SneakyQuick
Mentor
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2021
- Messages
- 1,718
Ben Joyce 105.5 mph fastball
- Thread starter SneakyQuick
- Start date
white lightning
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2004
- Messages
- 21,458
Talk about a cannon arm. Wow that baseball is like a missle. I've been to the batting cages many times and tried hitting the 80mph pitches. Not easy to do as you have almost no time to react. Something 25 mph would
be impossilbe at least for me. Hitting is baseball is a skill that very few can have at the mlb level. The movement on the pitches. Sinkers, curve balls, sliders, fastballs, changing speeds, etc. etc. These guys are
such incredible athletes.
be impossilbe at least for me. Hitting is baseball is a skill that very few can have at the mlb level. The movement on the pitches. Sinkers, curve balls, sliders, fastballs, changing speeds, etc. etc. These guys are
such incredible athletes.
Last edited:
SneakyQuick
Mentor
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2021
- Messages
- 1,718
Yet another reason to love college baseball!!!
college World Series going on now. Lots of cool highlight clips available on YouTube. Much easier than watching the whole game
college World Series going on now. Lots of cool highlight clips available on YouTube. Much easier than watching the whole game
SneakyQuick
Mentor
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2021
- Messages
- 1,718
This kid makes the Ryan Express look like the uptown local. Impressive as hell. With any control at all he’s a shoo-in to at least be a closer
Flint
Mentor
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2016
- Messages
- 1,468
Baseball is moving towards guys that can generate spin more than power pitchers. No matter how fast a guy can toss it, it can be hit. Movement is key. Nolan Ryan and Bob Feller could bring the heat but weren’t as good as guys that could mix in off speed stuff with the fastball. 105 is impressive but there’s a few 100 mph guys in the league. Some get lit up pretty good.
Not sure of his size but he looks pretty big, all of which indicates he'll be yet another china doll power pitcher. I was rooting for Stephen Strasburg to be an all-time great, at least an all-time great strikeout pitcher, but his career stats make me gag. He's in his 13th season and has a fine .646 career winning percentage -- but he's only won 113 games in 13 seasons. His career high in strikeouts is just 242 and most tellingly his career high in innings pitched is 215. He has a total of 1,470 innings pitched -- in 13 seasons! That was about four seasons worth for workhorse pitchers in the 1960s and '70s.
I have no respect for today's players. They're pampered and ridiculously overpaid with guaranteed contracts and are often injury prone due to being artificially bulked up. Too much of baseball has become either hit a home run or strike out.
I don't recognize the game I often followed fanatically for 40 years and also played as a youth, and have no regrets about losing interest in spite of the many new stats that have been conjured up in recent years. So many fundamentals have been cast aside and today's product plain old sucks big time. But like everything else, MLB is propped up by other corporate "too big to fail" entities that form the backbone of the regime.
I have no respect for today's players. They're pampered and ridiculously overpaid with guaranteed contracts and are often injury prone due to being artificially bulked up. Too much of baseball has become either hit a home run or strike out.
I don't recognize the game I often followed fanatically for 40 years and also played as a youth, and have no regrets about losing interest in spite of the many new stats that have been conjured up in recent years. So many fundamentals have been cast aside and today's product plain old sucks big time. But like everything else, MLB is propped up by other corporate "too big to fail" entities that form the backbone of the regime.
Carolina Speed
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2011
- Messages
- 5,762
Ben Joyce is 6'5. Tennesse has two other pitchers taller than Joyce. Freshman Wyatt Evans is 6'6 and sophomore Hollis Fanning is 6'7.
I too have trouble respecting any athlete in any sport. Most of them are pampered and spoiled. I guess a I still follow baseball for several reasons. First, there's still a lot great white players. I can watch quite a few teams and see many pale faces up and down most line ups. Next, when I was a young boy, I read a lot books about athletes. Mostly baseball, but also football. But with baseball I was fascinated with the numbers. All the numbers, homeruns, RBI's, batting averages, etc. Growing up Pete Rose was my favorite player. He was tough and he hustled. He seemed to run full steam everywhere he went especially out of the dug out to his position. He even ran as hard as could after he was walked. Rose was nicknamed "Charlie Hustle." He played like every game was his last. I identified with that, because as a kid, I couldn't wait to get to baseball/football practice and play in the games. I played baseball and football. I made the HS varsity baseball team as freshman and the varsity football team as a sophomore. College football was derailed by a knee injury. Any way, when Rose began to get close to Ty Cobb's all time hit mark, I kept up with his stats every day until he broke Cobb's record. I read a lot of books on Cobb as well. Cobb put up some of the greatest stats of any player with the exception of Ruth.
