Why Is Howie Called Chimney On 911, What Time Is The Trump Rally On Tv Tonight, Waitrose Tonbridge Parking, Articles S

Living Legend Released, wrote The Sporting News. For years, the Baseball Assistance Team, which helps former players who have fallen on hard times, tried to reach out to Dalkowski. After all, Zelezny demonstrated that he could have bested Petranoff in javelin throwing by a distance factor of 20 percent. Nope. Steve Dalkowski will forever be remembered for his remarkable arm. In Wilson, N.C., Dalkowski threw a pitch so high and hard that it broke through the narrow welded wire backstop, 50 feet behind home plate and 30 feet up. First off, arm strength/speed. [6] . Hamilton says Mercedes a long way off pace, Ten Hag must learn from Mourinho to ensure Man United's Carabao Cup win is just the start, Betting tips for Week 26 English Premier League games and more, Transfer Talk: Bayern still keen on Kane despite new Choupo-Moting deal. Just 5 feet 11 and 175 pounds, Dalkowski had a fastball that Cal Ripken Sr., who both caught and managed him, estimated at 110 mph. Opening day, and I go back to 1962 -- the story of Steve Dalkowski and Earl Weaver. Petranoffs projected best throw of 80 meters for the current javelin is unimpressive given Zeleznys world record of almost 100 meters, but the projected distance for Petranoff of 80 meters seems entirely appropriate. After they split up two years later, he met his second wife, Virginia Greenwood, while picking oranges in Bakersfield. I lasted one semester, [and then] moved to Palomar College in February 1977. Ron Shelton, who while playing in the Orioles system a few years after Dalkowski heard the tales of bus drivers and groundskeepers, used the pitcher as inspiration for the character Nuke LaLoosh in his 1988 movie, Bull Durham. Dalko explores one man's unmatched talent on the mound and the forces that kept ultimate greatness always just beyond his reach.For the first time, Dalko: The Untold Story of Baseball's Fastest Pitcher unites all of the eyewitness accounts from the coaches . Later this month, Jontahan Hock will unveil a wonderful new documentary called "Fastball" -- I was lucky enough to consult . [4] Such was his reputation that despite his never reaching the major leagues, and finishing his minor league years in class-B ball, the 1966 Sporting News item about the end of his career was headlined "Living Legend Released."[5]. "I never want to face him again. [14] Dalkowski pitched a total of 62 innings in 1957, struck out 121 (averaging 18 strikeouts per game), but won only once because he walked 129 and threw 39 wild pitches. Back where he belonged.. His star-crossed career, which spanned the 1957-1965. Petranoff, in pitching 103 mph, and thus going 6 mph faster than Zelezny, no doubt managed to get his full body into throwing the baseball. Dalkowski fanned Roger Maris on three pitches and struck out four in two innings that day. On a staff that also featured Gillick and future All-Star Dave McNally, Dalkowski put together the best season of his career. Although not official, the fastest observed fastball speed was a pitch from Mark Wohlers during spring training in 1995, which allegedly clocked in at 103 mph. He did so as well at an Orioles game in 2003, then did it again three years later, joined by Baylock. Plagued by wildness, he walked more than he . [16], Poor health in the 1980s prevented Dalkowski from working altogether, and by the end of the decade he was living in a small apartment in California, penniless and suffering from alcohol-induced dementia. From there, Earl Weaver was sent to Aberdeen. Major League and Minor League Baseball data provided by Major League Baseball. Ted Williams faced Dalkowski once in a spring training game. With his familys help, he moved into the Walnut Hill Care Center in New Britain, near where he used to play high school ball. Steve Dalkowski, who entered baseball lore as the hardest-throwing pitcher in history, with a fastball that was as uncontrollable as it was unhittable and who was considered perhaps the game's. Williams, whose eyes were said to be so sharp that he could count the stitches on a baseball as it rotated toward the plate, told them he had not seen the pitch, that Steve Dalkowski was the fastest pitcher he ever faced and that he would be damned if he would ever face him again if he could help it. Unlike Zelezny, who had never thrown a baseball when in 1996 he went to a practice with Braves, Petranoff was an American and had played baseball growing up. For the first time, Dalko: The Untold Story of . Thus, after the javelin leaves Zeleznys hand, his momentum is still carrying him violently forward. * * * O ne of the first ideas the Orioles had for solving Steve Dalkowski's