Did Nolan Ryan throw 108 mph?

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A skeptical review of the documentary "Fastball" where it was claimed Nolan Ryan threw 108mph by today's standards.
Was Nolan Ryan the fastest pitcher ever? Watch and decide for yourself.
Compared with Aroldis Chapman and Jordan Hicks.
Also see Bob Feller's velo tests.

[@blakeb4490]

"Ryan also had an insane hook" Just ask Robin Ventura

[@steveelling9604]

Noogies!

[@carlmay9532]

Fun fact. Ventura is the only player in history to get 6 hits off of Ryan in the same inning.

[@Sludgehammer138]

It was more of an uppercut but touché

[@MrShanester117]

So played out...

[@juju_1990]

Hahhahahha

[@ianforsyth9472]

The fact that Ryan maintained that velocity over the entire game impressed me most. Chapman could last two innings tops, then came a major drop-off.

[@KDill29]

_Entire game?_ His entire career.

[@Pianomn626]

@@KDill29 Exactly. He was in his mid forties and throwing around 96-97 mph. WITHOUT steroids.

[@dominic3751]

Well Ryan is a starter and Chapman has been in a closer role for 10 years

[@JamesSmith-go2lo]

@@Pianomn626 no shot he wasn’t juicing

[@cowboyvalley]

@@JamesSmith-go2lo You are obviously under 40 also.

[@knep24]

Justin verlander said Ryan was his idol, that's why he tried to be his own closer. Verlander consistently threw 92-94 in the first and 97-99 in the 7th 8th and 9th. Honestly it's how I would train my pitchers to pitch, it's better for your arm and you can throw longer.

[@Tunnelvision1k]

🐐 You’re gonna be helping a lot of kids

[@ikemancil3850]

Saw a double header at the Astrodome. Nolan threw the first and J R Richards the last game . I could not believe how loud the pop was striking the mit. And I was sitting well up behind the right field fence. Needless to say they used a separate catcher for each game. They each threw 2 hitters. Funny I can't remember who they played. Getting old I guess.

[@KTF0]

Alcantara started to adopt that philosophy and he's pitching lights out. He was pretty damn good before.

[@jantzenallen3077]

@@KTF0 love Alcantaras sinker

[@spencerjsteel]

On September 14, 1988, I was a college student at Michigan and Ryan was in the NL facing the Reds and Danny Jackson that night. He'd had a crummy first half of '88, and had been making noise about retirement, so a buddy and I made the three-hour trek to Riverfront to see him for perhaps the final time in his career. The Reds were junk that season, so after paying off a few ushers, we got to sit with the scouts and their radar guns, which was really cool because MPH readings were nowhere else to be found in those days. Ryan was dominant; other than a HR to Kal Daniels, nobody made solid contact. If I'm not mistaken, it was one of four CGs in his career without a BB. Anyway, to the point: He was 93-94 in the first couple of innings, 95-97 through most of the rest of the game, then really aired it out in the ninth - he threw five pitches at 99MPH. Rob Dibble happened to appear in that game, and topped out at 97. I don't know if he threw 108, but I do know that I saw 99 multiple times that start, and they were all in the ninth, so the notion that he threw harder late was true, at least that night. He was also forty-one years old at the time. Maybe Chapman throws harder, but we'll never know. I kind of like it that way - makes for interesting debates. I will say this: That man threw a baseball very, very hard, and he did it for a very, very long time, both in each and every game, and throughout the longest career in MLB history. Probably the most extreme outlier in the history of major professional sport.

[@dthornto31]

Agree with everything you said. Except Ruth was the greatest outlier of all time

[@CaughtCrazy]

​@@dthornto31well you had me step for step til Ruth that's where I get out ,agree to dis agree, wouldn't wanna call a ground rule double a HR or anything, lol

[@patrickhall6627]

@@dthornto31 You make....almost as solid an argument as the OP.

[@dthornto31]

@patrickhall. Its not to say ruth is the greatest of all time. But he greater than everyone else of his era, more than anyone else. If that makes sense. He effectively invented modern day baseball with the emphasis on the home run. No one else was even close to him at the time

[@patrickhall6627]

@@dthornto31 I was really just busting your chops for disagreeing with the OP without making your case. I agree with basically everything you said. I think it is not really possible to compare players of that era to the modern game, for a variety of reasons. If there is a best player of that era, that conversation starts and ends with Ruth, to be sure. Of modern players, Ryan clearly has the most records that will never be broken. No one will ever break the strikeout record, even with way higher strikeout rates these days. He allowed .5 HR/9! Longest career in LMB history, and he was a pitcher. And so on. The man was nuts.

