Baseball’s hardest throwers of all time
Published 10:22 pm Sunday, April 13, 2008
Hardest throwers of all time
1910s-1920s
Walter Johnson. The Senators beloved “Big Train” is widely believed to be the hardest thrower of his era (1907-1927), although Johnson himself claimed that contemporary Smoky Joe Wood threw harder. Once, when his fastball was measured against a speeding motorcycle, his velocity was determined to be 99.7 mph.
Other notables: Smoky Joe Wood, Chief BEnder
1930s-1940s
Bob Feller. “Rapid Robert” is said to have been clocked at 107 mph by a photo-cell device, and Satchel Paige, himself a renowned flame-thrower, once vouched for Feller as the fastest pitcher in the game.
Other notables: Satchel Paige, Lefty Grove.
1950s-1960s
Steve Dalkowski. This left-hander was a real Nuke LaLoosh, posessing a fastball some folks claimed topped 105 mph but never seemed to go where he wanted it to. Dalkowski played nine years in the minors — he was an Orioles prospect — but alcoholism and chronic inconsistency ended his career without a big league appearance.
Other notables: Sandy Koufax, Sam McDowell.
1970s-1980s
Nolan Ryan. He remains the all-time record holder, at least as measured by the Guiness Book of World Records, for a pitch clocked at 100.9 mph during a game on Aug. 20, 1974. His 5,714 career strikeouts, compiled over a 27-year career, is a record unlikely to be broken.
Other notables: J.R. Richard, Dwight Gooden.
1990s
Mark Wohlers. Guiness may not have recognized it, but a fastball thrown by Wohlers in spring training in 1995 — clocked at 103 mph — was widely considered to be the fastest pitch documented, until Joel Zumaya came along.
Other notables: Armano Benitez, Randy Johnson.
2000s
Joel Zumaya. During his breakout rookie season of 2006, television radar-gun readings regularly clocked him at 103 mph, and MLB.com’s Enhanced Gameday feature once credited him with a pitch of 104.8 mph. But he has battled flukey injuries, and remains on the Tigers’ disabled list.
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