As I said, I've always been interested in numbers and it seemed to carry over in to baseball as well as football.
Interest for me has come again by the greatness of Mike Trout. He broke many records early, but injuries have slowed Trout's record breaking career for the time being. I guess to each his own, but I've always like to see players work their way up the record books. I get it if others are not interested in numbers/stats the way I am.
I too have trouble respecting any athlete in any sport. Most of them are pampered and spoiled. I guess a I still follow baseball for several reasons. First, there's still a lot great white players. I can watch quite a few teams and see many pale faces up and down most line ups. Next, when I was a young boy, I read a lot books about athletes. Mostly baseball, but also football. But with baseball I was fascinated with the numbers. All the numbers, homeruns, RBI's, batting averages, etc. Growing up Pete Rose was my favorite player. He was tough and he hustled. He seemed to run full steam everywhere he went especially out of the dug out to his position. He even ran as hard as could after he was walked. Rose was nicknamed "Charlie Hustle." He played like every game was his last. I identified with that, because as a kid, I couldn't wait to get to baseball/football practice and play in the games. I played baseball and football. I made the HS varsity baseball team as freshman and the varsity football team as a sophomore. College football was derailed by a knee injury. Any way, when Rose began to get close to Ty Cobb's all time hit mark, I kept up with his stats every day until he broke Cobb's record. I read a lot of books on Cobb as well. Cobb put up some of the greatest stats of any player with the exception of Ruth.
As I said, I've always been interested in numbers and it seemed to carry over in to baseball as well as football.
Interest for me has come again by the greatness of Mike Trout. He broke many records early, but injuries have slowed Trout's record breaking career for the time being. I guess to each his own, but I've always like to see players work their way up the record books. I get it if others are not interested in numbers/stats the way I am.
Flint
Mentor
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2016
- Messages
- 1,468
Baseball's the best sport for statistics. There's a lot of games so a lot of information. I used to love to calculate batting averages as a kid and still recognize some of the common averages and know the hits/at-bats. Unfortunately, the penchant for numbers and baseballs has been taken to absurd lengths. I was able to stomach WHIP and WAR, but now they track stuff like exit velocity, exit angle, spin rate, and so on. Also defensive stats are a mess. Guys that were clearly good fielders are lower rated then they should be and marginal guys grade out well.
To me the biggest number that has changed the game is the one on the radar gun. Yes guys can throw fast but the pressure on them to keep it up is intense. In the good ol' days pitchers could dial it down to get through games, now a guy does that he's out. I think it is one reason pitchers burn out so quickly. They have to be at maximum performance each pitch. I'm sure the great ones took it easy on the crappy hitters to save their arms. And don't get me started on Tommy John surgery. Does no one have and ulnar muscle that can last a career anymore?
To me the biggest number that has changed the game is the one on the radar gun. Yes guys can throw fast but the pressure on them to keep it up is intense. In the good ol' days pitchers could dial it down to get through games, now a guy does that he's out. I think it is one reason pitchers burn out so quickly. They have to be at maximum performance each pitch. I'm sure the great ones took it easy on the crappy hitters to save their arms. And don't get me started on Tommy John surgery. Does no one have and ulnar muscle that can last a career anymore?
white lightning
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2004
- Messages
- 21,458
I love watching Kershaw for the Dodgers and Verlander for the Astros. Both guys are as old school and tough as they come.
I love the game of Baseball. I've always been a stats guy for any sport. Baseball brings back some of my best memories as a little kid growing up. Playing Little League was an amazing fun time in my life. I made the All Star
Team at one point. Then I got to travel to towns I had never been too. Felt like being a pro at least in my mine. It's such a pure game. I love it.
I really enjoyed watching Jim Thome as he chased to get that ultra rare career 600 homerun club which under only 9 guys have ever done in MLB History. What an incredible feat!