control problems was to pitch him until he was so tired he simply could not be wild. Note that we view power (the calculus derivative of work, and thus the velocity with which energy operates over a distance) as the physical measure most relevant and important for assessing pitching speed. Ask Your Science Teacher When his career ended in 1965, after he threw out his arm fielding a bunt, Dalkowski became a migrant worker in California. If standing on the sidelines, all one had to do was watch closely how his entire body flowed together towards the batter once he began his turn towards the plate Steves mechanics were just like a perfect ballet. Previewing the 2023 college baseball season: Teams and players to watch, key storylines, Road to the men's Frozen Four: Conference tournaments at a glance, Top moments from Brady, Manning, Jordan and other athletes hosting 'Saturday Night Live', Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list. July 18, 2009. The two throws are repeated from different angles, in full speed and slow motion. I bounced it, Dalkowski says, still embarrassed by the miscue. We were telling him to hold runners close, teaching him a changeup, how to throw out of the stretch. The stories surrounding him amaze me to this day. 15 Best BBCOR bats 2023 2022 [Feb. Update], 10 Best Fastpitch Softball Bats 2022-2023 [Feb. Update], 10 Best USA bats 2023 2022 [Feb. Update], 14 Best Youth Baseball Bats 2023 -2022 [Updated Feb.]. He. He grew up and played baseball in New Britain, CT and thanks to his pitching mechanics New Britain, CT is the Home of the World's Fastest Fastballer - Steve Dalkowski. Read more Print length 304 pages Language English Publisher That was because of the tremendous backspin he could put on the ball.. The Steve Dalkowski Story - YouTube On September 8, 2003, Dalkowski threw out the ceremonial first pitch before an Orioles game against the Seattle Mariners while his friends Boog Powell and Pat Gillick watched. Forward body thrust refers to the center of mass of the body accelerating as quickly as possible from the rubber toward home plate. In a few days, Cain received word that her big brother was still alive. Instead, we therefore focus on what we regard as four crucial biomechanical features that, to the degree they are optimized, could vastly increase pitching speed. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. What is the fastest pitch ever officially recorded? He also learned, via a team-administered IQ test, that Dalkowski scored the lowest on the team. Davey Johnson, a baseball lifer who played with him in the Orioles system and who saw every flamethrower from Sandy Koufax to Aroldis Chapman, said no one ever threw harder. Steve Dalkowski's pitches didn't rip through the air, they appeared under mystified Ted Williams' chin as if by magic. Therefore, to play it conservatively, lets say the difference is only a 20 percent reduction in distance. Most sources say that while throwing a slider to Phil Linz, he felt something pop in his left elbow, which turned out to be a severe muscle strain. Both were world-class javelin throwers, but Petranoff was also an amateur baseball pitcher whose javelin-throwing ability enabled him to pitch 103 mph. The family convinced Dalkowski to come home with them. The caveats for the experiment abound: Dalkowski was throwing off flat ground, had tossed a typical 150-some pitches in a game the night before, and was wild enough that he needed about 40 minutes before he could locate a pitch that passed through the timing device. [15] Weaver believed that Dalkowski had experienced such difficulty keeping his game under control because he did not have the mental capacity. Another story says that in 1960 at Stockton, California, he threw a pitch that broke umpire Doug Harvey's mask in three places, knocking him 18 feet (5m) back and sending him to a hospital for three days with a concussion. Said Shelton, "In his sport, he had the equivalent of Michaelangelo's gift but could never finish a painting." Dalko is the story of the fastest pitching that baseball has ever seen, an explosive but uncontrolled arm. There in South Dakota, Weaver would first come across the whirlwind that was Steve Dalkowski. "He had a record 14 feet long inside the Bakersfield, Calif., police station," Shelton wrote, "all barroom brawls, nothing serious, the cops said. 