lead, settle for a tie. Even companies such as Driveline argue that this may not be the best thing for a young players long-term health. He lived and played in a time when instruments for measuring a baseball's speed didn't exist. outfield. Money quote: The Popular Science article is called "Two and a Half Miles a Minute: That's the speed . The current MLB Statcast system measures velocity as the pitch leaves the pitchers hand. All rights reserved. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. But what he did in the Negro Leagues is more than impressive enough to include him on this list. Could Mike Trout outproduce a tanking team's entire lineup? The players of prior decades were not and the difference shows on the field. Paige struck out a Negro League record 176 batters in 1929 and then set the single-game record by striking out 17 hitters on April 29 and then 18 hitters less than a week later. I would guess that he saved his best fastball and used it maybe a dozen times a game. Are there measurements or estimations? They have realized that the best way to get outs as a pitcher is to strike the batters out. 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. Avg. Statcast refers to the spin that contributes to movement He won it over Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants. Put on a baseball game and you may feel like pitchers are throwing harder than ever. Copyright RedlegNation.com. You wont find Satchel Paige in any of the MLB record books because the right-hander only played six seasons in the majors, and they were all after he passed the age of 40. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Real or Not? Papelbon wouldve been a great starter, but the hard-throwing right-hander makes a pretty terrific closer too. The 2021 College World Series was one of the most memorable ones in recent history. Between 92-95 mph, that dropped to .272/.469. They may not even have to drive anywhere as many of these facilities put their training programs online for players to follow at home. Last season, the average fastball reached 92.0 mph. as Active Spin. In 2008 the average fastball thrown in the MLB was 90.9 mph. Jimenez doesnt get much attention as a power pitcher because he walks so many batters (nearly four every nine innings), but when hes on, there might not be a better pitcher in baseball. Theres a reason the kid had two Cy Young awards by the time he was 25. Goodens 2,293 career strikeouts are just 46thall-time, but 1,875 of them came in his 11 seasons as a New York Met. 11 And 12-Year-Olds Pitchers in this age range are playing in the Majors division in Little League. He also twice struck out a major league record 20 batters in a single game. Answer (1 of 17): Ever heard of Steve Dalkowski? The same goes for this seasons average as it could be even higher. While it is still difficult to obtain fastball velocity numbers from every college baseball team, the information is as prevalent in 2021 as it has ever been. That statement is true, of course: deGrom's 99.2 mph average velocity is the highest among qualified pitchers, some 1.4 ticks quicker than second-place Sandy Alcantara, and while command isn't . The middle section of the graph from 88-97 all have good sample sizes and allow us to see the clear trend. become a hit. 95 mph fastballs used to be rare and unique, but today every team in baseball has multiple pitchers who can deal that type of heat. pitch. Fastball Velocity by Age Looking at fastball velocity, we see more curvature to the aging curve than we saw with bat speed. Copyright 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc. We and our partners share information on your use of this website to help improve your experience. In the Major Leagues that would be a 90-92 fastball. The speed at which a 9 year old should pitch softball will depend on the child's skill level, physical condition, and the league they are playing in. While it is difficult to pinpoint a specific number, it is safe to believe that velocities at these levels of college baseball have likely experienced the same two mph increase that D1 and MLB have seen over the years. Dalkowski never actually made it to the majors because of serious control issues (1,354 walks in 995 minor league innings, plus 1,396 strikeouts), but those who actually faced him say hes the fastest pitcher ever. Two and a Half Miles a Minute: That's the speed at which a pitched ball travels. Hes a lock to reach 3,000 if he stays healthy, and at 28 years old, he may just be getting better. Diamondbacks primed to bury Dodgers, Losing Corey Seager leaves Dodgers' season on the brink. However, there is some complexity to it as velocity measurements are used more as a guide to help the coaches make decisions. Does Camera Blur Equal Increased Bat Speed? The next highest total belongs to former Tigers flamethrower Joel Zumaya with 310. His 4,875 strikeouts rank second all time, and his 10.6 SO/9 IP is first all time by a healthy margin. There have been pitchers who can throw harder than Ryans 100.9 mph fastball. Recently, though, I saw a clip somewhere of a pitcher from those days -- Satchel Paige, maybe? We've heard, for years, that humans have pushed themselves to the limit. