[BigBadBuc]

Who throws the fastest pitch in Major League Baseball? I remember Billy Wagner hitting 100 mph a number of times.

BBB

[Mid-depth_Reporter]

I can't think of anyone who throws the ball faster than Billy Wagner at the current moment. I'm not really up on those who throw the blazing fastballs in the league right now. I have heard about Wagner venturing into the triple-digits, but anything in the mid-90s is fast enough to get hitters to struggle. So, I'd have to go with you on this on.

[wedge]

What about Lidge? I'm sure he throws somewhere around 98-100 at times.

[legend]

Supposedly Kyle Farnsworth of the Yankees, who pitched in Atlanta last year, has reached 100. Felix Hernandez- the Mariner prodigy- tops out at 98. Lidge tops out between 95 and 97.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by legend

Supposedly Kyle Farnsworth of the Yankees, who pitched in Atlanta last year, has reached 100. Felix Hernandez- the Mariner prodigy- tops out at 98. Lidge tops out between 95 and 97.

I am with Legend I was thinking Farnsworth from what I have read

[Grozny]

Word is that Bobby Jenks hit 102 during a game against the Mariners in early 2005. He's usually hovering around 98+ during a game.


No "Flame Thrower" thread is complete without mentioning Steve Dalkowsi. He is really a fascinating story and is the closest thing to a real Sid Finch.

The fastest pitcher ever may have been 1950s phenom and flameout Steve Dalkowski. Dalkowski signed with the Orioles in 1957 at age 21. After nine years of erratic pitching he was released in 1966, never having made it to the Major Leagues. Despite his failure, he has been described as the fastest pitcher ever.

Ted Williams once stood in a spring training batting cage and took one pitch from Dalkowski. Williams swore he never saw the ball and claimed that Dalkowski probably was the fastest pitcher who ever lived. Others who claimed he was the fastest ever were Paul Richards, Harry Brecheen and Earl Weaver. They all thought he was faster thanBob Feller and Walter Johnson, though none of them probably saw Johnson pitch.

In 1958 the Orioles sent Dalkowski to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, a military installation where Feller was once clocked. Feller was clocked at 98.6 mph. Dalkowski was clocked at only 93.5, but a few mitigating factors existed:

1) Dalkowski had pitched in a game the day before, so he could be expected to throw 5-10 mph slower than usual;

2) there was no mound to pitch from, which Feller had enjoyed, and this would drop his velocity by 5-8 mph;

3) he had to pitch for 40 minutes before the machine could measure his speed, and he was exhausted by the time there was a reading. Other sources reported that the measuring device was a tube and that he took a long time to finally throw one into the tube.

It was estimated that Dalkowski’s fastball at times reached 105 mph. Dalkowski was not physically imposing, standing only 5'8" and wearing thick glasses. He had legendary wildness, which kept him out of the Major Leagues. In 995 minor league innings, he walked 1,354 batters and struck out 1,396. He walked 21 in one minor league game and struck out 21 in another. In high school he pitched a no-hitter while walking 18 and striking out 18.

He threw 283 pitches in a complete game against Aberdeen and once threw 120 pitches in only two innings. He played in nine leagues in nine years.

In 1963 for Elmira he finally started throwing strikes. During spring training in 1964, Dalkowski was with the Major League club. After fielding a sacrifice bunt by pitcher Jim Bouton in spring training, Dalkowski’s arm went dead and he never recovered. He drifted to various jobs and landed in Bakersfield, California, where he was arrested many times for fighting.

He once threw a ball at least 450 feet on a bet. He was supposed to throw the ball from the outfield wall to home plate, but he threw it well above the plate into the press box. He once threw a pitch so hard that the catcher missed the ball and it shattered an umpire’s mask. Dalkowski was the basis for wild fastball pitcher Nuke LaLoosh in the movie Bull Durham.

Source: The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball, 1997.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Grozny

Word is that Bobby Jenks hit 102 during a game against the Mariners in early 2005. He's usually hovering around 98+ during a game.


No "Flame Thrower" thread is complete without mentioning Steve Dalkowsi. He is really a fascinating story and is the closing thing to a real Sid Finch.

The fastest pitcher ever may have been 1950s phenom and flameout Steve Dalkowski. Dalkowski signed with the Orioles in 1957 at age 21. After nine years of erratic pitching he was released in 1966, never having made it to the Major Leagues. Despite his failure, he has been described as the fastest pitcher ever.

Ted Williams once stood in a spring training batting cage and took one pitch from Dalkowski. Williams swore he never saw the ball and claimed that Dalkowski probably was the fastest pitcher who ever lived. Others who claimed he was the fastest ever were Paul Richards, Harry Brecheen and Earl Weaver. They all thought he was faster thanBob Feller and Walter Johnson, though none of them probably saw Johnson pitch.

I've read where Dalkowski had a below normal IQ and had trouble being coached. He was at his best when he did not have to worry about mechanics and just got to throw.

[BigBadBuc]

Thanks Groz,

Interesting stuff!

BBB

[wedge]

His best years in the minors came after Earl Weaver told me not to wear about anything but throwing strikes. Then he injured his arm in 1964 and was never the same. Here are his stats.

[BigBadBuc]

I threw 83 MPH once. Anybody on the board top that?

BBB