Think about Dimaggio hitting in 56 straight games. Babe Ruth the first to 60 homeruns and he was the career leader until recently. Ruth is still ranked 3rd all time in career homers!
I could go on and on. Getting off topic of the thread but I agree with Carolina Speed. Mike Trout is a huge reason to watch the games. Many other guys that are great too but we need to support Baseball in my opinion.
I love the game of Baseball. I've always been a stats guy for any sport. Baseball brings back some of my best memories as a little kid growing up. Playing Little League was an amazing fun time in my life. I made the All Star
Team at one point. Then I got to travel to towns I had never been too. Felt like being a pro at least in my mine. It's such a pure game. I love it.
I really enjoyed watching Jim Thome as he chased to get that ultra rare career 600 homerun club which under only 9 guys have ever done in MLB History. What an incredible feat!
Think about Dimaggio hitting in 56 straight games. Babe Ruth the first to 60 homeruns and he was the career leader until recently. Ruth is still ranked 3rd all time in career homers!
I could go on and on. Getting off topic of the thread but I agree with Carolina Speed. Mike Trout is a huge reason to watch the games. Many other guys that are great too but we need to support Baseball in my opinion.
Not a baseball expert at all but at one time at a very young age I loved the game. Anyway the club to be in is the .400 club and I say that for my Grandpa's sake as he was a Rogers Hornsby fan and grandpa himself was a stud player in his days (the dead ball era).
Flint
Mentor
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2016
- Messages
- 1,468
Speaking of numbers and baseball, especially as it regards to the radar gun and speed, it seems every hit, and especially home runs has to be referred to in terms of exit velocity. Apparently it’s the most important thing to know. Here’s an excerpt from an article on Detroit’s Riley Greene’s efforts during a recent game.
from the game recap:
But Saturday’s drive put an exclamation point on a day in which Greene centered and crushed balls all game -- three balls to the middle with exit velocities in the triple digits -- and scored three of Detroit’s four runs.
Greene’s triple had an exit velocity of 105.7 miles per hour, and would’ve been a home run in 22 other Major League parks, according to Statcast. (How a triple has an “exit velocity” I do not know since it didn’t exit anything)
An inning later, Greene saw three pitches before hitting a fastball back up the middle at 104.1 mph. The grounder had a .490 expected batting average, essentially a 50-50 ball, and would’ve been a two-out RBI single if not for Royals shortstop and fellow rookie phenom Bobby Witt Jr. positioned up the middle. ( so this was essentially a hard “out”)
On the home run:
Payamps’ heater to Greene came in at 95.8 mph. Greene sent it out at 108.4.
Well thanks for that Mr. Statcast! Now I know to the tenth of a digit how fast that ball was hit. I don’t mind a little coverage of how fast balls are thrown or hit but it’s gotten a bit excessive.
from the game recap:
But Saturday’s drive put an exclamation point on a day in which Greene centered and crushed balls all game -- three balls to the middle with exit velocities in the triple digits -- and scored three of Detroit’s four runs.
Greene’s triple had an exit velocity of 105.7 miles per hour, and would’ve been a home run in 22 other Major League parks, according to Statcast. (How a triple has an “exit velocity” I do not know since it didn’t exit anything)
An inning later, Greene saw three pitches before hitting a fastball back up the middle at 104.1 mph. The grounder had a .490 expected batting average, essentially a 50-50 ball, and would’ve been a two-out RBI single if not for Royals shortstop and fellow rookie phenom Bobby Witt Jr. positioned up the middle. ( so this was essentially a hard “out”)
On the home run:
Payamps’ heater to Greene came in at 95.8 mph. Greene sent it out at 108.4.
Well thanks for that Mr. Statcast! Now I know to the tenth of a digit how fast that ball was hit. I don’t mind a little coverage of how fast balls are thrown or hit but it’s gotten a bit excessive.
Baseball always had the same statistics that were commonly used up until I don't know exactly when, a decade or so ago. Now there are a bunch I don't recognize or much care about.
