Fastest Fastball Ever: "Fastball" (2016)

[knightedsoldier5000]

THis is always a topic of fun debate in baseball - Who had the fastest fastball ever? You might be led to believe by the media that a negro from Cuba, Aroldis Chapman, has the fastest timed fastball of all time at 105. I will give you a hint, this film shows that 105 is NOT the fastest pitch ever thrown.

SPOILER WARNING: I will tell you who this film says had the fastest timed fastball ever in post #2 Do not read post 2 if you want to watch the film to find out.

Also of note, Bob Gibson spends his 10-15 minutes of the film whining about racism and saying that's why he was a good pitcher - because he was so angry about all dem ebil rayciss muhfuggas so that made him throw hard. And of course, Gibson took a lot of cheap shots pitching up and in and hitting people.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5434972/

With Kevin Costner narrating, lead a cast of baseball legends and scientists who explore the magic within the 396 milliseconds it takes a fastball to reach home plate, and decipher who threw the fastest pitch ever

 

[knightedsoldier5000]

Fastest timed pitch ever: Nolan Ryan, followed by Bob Feller, then Chapman

You'd have to see the film to see the methodology of the breakdown, but it was proven scientifically. Radar guns are a recent addition to MLB gamse, so of course most of the old pitchers never even got timed, and Ryan and Feller rarely got timed. I believe feller only got timed once as a promotion but was still faster than Chapman.

 

[Average American]

Nolan Ryan, Bob Feller..

Knighted, thanks for the heads-up on Fastball, just watched it on Instant Netflix.
I thought it did a good job balancing the science with personal testimonies.. Liked how it chronicled the evolution of timing fastballs.. from the race against a motorcycle, to gun ranges, to modern clocking, etc. Also liked the segment on the minor league pitcher who had a big arm & a sick (but hard to control), rising fastball.

My only criticism is they probably could've told the story just as well in an hour-long TV documentary format, as opposed to a full length movie, but.. Good stuff if you're interested in Nolan Ryan & Feller.