[@RGCarlton]

The absolute scariest fact about Nolan was his last ever pitch after he tore a ligament, ending his career. He threw a final ball at 98mph.

[@Strotophonic]

Very good point

[@lobal2]

At 40+ years old.

[@aspiceronni4462]

Incredible.

[@snerdterguson]

At around 70 he threw a first pitch that was mid 80s. Insane.

[@paulg6274]

@@snerdterguson thats BS

[@johng2832]

I watched countless Nolan Ryan games from start to finish. It was exceedingly common for him to start a game around 90-92, by mid innings be at 93-94, and finish the game 94-96. I watched him hit 96 in the late innings of the last (or one of his last) games. He was 46 I believe. Thus, it was normal for his pitches to increase in velocity over the course of the game. I've seen similar in other pitchers like Justin Verlander.

[@snerdterguson]

Verlander has said Ryan was his idol, he definitely picked up the habit of saving some heat for the end from Ryan.

[@christalball93_]

I believe it

[@wind_runner6836]

Yeah I watched him throw many times it was his MO

[@strange-universe]

Currently, pitchers show everything they have in the 1st inning.

[@jamesseeger2383]

I was at the game where it was recorded at 100.8 mph. I was also at two of his no hitters. I have seen no one that compares with him in stamina or velocity. He was a freak of nature. He truly was the most intimidating pitcher to ever play the game. Reggie Jackson said it best, "Trying to hit a Ryan Fastball is like trying to drinking coffee with a fork."

[@caponebd7941]

The fact that he is a starting pitcher makes this even more impressive.

[@danielmims8467]

I was at a rangers game as a kid and we had season tickets front row bullpen at Arlington stadium . I almost caught a ball and some old guy snatched it from me and I was pissed. Tom house saw the whole thing came over to me and asked me if he could see my rangers hard hat . I gave it to him and he handed it back with a ball with his and the whole bullpens autographs on it including nolan.

[@josephburgess3972]

Now, that is awesome!

[@benwheeler4223]

Great story. Thanks for sharing. Bet that ball is on your mantle or other place of honor.

[@andrewwalker208]

My experience with farm strong guys: I outlifted some in the weight room, but they were still stronger in wrestling and on the football field. It’s a weird “wirey” sort of strength that is hard to quantify or explain. However, Nolan was farm strong and weight room strong. He was probably just a physical outlier of his era.

[@el34glo59]

I think it's overall strength. Just strong dudes but not weight room trained.

[@chicagoshitwox]

tom house’s mechanics had a ton to do with why he was so good

[@ryanlynch290]

I grew up in a machine shop. It's similar. I could never bench much (didn't spend much time in the weight room), but I could rag doll a lot of guys that could put up bigger numbers than me.

[@ikemancil3850]

Nolan was very disciplined. Get his book throwing heat. He was very dedicated to his workout routine. He claimed that his lower body was where he generated his power. He swam 50 to 100 laps in an Olympic size pool daily in the off season. Ran everyday. Would stationary jog in waist deep water. The man was blessed but he worked at also. His book is a great read.

[@solophentii3468]

Yup; Guys brought up on farms have lean muscle that’s far more filled-in and resilient-able to be leaned on for massive work loads while still keeping pretty flexible. Not to take away from Ryan’s skill, but one usually gets that from stuff like digging gutters and bailing hay.

[@markuyehara7880]

For all the talk about the modern athlete in this video, there isn't much mention that Ryan seems to be throwing as hard as flame throwing closers when his pitch count is well above 120. What does this say about the supposed superiority of the modern athlete? If training is so much better, why can't they train for stamina while maintaining ballistic explosion like Ryan? Is something missing?

[@kdub7195]

You can't trust the technology from back then, but Ryan absolutely had triple digit velo. I really enjoyed the side by side comparison of Chapman and Ryan, it's far more convincing then the vacuum tube driven device they used to measure the 100.8 mark that stood forever.

[@seabrook1976]

I wish there was more footage of him pitching with the Angels back in the 70's.

[@watchout361]

I WOULD BET THAT KTLA TAPED OVER HIS HIGHLIGHTS. VIDEO TAPE WAS EXPENSIVE BACK THAN. I WOULD ALSO WISH THEIR WERE!