'Dalko' Tells the Story of Orioles Fastballer Steve Dalkowski Dalkowski was measured once at a military base and clocked at 98.6 mph -- although there were some mitigating factors, including no pitcher's mound and an unsophisticated radar gun that could have caused him to lose 5-10 mph. From there he was demoted back to Elmira, but by then not even Weaver could help him. Stephen Louis Dalkowski Jr. (June 3, 1939[1] April 19, 2020), nicknamed Dalko,[2] was an American left-handed pitcher. He was 80. How fast did Nolan Ryan really throw? - TeachersCollegesj Yet when the Orioles broke camp and headed north for the start of the regular season in 1963, Dalkowski wasnt with the club. Here's Steve Dalkowski. Take Justin Verlander, for instance, who can reach around 100 mph, and successfully hits the block: Compare him with Kyle Hendricks, whose leg acts as a shock absorber, and keeps his fastball right around 90 mph: Besides arm strength/speed, forward body thrust, and hitting the block, Jan Zelezny exhibits one other biomechanical trait that seems to significantly increase the distance (and thus speed) that he can throw a javelin, namely, torque. Williams looked back at it, then at Dalkowski, squinting at him from the mound, and then he dropped his bat and stepped out of the cage. Further, the device measured speed from a few feet away from the plate, instead of 10 feet from release as in modern times. Baseball pitching legend from the 1960's, Steve Dalkowski with his sister, Patti Cain, at Walnut Hill Park in New . A professional baseball player in the late 50s and early 60s, Steve Dalkowski (19392020) is widely regarded as the fastest pitcher ever to have played the game. Stephen Louis Dalkowski Jr. (June 3, 1939 [1] - April 19, 2020), nicknamed Dalko, [2] was an American left-handed pitcher. At 5 11 and 175 pounds, Dalko gave no impression of being an imposing physical specimen or of exhibiting some physical attributes that set him apart from the rest of humanity. Dalkowski experienced problems with alcohol abuse. How do you solve a problem like Dalkowski? - JoeBlogs Soon he reunited with his second wife and they moved to Oklahoma City, trying for a fresh start. [27] Sports Illustrated's 1970 profile of Dalkowski concluded, "His failure was not one of deficiency, but rather of excess. And, if they did look inside and hold the film up to the light and saw some guy, in grainy black and white, throwing a baseball, they wouldnt have any idea who or what they are looking at, or even why it might be significant. But hes just a person that we all love, that we enjoy. But all such appeals to physical characteristics that might have made the difference in Dalkos pitching speed remain for now speculative in the extreme. So the hardest throwing pitchers do their best to approximate what javelin throwers do in hitting the block. Steve Dalkowski, inspiration for Nuke LaLoosh in 'Bull Durham,' dies Despite never playing baseball very seriously and certainly not at an elite level, Petranoff, once he became a world-class javelin thrower, managed to pitch at 103 mph. Steve Dalkowski will forever be remembered for his remarkable arm. Again, amazing. But, no matter how embellished, one fact always remained: Dalkowski struck out more batters and walked more batters per nine-inning game than any professional pitcher in baseball history. Amazing and sad story. The old-design javelin was reconfigured in 1986 by moving forward its center of gravity and increasing its surface area behind the new center of gravity, thus taking off about 20 or so percent from how far the new-design javelin could be thrown (actually, there was a new-new design in 1991, which slightly modified the 1986 design; more on this as well later). The Fastest Pitcher Who Never Was | OZY But none of it had the chance to stick, not as long as Dalkowski kept drinking himself to death. Steve Dalkowski Minor Leagues Statistics | Baseball-Reference.com [23], Scientists contend that the theoretical maximum speed that a pitcher can throw is slightly above 100mph (161km/h). Dalkowski drew his release after winding up in a bar that the team had deemed off limits, caught on with the Angels, who sent him to San Jose, and then Mazatlan of the Mexican League. Drafted out of high school by the Orioles in 1957, before radar guns, some experts believe the lefthander threw upward of 110 miles per hour. He finished his minor league career with a record of 46-80 and an ERA of 5.57. A few years ago, when I was finishing my bookHigh Heat: The Secret History of the Fastball and the Impossible Search for the Fastest Pitcher of All Time, I needed to assemble a list of the hardest throwers ever. Those who found the tins probably wouldnt even bother to look in the cans, as they quickly identify those things that can be thrown away. Fastest pitch ever recorded Collectors Universe 0:44. Moreover, even if the physics of javelin throwing were entirely straightforward, it would not explain the physics of baseball throwing, which requires correlating a baseballs distance thrown (or batted) versus its flight angle and velocity, an additional complicating