Page 31 - Sports Illustrated Kids (April 2019)

AT
averages about 94 mph but often
approaches three digits, isn’t even
the hardest around.
In 2016 Aroldis Chapman of
the Yankees threw a pitch 105.1
mph, the fastest ever recorded.
Last year rookie Jordan Hicks of the
Cardinals equaled the mark. Tayron
Guerrero of the Rays hit 104.
Elite teams are loading up their
staffs with flamethrowing pitchers.
“I think it’s becoming more and
more prominent in the game,” says
Indians pitcher Shane Bieber. “It
seems like every arm coming out
in the playoffs is 98-plus.”
78.3 mph 84.4 mph
Curveball Slider
The greatest benefit of a good old
country hardball is obvious. The
faster the pitch, the more difficult
it is for a batter to hit it. Last year,
according to MLB’s Statcast,
which measures every pitch
thrown, hitters
had a batting
average of .295
and a slugging
percentage of
.511 on fastballs
traveling less
than 90 mph.
For pitches
between 90 and
92 mph, the
average fell to
.282 and the
slugging percentage was .478.
When you get up to the 94–96
range, the numbers were .262 and
.428. And if a pitch was traveling
faster than 98 mph, hitters had
virtually no chance. They batted
.228 while slugging a measly .334.
But a good heater does more
than just blow a hitter away. It
also makes the rest of a pitcher’s
arsenal tougher to touch. Consider
that at bat Altuve had against JEFF ROBERSON/GETTY IMAGES (HICKS); ERICK W. RASCO (CHAPMAN); SIMON BRUTY (SCHERZER, 3)
Scherzer. The first pitch was
an 88-mph slider, which Altuve
didn’t swing at. It was a nice
pitch, but it was made even harder
to hit by the fact that Altuve knew
that Scherzer was capable of
throwing gas. If Altuve went up to
163.7 mph 201 mph
93.2 mph
Fastball Tennis serve Badminton serve
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