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. is to find the average speed, horizontal and vertical movement for all pitches in each cluster. produces a result. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Total Zone Rating and initial framework for Wins above Replacement calculations provided by Sean Smith. Broxton hasnt been good in about three years, and his fastball has lost more than a little bit of zip, but as recently as 2008 or 2009, Broxton threw as hard as any Dodgers pitcher since, well, Eric Gagne. See Also:BBCOR vs. USSSA: Here Are DifferenceHow Long Does a High School Baseball Season Last?How Many High School Pitchers Throw 90 MPH?Football vs. Some guns and devices (like radar balls and glove radar), while "accurate", measure speeds closer to the plate (which is slower). Back when the average fastball was 89 mph there were a lot of guys throwing 85 or 86. The average fastball velocity for pitchers 10 years old and younger is between 40-50 mph. Should I Squish the bug with the back foot? He calculates that for every extra foot he can squeeze out of a pitcher's stride, the hitter sees a virtual. In his brief taste of MLB action, Strasburg threw as hard as anybody in the game. Improved coaching has led tobetter mechanics and the ideal delivery for maximizing velocity. A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as Freddy Peralta thrills family with dazzling debut, Real or Not? Did Nolan Ryan throw the fastest pitch ever? This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. These are just ranges based on averages for all youth to professional pitchers. No longer could pitchers rely on wicked movement. Teams are using an average of 3.3 relievers per game in 2019, just below last year's all-time record of 3.4. . They play a lot more baseball games and receive much better coaching than they did last century. His career 10.6 SO/9 IP is evidence of that, although hes up to 11.8 this season. The average fastball is between 50-60 mph. Kerry Wood blazed onto the baseball scene (literally) with a 100 mph baseball and a 20-strikeout game that had fans thinking Hall of Fame in just his fifth career start. So even though it was recorded at 100 yards, it was actually 0.2 mph faster than what is considered to be legal ball speed. On average, these little players' throwing velocity ranges from 40 to 50 mph. Money quote: I used to think that pitchers before Bob Feller didn't throw nearly as hard as pitchers throw today. The average fastball velocity in 2008 was 90.9 mph. But Major League Baseball now registers that pitch as a 105.8 mph fastball. "They put me in the Hall of Fame? Pitchers back then (deadball era) were expected to throw complete games and had to pace themselves. 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). He topped 100 Ks in his first full season as the Los Angeles closer and regularly reached triple-digits. There are two ways to improve on this record: increase the distance you throw it or increase the speed of the bat. Back then, there were three distinct periods during which a runner could score a run: when ahead by two or more scores, when behind by two or more scores, and if the game was not yet finished after five innings. The 610 left-hander topped 300 Ks five times in his career (including an eye-popping 372 in 249.2 innings in 2001) and led his league in Ks nine times in 22 major league seasons. Therefore, while not perfect, it is as good an indicator of average fastball velocity as one will be able to find from that era of college baseball. The good news is that modern surgical techniques can repair the elbow and get the pitcher back on the mound quickly. There are a handful of players who will tell you that Smoky Joe Wood was the fastest throwing pitcher in baseball history. As a pitcher in Major League Baseball, it can be difficult to survive without an above-average fastball. Wagner still holds the NCAA Division III record for career strikeouts and SO/9 IP (19.3). Wagner is the left-handed National League compliment to Mariano Rivera and was as dominant of a closer as you can find. Bronson Arroyo was another. Hes already among the all-time leaders with 215 saves and has nearly 500 strikeouts in just seven short seasons. Overall, Ryan went 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA in three games back from surgery on his right shoulder. A Bolt is any run where the Sprint Speed (defined as "feet per second in a player's fastest one-second window") of the runner is at least 30 ft/sec. In 2003, Houston reliever Billy Wagner was the only pitcher to throw at least 25 pitches at 100 mph or faster, according to Baseball Info Solutions.