[@digiorno1142]

He clocked in at 86 as an old man. That says a lot to me lol

[@homerun8032]

If you are talking about the KZbin video with him in street clothes, that was 66 mph. All you have to do is count the frames like the man in the videos was talking about ,you will get 66 mph.

[@charlieb308]

No, his final pitch at age 46 was 96mph

[@paulg6274]

@@charlieb308 lol no it wasnt. He blew his arm out and the pitch came out like a duck, you can find it on youtube

[@ap2077]

If the right hooks to Ventura’s face had an Exit Velo of 115 MPH, his fast ball was AT LEAST 108 MPH

[@LoganChitwood]

Great video! Nolan is no doubt one of the fastest throwing pitchers of all time. Also, he threw fast all the way until the end of his career at 46 years old without losing much velocity at all. Super impressive 🔥

[@steveelling9604]

"The most feared pitcher of his era." And he threw two pitches. There were plenty of games when his curve was nowhere to be found, and he endured on his heater alone. #Stud

[@CorpusYoungMaRInE]

A lot of people think of the fastball/curve combo when thinking of Nolan but he actually had a filthy change up towards the latter half of his career. Verlander talks about how big of advocate Nolan is concerning the importance of a change up for an aging pitcher.

[@bbigjohnson069]

@@CorpusYoungMaRInE He was a better pitcher as he got older because he cut his walks down and he did have the circle change. I saw him pitch several times. One game vs. Yankees started at 5PM. Imagine trying to hit Ryan with the ball going through shadows in the twilight. He had a no-hitter into the 8th or 9th. Later when he was on Texas vs. the Angels. I think he had a couple 3 hit shutouts maybe a 2 hitter. One of those he was perfect through 6.

[@mikewhitney8615]

Koufax had to endure on his heater alone in the 7th game of the WORLD SERIES in 1965. Pitched a shutout.

[@italianmiltyfriedman6264]

he threw more than one variation of fastball, i dont mean a cutter, but he changed his grip to give it slight variations on spin, and pinpoint location, if youre a genius, you get into the hitters head, you dont need more than 2 pitches

[@Nyfalhem]

@@bbigjohnson069 I went to one of the Angel games when I was a teenager in Arlington. My uncle took me. He had I think 6 no hitters at the time and I had a ball signed by him that day before the game. Something he normally wouldn't do I was told because he was Superstitious about signing on pitching days. Not real sure how true that is. He pitched a no hitter until the 8th inning. My uncle turned to me and said I can't believe you got his signature on the night of a no hitter. One minute later... they popped one up right over first base's head.. :( I can't say I was disappointed because I think he had like 14 strike outs that night and it was magical.

[@6gentex]

I saw Nolan Ryan pitch a game in 1990 where he struck out Chili Davis with a 104 mph fastball. In Arlington, Texas on a hot sticky summer day. That's 95% humidity and 604 feet above sea level at 43 years old. I have no doubt that he threw a ball at 108 mph a time or two . They had accurate radar back in 1990 also. You can doubt all you want, but just because you never saw it, doesnt mean it didn't happen.

[@paulg6274]

this is just false. he was never clocked at 104

[@kenw2225]

He threw 104 every game.

[@rudivanrooijen7611]

While I share your skepticism on how velo was measured in the past, the old school stories in general and the specific stories on Ryan, your take that athletes today are stronger, while true in general, doesn't mean there could not have been an outlier, a genetic anomalie, in the past. The one story on Ryan that I remember vividly is how umpire Ron Luciano had trouble watching Ryan's fastball as Luciano's pupils had difficulty contracting in time as the pitch approached the plate. Furthermore, the very fact that at 45 Ryan was still throwing heat around 96 mph, something you do not see even in these days of generally stronger and better trained athletes, is proof that Ryan was a special kind of specimen, even to today's standard.

[@cbrend22]

Great point. Ryan threw 225 pitches in a game once, and regularly threw 150+, and completed about 1/3 of the fames he pitched over 27 years!! Talk about an outlier! He never stopped throwing smoke right until the end, and at 46, with all that mileage, was regularly throwing upper nineties using today’s guns. I don’t find it hard to believe he could have uncorked some 105+ pitches in his mid twenties when his arm had 15,000 fewer 90+mph fastballs in it! The best powerlifters were in the 80’s and 90’s, Bob Hayes ran a 9.9 100 meters on cinders with heavy shoes in 1964. I’ve seen estimates that would have out him faster than Bolt, and certainly very close...and that’s without Jamaica’s drugs and current training. Outliers stand the test of time. In 20 years, MJ will STILL be the best player.