factor being rotation of the ball (such rotation being absent from javelin throwing). We see torque working for the fastest pitchers. "It was truly a magical time back then when Stevie pitched his high school game there," said. We give the following world record throw (95.66 m) by Zelezny because it highlights the three other biomechanical features that could have played a crucial role in Dalkowski reaching 110 mph. How do you rate somebody like Steve Dalkowski? Steve Dalkowski, the inspiration for Nuke LaLoosh in 'Bull Durham Lets therefore examine these features. He had fallen in with the derelicts, and they stick together. Extrapolating backward to the point of release, which is what current PITCHf/x technology does, its estimated that Ryans pitch was above 108 mph. It was tempting, but I had a family and the number one ranking in the world throwing javelins, and making good money, Baseball throwing is very similar to javelin throwing in many ways, and enables you to throw with whip and zip. His story is still with us, the myths and legends surrounding it always will be. So too, with pitching, the hardest throwers will finish with their landing leg stiffer, i.e., less flexed. He was sometimes called the fastest pitcher in baseball history and had a fastball that probably exceeded 100mph (160km/h). Steered to a rehab facility in 1991, he escaped, and his family presumed hed wind up dead. Nine teams eventually reached out. (In 2007, Treder wrote at length about Dalkowski for The Hardball Times.). "[5], With complications from dementia, Steve Dalkowski died from COVID-19 in New Britain, Connecticut, on April 19, 2020. Some experts believed it went as fast as 110mph (180km/h), others that his pitches traveled at less than that speed. Dalkowski, a smallish (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) southpaw, left observers slack-jawed with the velocity of his fastball. [26] In a 2003 interview, Dalkowski said that he was unable to remember life events that occurred from 1964 to 1994. "[15] The hardest throwers in baseball currently are recognized as Aroldis Chapman and Jordan Hicks, who have each been clocked with the fastest pitch speed on record at 105.1mph (169km/h). Dalkowski suffered from several preexisting conditions before. At loose ends, Dalkowski began to work the fields of Californias San Joaquin Valley in places like Lodi, Fresno, and Bakersfield. Arm speed/strength is self-explanatory: in the absence of other bodily helps, how fast can the arm throw the ball? Andy Etchebarren, a catcher for Dalkowski at Elmira, described his fastball as "light" and fairly easy to catch. Extreme estimates place him throwing at 125 mph, which seems somewhere between ludicrous and impossible. Note that Zeleznys left leg lands straight/stiff, thus allowing the momentum that hes generated in the run up to the point of release to get transferred from his leg to this throwing arm. The inertia pop of the stretch reflex is effortless when you find it [did Dalko find it? He also allowed just two homers, and posted a career-best 3.04 ERA. Just seeing his turn and movement towards the plate, you knew power was coming!. How fast was he really? But we have no way of confirming any of this. Yet nobody else in attendance cared. At Kingsport, Dalkowski established his career pattern. Dalkowski began the 1958 season at A-level Knoxville and pitched well initially before wildness took over. Best BBCOR Bats Steve Dalkowski Rare Footage of Him Throwing | Fastest Pitcher Ever Its possible that Chapman may be over-rotating (its possible to overdo anything). Steve Dalkowski, Model for Erratic Pitcher in 'Bull Durham,' Dies at 80 Dalkowski had lived at a long-term care facility in New Britain for several years. Dalko: The Untold Story of Baseball's Fastest Pitcher But in a Grapefruit League contest against the New York Yankees, disaster struck. This cost Dalkowski approximately 9 miles per hour (14km/h), not even considering the other factors. Dalkowski, 'fastest pitcher in history,' dies at 80, Smart backs UGA culture after fatal crash, arrests, Scherzer tries to test pitch clock limits, gets balk, UFC's White: Miocic will fight Jones-Gane winner, Wolverines' Turner wows with 4.26 40 at combine, Jones: Not fixated on Cowboys' drought, just '23, Flyers GM: Red Wings nixed van Riemsdyk trade, WR Addison to Steelers' Pickett: 'Come get me', Snowboarding mishap sidelines NASCAR's Elliott, NHL trade tracker: Latest deals and grades, Inside the long-awaited return of Jon Jones and his quest for heavyweight glory. It did not take long "three straight pitches," Dalkowski recalled, through the blur of 46 very hard years. Over his final 57 frames, he allowed just one earned run while striking out 110 and walking just 