It's the same in all sports. After many golf shots we're told about clubhead speed, trajectory and height and how fast the ball was going. Even fantasy football has a ridiculous amount of stats like vacated targets, average yards per route run and lots of others. Maybe it helps with enjoyment of the game for some, but it's gone way over the top. You have to be quite the nerd, or trying to make a living analyzing a given sport, to get into it to that degree.
It's the same in all sports. After many golf shots we're told about clubhead speed, trajectory and height and how fast the ball was going. Even fantasy football has a ridiculous amount of stats like vacated targets, average yards per route run and lots of others. Maybe it helps with enjoyment of the game for some, but it's gone way over the top. You have to be quite the nerd, or trying to make a living analyzing a given sport, to get into it to that degree.
Last edited:
SneakyQuick
Mentor
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2021
- Messages
- 1,718
By the way the reason I mentioned this at all was because the fastest major league fastball was clocked at 105. I agree that the stat is meaningless but if the stat is going to be tracked at all may as well be one of ours that has the crown I suppose.
Aroldis Chapman Has apparently thrown 105.1 in MLB but this is marginally faster.
Aroldis Chapman Has apparently thrown 105.1 in MLB but this is marginally faster.
knightedsoldier5000
Mentor
Flamethrower Joyce, Angels' No. 9 prospect, called up
www.mlb.com
Flamethrower Joyce, Angels' No. 9 prospect, called up
ANAHEIM -- Reliever Ben Joyce first gained national prominence on May 1, 2022, when he threw a fastball that clocked in at 105.5 mph while pitching for the University of Tennessee. It was the fastest pitch in college baseball history and two months later, the Angels selected him in the
www.mlb.com
white lightning
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2004
- Messages
- 21,458
I used to play baseball as well as basketball, football and track when I was young. Back to Baseball. Not having hit a baseball in
many decades I occasionally go to the batting cages. Not sure if it's my slower reaction time or my eyes getting worse as I age buy
hitting the 80mph fast balls which was the fastest at the batting cages I've been to is not easy anymore. It's amazing how quickly
things change. I did make contact with some but was not even close to what I thought I could do. Granted if I practiced alot, I could
get some of my hitting back but nothing like these guys at the major leagues level. In addition to fast balls they throw curve balls,
sliders, sinkers, and screwballs not to mention a few other variations. Even with 20/20 eye sight and incredible bat speed and reaction
time it's very difficult to play baseball at the professional level. Think about it? If you get 3 hits our of 10 bats your very good. That's how
hard it is even for these guy who are the best of the best!
Now to imagine trying to hit a 105 or 106 mph fast ball. I don't even know if I would have the courage to stand in there anymore? Haha.
That's some serious heat. Many average guys struggle to hit a 60mph fast balls in the batting cages. This is almost double that. Wow!
many decades I occasionally go to the batting cages. Not sure if it's my slower reaction time or my eyes getting worse as I age buy
hitting the 80mph fast balls which was the fastest at the batting cages I've been to is not easy anymore. It's amazing how quickly
things change. I did make contact with some but was not even close to what I thought I could do. Granted if I practiced alot, I could
get some of my hitting back but nothing like these guys at the major leagues level. In addition to fast balls they throw curve balls,
sliders, sinkers, and screwballs not to mention a few other variations. Even with 20/20 eye sight and incredible bat speed and reaction
time it's very difficult to play baseball at the professional level. Think about it? If you get 3 hits our of 10 bats your very good. That's how
hard it is even for these guy who are the best of the best!
Now to imagine trying to hit a 105 or 106 mph fast ball. I don't even know if I would have the courage to stand in there anymore? Haha.
That's some serious heat. Many average guys struggle to hit a 60mph fast balls in the batting cages. This is almost double that. Wow!
I was an All Star pitcher in Little League and Pony League, but stupidly didn't continue to pursue baseball and the other sports I liked to play. You know how it is with 20-20 hindsight and regrets. I remember when I was in my late 30s and was at a bar one night that had a game where for a buck or two you could throw three baseballs and it would tell you how many mph each throw was. I wound up, old school style as all pitchers did until 25 or so years ago (just when did the traditional wind-up disappear from MLB?) and unleashed what I thought were mighty throws harkening back to my youth. Sadly, each one only registered in the high 60s in mph. Talk about having one's ego crushed! That was the night I knew I my dream of being a major league pitcher was quashed for good.