[@williambrown7437]

I don’t think that proof of longevity is proof of higher max performance. With different systems of measurements we just have to accept that we can’t compare them without making assumptions that reduce the accuracy of the results.

[@rudivanrooijen7611]

@@williambrown7437 Just as much as the fact that todays athletes are stronger in general is not proof that Ryan's fastball did not reach 108 mph. I have my doubts that Ryan actually did ever throw that hard, but the fact that he was an outlier in almost any regard of pitching, even to today's standards, does make it a bit more likely.

[@williambrown7437]

@@rudivanrooijen7611 I don’t know whether it’s likely or not. I know that he wasn’t directly recorded throwing that hard. Everything else is an extrapolation. We don’t know if someone somewhere threw it 110 mph without being recorded. We can only go by what’s recorded. We know measured in that particular way, the baseball travelled over 100 mph closer to the batter. We know it was more than that at his hand, how much more is really a guess based on various assumptions that have to be made and therefore have a significant margin of error. I’m not saying he didn’t throw it 108 mph, just that we shouldn’t credit him with it when that’s not what was actually measured.

[@rudivanrooijen7611]

@@williambrown7437 I expressed my doubts about Ryan's velocity , so you and I do not disagree in that regard. My initial remark was in reply to the reasoning that today's athletes being stronger was somehow proof that Ryan did not throw 108 mph. That reasoning is flawed.

[@lll9416]

I think the most underrated part of Nolan Ryan's technique was how brilliantly he used his lower body. Nobody pushed off the mound like Nolan Ryan did, nobody. Not only did he have long arms but he had very very broad shoulders and I don't mean the muscles I mean the skeleton, his shoulders at the bone, are wider than most which gave him an even longer reach. Add that country boy strength and that Texan grit and you've got close to an unstoppable force.

[@rachater1]

Roger clemens had leg strength like Ryan

[@martinhenderson923]

I was 10 in 1972 and Ryan was my favorite pitcher for the duration. A few things, just for logic's sake: 1) The 88 mph in the first inning may have been while the engineers were trying to dial everything in; I wouldn't take the first inning as gospel under any circumstances; 2) In the side-by-sides, Ryan's pitch is up and away, and I think that makes the ball travel farther than something that is closer to the plate (my geometry teacher, Mr. Blake, might be able to correct me); 3) Ryan's pitch was in the ninth inning. Game over -- Until Syd Finch actually arrives, Nolan Ryan is the greatest fastball pitcher of all time, even if he isn't the fastest. A final note: when I was a kid, the scouting report on Ryan was to get him early because he got tougher as the game goes along, so that supports the idea that his stuff got better as the game went on.

[@dretrott1652]

The Nolan Express! This guy was my hero, he was always listed as my favorite player on the back of my cards when I played little league! The fact you took the time to put this together makes me happy, so thank you. And, in my biased opinion, Ryan's pitch got to the catchers mitt first in your side by side!

[@redsnflr]

how smooth and relaxed Nolan was makes him look less explosive compared to Chapman and his tight windup before exploding out to release the ball. The side by side comp was great.

[@Bobbynotthingham]

Kinda like deGrom, it just looks so effortless when he pitches that it doesn't look like he's throwing as fast as he actually is

[@ice-iu3vv]

ryan's 4-seamer had considerably more movement than any other 97+mph pitcher. i think thats conclusive. and for velocity after the 40th birthday, the only conceivable challenger would be satchel paige. the precise mph isnt as important as the overall effect on the hitter. ryan's fastball was almost certainly the most difficult to hit, in the period between satchel and aroldis. so, in a 65-year span. he could also throw 2-seamers with some sinking action at 93-95. until he was 45 years old. he has thrown ceremonial first pitches at 85 mph at the age of 63. he's the overall velocity legend in my view. although i suspect aroldis chapman is the fastest in pure mph, i believe satchel paige had the best control of 99 mph pitches, and given walter johnson's release, and the fact that hitters would pick up the ball a few feet later, well then if walter threw even 94, it would have looked over 100 because of the length of time the batters had to see it. one thing we can agree on though. nobody except j.r. richard ever threw a 97 mph slider. that guy was one of the hardest throwing, and most underrated pitchers of all time.

