No one throws the ball harder than Los Angeles Angels rookie Ben Joyce. He’s on pace to become the fastest player in history.
With a 105.5 mph fastball that struck out Los Angeles Dodgers all-arounder Tommy Edman, Joyce came within 0.3 mph of the fastest pitch recorded in MLB history. Only Aroldis Chapman, with pitches of 105.8 mph and 105.7 mph, has thrown the ball harder off the mound.
The broadcast radar indicated a speed of 106 mph.
This pitch is also the fastest strikeout pitch ever recorded in MLB history.
This isn’t the first time Joyce has hit 105.5 mph, as he also did it in college when he was a flamethrower at Tennessee. His heat has been known for years, with his success always just a matter of mastering his command. So far, it’s been a relative success in 2024.
Joyce’s place in history has its limits, however. Statcast has only been around since 2015, with MLB tracking pitches with the less reliable PITCHf/x system from 2006 until 2015, when Chapman’s record-breaking pitch was recorded.
Before PITCHf/x, pitches were measured with even less reliable radars, in a way that could potentially rob speed gods of the past like Nolan Ryan. MLB pitchers have never been better trained to reach high speeds, but the limitations of measurement make the title of “fastest pitcher of all time” a little trickier than you might like.
And, of course, that speed didn’t matter much to the Angels, as Mookie Betts’ 104.4 mph ball in overtime proved more impactful in a 6-2 Dodgers victory.
It all added up to an eventful return to Angel Stadium for Shohei Ohtani.