21; within that stretch, he enjoyed a 37-inning scoreless streak. Bill Huber, his old coach, took him to Sunday services at the local Methodist church until Dalkowski refused to go one week. The old-design javelin was retired in 1986, with a new-design javelin allowing serrated tails from 1986 to 1991, and then a still newer design in 1991 eliminating the serration, which is the current javelin. Steve Dalkowki signed with the Baltimore Orioles during 1957, at the ripe age of 21. To be sure, a mythology has emerged surrounding Dalkowski, suggesting that he attained speeds of 120 mph or even better. Unable to find any gainful employment, he became a migrant worker. How do you solve a problem like Dalkowski? - NBC SportsWorld But we have no way of knowing that he did, certainly not from the time he was an active pitcher, and probably not if we could today examine his 80-year old body. During one 53-inning stretch, he struck out 111 and walked only 11. We were overloading him., The future Hall of Fame manager helped Dalkowski to simplify things, paring down his repertoire to fastball-slider, and telling him to take a little off the former, saying, Just throw the ball over the plate. Weaver cracked down on the pitchers conditioning as well. Dalko, its true, is still alive, though hes in a nursing home and suffers dementia. Dalko: The Untold Story of Baseball's Fastest Pitcher Fastball (2016) - IMDb Steve Dalkowski was Baseball's Wild Thing Before Ricky Vaughn Showed Up. They warmed him up for an hour a day, figuring that his control might improve if he were fatigued. That fastball? I was 6 feet tall in eighth grade and 175 lbs In high school, I was 80 plus in freshman year and by senior year 88 plus mph, I received a baseball scholarship to Ball State University in 1976. That's fantastic. April 24, 2020 4:11 PM PT Steve Dalkowski, a hard-throwing, wild left-hander whose minor league career inspired the creation of Nuke LaLoosh in the movie "Bull Durham," has died. Anyone who studies this question comes up with one name, and only one name Steve Dalkowski. This was how he lived for some 25 yearsuntil he finally touched bottom. Gripping and tragic, Dalko is the definitive story of Steve "White Lightning" Dalkowski, baseball's fastest pitcher ever. He was the wildest I ever saw".[11][12]. Within a few innings, blood from the steak would drip down Baylocks arm, giving batters something else to think about. Javelin throwers develop amazing arm strength and speed. Suffice to say, for those of you who have never gotten a glimpse of the far endpoints of human performance, Dalkowskis stats are just about as ultimate as it gets. In one game in Bluefield, Tennessee, playing under the dim lighting on a converted football field, he struck out 24 while walking 18, and sent one batter 18-year-old Bob Beavers to the hospital after a beaning so severe that it tore off the prospects ear lobe and ended his career after just seven games. Dalkowski was suffering from alcohol-related dementia, and doctors told her that he might only live a year, but he sobered up, found some measure of peace, and spent the final 26 years of his life there, reconnecting with family and friends, and attending the occasional New Britain Rock Cats game, where he frequently threw out ceremonial first pitches. Weaver had given all of the players an IQ test and discovered that Dalkowski had a lower than normal IQ. Pitchers need power, which is not brute strength (such as slowly lifting a heavy weight), but the ability to dispense that strength ever more quickly. Cal Ripken Sr. guessed that he threw up to 115 miles per hour (185km/h). Women's Champ Week predictions: Which teams will win the auto bids in all 32 conferences? He was too fast. His ball moved too much. This video is interesting in a number of ways: Bruce Jenners introduction, Petranoffs throwing motion, and Petranoffs lament about the (at the time) proposed redesign of the javelin, which he claims will cause javelin throwers to be built more like shot put and discus throwers, becoming more bulky (the latter prediction was not borne out: Jan Zelezny mastered the new-design javelin even though he was only 61 and 190 lbs, putting his physical stature close to Dalkos). Dalkowski documentary, 30 years in making, debuts Saturday Weaver knew that Dalkowski's fastball was practically unhittable no matter where it was in the strike zone, and if Dalkowski missed his target, he might end up throwing it on the corners for a strike anyway. What made this pitch even more amazing was that Dalkowski didnt have anything close to the classic windup. Some observers believed that this incident made Dalkowski even more nervous and contributed further to his wildness. Fifty-odd years ago, the baseball