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FastestThings

Baseball

Ben Joyce

Fastest strikeout pitch in the tracking era: 105.5 mph on 3 September 2024, Ben Joyce striking out Tommy Edman.

Also known as Joyce 105.5
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Ball speed

Published as 105.5 mphPublished as 105.5 mphPublished as 105.5 mph

Statcast release speed, Ben Joyce of the Los Angeles Angels striking out Tommy Edman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3 September 2024. The hall of fame calls it the fastest strikeout pitch. 169.76 km/h is Guinness's conversion of the same 105.5 mph.

OfficialMLB.com (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 1.6× a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 1.9 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)
  • London to New York in 32 h 48 minConstant · London to New York, 5,570 km great-circle

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

Ben Joyce's fastball is arm speed delivered through a long lever at release. The ranked figure is the pitch speed the measurement system printed, not an exit velocity off a bat.

  1. The whip

    Legs, hips, shoulder and elbow line up so the ball leaves at the end of the motion. A longer path helps only if the timing still snaps.

  2. Pitch speed, only

    Exit velocity is a different list. This row stays on the pitch the sources timed.

Nearby on this list: Aroldis Chapman and Jacob Misiorowski.

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 170km/h105.5mph47.2m/s91.7knRanked figure

    Statcast release speed, Ben Joyce of the Los Angeles Angels striking out Tommy Edman of the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3 September 2024. The hall of fame calls it the fastest strikeout pitch. 169.76 km/h is Guinness's conversion of the same 105.5 mph.

    Guinness prints 105.5 mph (169.76 km/h) on 3 September 2024. The AP wire on FOX Sports prints Joyce at 105.5 mph on Sept. 3, 2024.

    Official
    MLB.com (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Pitcher
Ben Joyce
Batter
Tommy Edman
Speed
105.5 mph
Date
3 September 2024

Context

Background

MLB.com's Statcast speed hall of fame prints the fastest strikeout pitch as 105.5 mph by Ben Joyce on 3 September 2024. Guinness prints the same day and the same 105.5 mph, also written 169.76 km/h, for Joyce of the Los Angeles Angels striking out Tommy Edman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Associated Press account carried by FOX Sports names that Joyce pitch at 105.5 mph on Sept. 3, 2024, beside Misiorowski's later tie.

The ranked figure is 105.5 mph. The kilometre figure is the conversion Guinness prints beside it, not a second throw. Chapman's 105.8 mph remains the fastest pitch on the list. This row is the strikeout, which is the same pitch.

Spot a wrong number?

Every report is read by a person, and corrections are dated on the page.