The contested list includes Chapman, Johnson, Feller, and Ryan. Here’s the skinny on each.
Aroldis Chapman is often credited with throwing the fastest pitch ever. But is that claim true? Faulty equipment is the reason some people say.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngubly4hpHw
Walter Johnson played in the majors for twenty seasons and helped Washington win its only World Series championship. Ty Cobb said that Johnson was the fastest pitcher he had ever faced. Nicknamed, “The Big Train” (when trains were the fastest thing known to man at the time), Cobb said Johnson’s fastball was “Just speed, raw speed, blinding speed, too much speed.” While we may never know how fast he actually pitched, Johnson will live on as one of the greatest pitchers ever.
Ted Williams said that Bob Feller was the fastest–and best–pitcher he saw during his career. Army equipment was used in 1946 to clock Feller’s fastball at 98.6 mph. But if that pitch had been measured in ways that are done today, it would have been clocked at around 107 mph.
As fast as that is, it would have been #2 on the presumed all-time list. #1 goes to one of the greatest pitchers of all-time–Nolan Ryan. Ryan made The Guinness Book of World record in 1974 with a 100.9 mph pitch. If that pitch had been measured from the standard 50 ft. from the plate, it’s estimated that the speed would have been 108.1 mph, which would be the fastest of all-time.
We may never know who threw the fastest pitch. What we know for sure is that each of these players is legendary. And legends never die….