world was abuzz with stories about Orioles pitching prospect Steve Dalkowski. Stuff of legends - Los Angeles Times . Dalkowski went into his spare pump, his right leg rising a few inches off the ground, his left arm pulling back and then flicking out from the side of his body like an attacking cobra. Accurate measurements at the time were difficult to make, but the consensus is that Dalkowski regularly threw well above 100 miles per hour (160km/h). I never drank the day of a game. Dalkowski, who once struck out 24 batters in a minor league game -- and walked 18 -- never made it to the big leagues. What set him apart was his pitching velocity. Reported to be baseball's fastest pitcher, Dalkowski pitched in the minor leagues from 1957-65. Dalkowski picked cotton, oranges, apricots, and lemons. It's not often that a player who never makes it to the big leagues is regarded as a legend, yet that is exactly what many people call Steve Dalkowski. Baseball players and managers as diverse as Ted Williams, Earl Weaver, Sudden Sam McDowell, and Cal Ripken Sr. all witnessed Dalko pitch, and all of them left convinced that none was faster, not even close. During a typical season in 1960, while pitching in the California League, Dalkowski struck out 262 batters and walked 262 in 170 innings. In the fourth inning, they just carried him off the mound.. In comparison, Randy Johnson currently holds the major league record for strikeouts per nine innings in a season with 13.41. He spent his entire career in the minor leagues, playing in nine different leagues during his nine-year career. But was he able consistently to reach 110 mph, as more reasonable estimates suggest? Once, when Ripken called for a breaking ball, Dalkowski delivered a fastball that hit the umpire in the mask, which broke in three places and knocked the poor ump unconscious. Javelin throwers call this landing on a straight leg immediately at the point of releasing the javelin hitting the block. This goes to point 3 above. He received help from the Association of Professional Ball Players of America (APBPA) periodically from 1974 to 1992 and went through rehabilitation. That lasted two weeks and then he drifted the other way, he later told Jordan. Just 5-foot-11 and 175, Dalkowski had a fastball that Cal Ripken Sr., who both caught and managed him, estimated at 110 mph. Baseball players, coaches, and managers as diverse as Ted Williams, Earl Weaver, Sudden Sam McDowell, Harry Brecheen, Billy De Mars, and Cal Ripken Sr. all witnessed Dalko pitch, and all of them left convinced that no one was faster, not even close. That was it for his career in pro ball. This book is so well written that you will be turning the pages as fast as Dalkowski's fastball." Pat Gillick, Dalkowski's 1962 and 1963 teammate, Hall of Fame and 3-time World Series champion GM for the Toronto Blue Jays (1978-1994), Baltimore Orioles (1996-1998), Seattle Mariners (2000-2003) and Philadelphia Phillies (2006-2008). Which duo has the most goal contributions in Europe this season? Which, well, isn't. In his first five seasons a a pro he'd post K/9IP rates of 17.6, 17.6, 15.1, 13.9, and 13.1. Follow him on Twitter @jay_jaffe and Mastodon @jay_jaffe. It is integrative in the sense that these incremental pieces are hypothesized to act cumulatively (rather than counterproductively) in helping Dalko reach otherwise undreamt of pitching speeds. 2023 Easton Ghost Unlimited Review | Durable or not? The southpaw was clocked at 105.1 mph while pitching for the Reds in 2011. . We call this an incremental and integrative hypothesis. This allowed Dalkowski to concentrate on just throwing the ball for strikes. Baseball pitching legend from the 1960's, Steve Dalkowski, shown May 07, 1998 with his sister, Patti Cain, at Walnut Hill Park in New Britain, Conn. (Mark Bonifacio / NY Daily News via Getty Images) No one else could claim that. Best Wood Bats. Baseball was my base for 20 years and then javelin blended for 20 years plus. Even then I often had to jump to catch it, Len Pare, one of Dalkowskis high school catchers, once told me. Ryans 1974 pitch is thus the fastest unofficial, yet reliably measured and recorded, pitch ever. The fastest pitch ever recorded was thrown by current Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman. [SOURCE: Reference link; this text has been lightly edited for readability.]. I remember reading about Dalkowski when I was a kid. [20], According to the Guinness Book of Records, a former record holder for fastest pitch is Nolan Ryan, with a pitch clocked at 100.9mph (162.4km/h) in 1974, though several pitchers have recorded faster pitches since then. Ive been playing ball for 10 years, and nobody can throw a baseball harder than that, said Grammas at the time.