[@Bluelevitron]

I have used the "eye test" to determine the fastest pitch ever recorded. Unfortunately, no one has a complete video of Ryan's second no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers in 1973, except for Norm Cash, trying to use a table leg, as a bat in the ninth inning. There was one short clip of Nolan, earlier in that game and it was the fastest pitch that I have ever seen.

[@kdub7195]

I thought they had video of all 7 on Cooperstown?

[@jamesroboyle]

Norm Cash’s prank was hilarious.

[@KC-bg1th]

The modern chronograph is very rudimentary, and has been unchanged in tech for 70 years - it was invented for usage in space travel testing, where the accuracy needs to be near if not pinpoint. I can understand the doubts for the radar guns, but to doubt the chronograph by dismissing it as outdated and inaccurate is just ignorant.

[@dragonizzlenite]

What I got out of this was that the chronograph is "very rudimentary".

[@bradenculver7457]

It’s a ballistics chronograph. They’re made for measuring the muzzle velocity of a bullet, not space travel testing. The technology may have been invented originally for nasa uses, but the one used is intended for munitions, not space travel. It was a chronograph from the army.

[@j.shearer1958]

Nolan Ryan struck out more batters in a single season, and in his career than any other pitcher. I grew up in the 70's when few MLB games were on TV compared to today, and when we knew Ryan was going to pitch we never dared miss seeing this freak pitcher. If he had pitched on stronger teams, his win total would have been over 400 easy...

[@theNfl_Esq]

Grew up with Nolan’s son and he actually bought my cattle when I was in HS. Everywhere he went he was treated like everyone else. Nobody asked for autographs etc. good guy

[@StumpyVanLife]

Fun fact. I was born May 15th, 1973. Nolan threw his first no hitter that very same day. I was born in Arlington, TX - it's like I was destined to be a Nolan Ryan fan!

[@ronburgandy5006]

I'd pretend I was Nolan Ryan during my little league pitching days...we all looked up to him. Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton too....I ended up playing first base...I hit too many batters...

[@waltoncummins719]

You copied all of his game.

[@Pianomn626]

So you were more Gus Wehling then...

[@JDrumUK]

Like you say here in the video, hard to gauge this with any degree of certainty, but I think Ryan was peaking at 101-103 in his prime. Not quite Aroldis Chapman but fairly close. If you look at some of the guys hitting 101+ in today's games it sure doesn't look like they are throwing harder than Nolan Ryan did.

[@omegacroc2928]

Yeah, I would agree. 101-103 seems reasonable.

[@ousamaabdu794]

The speed guns measure faster these days

[@Ezekiel-rv3pe]

Nolan Ryan is probably the fastest pitcher ever .

[@middleagedjabroni]

If anyone has to really question just how strong of a arm Ryan had, his last pitch with a torn ligament was clocked at 98 mph. So, he’s definitely capable in his prime to get to 105-108. He played in 4 decades. I doubt anyone will match his talent. Case closed!

[@howie9751]

Not closed. Despite his abilities he was just over a .500 pitcher. 13th all time in wins, but 3rd in losses.

[@degromfan]

@@howie9751 wins and losses don't matter.

[@degromfan]

@JIm isass sure, but not wins and losses.

[@bradenculver7457]

That isn’t even close to “case closed”…

[@paulg6274]

lol search the pitch on youtube right now. if u think thats 98 you'll believe anything. it looks about 80. it is a duck out of the hand

[@rayfujimori9833]

Glad I lived to see him pitch. As one hitter said love pitcher to throw fastballs, it's like strawberry ice cream. But with Ryan it's being shoved down your throat.

[@stubie1456]

Saw Nolan late in his career play at Tiger Stadium. He started his pregame warmup standing just a few feet from his catcher in center field. They started throwing to each other and it seemed funny at first because they were only 6-8’ apart. After each throw they took a small step away from each other and by the end, Nolan was throwing foul pole to foul pole on a frozen rope. The ball never went above the outfield walls. It was one of the most amazing throwing performances I’d ever seen and he hadn’t taken the mound yet. Dude was 40!

[@knightrider693]

One thing we can't argue is Ryan had 7 no hitters. Unreal talent

[@alton31ellis]

If you are going to doubt the validity of some of the older instrument’s precision you ought to give reasons why and evidence to support your claims . That Ryan was clocked at 100.9 at the plate by radar and was consistently clocked at 98-100 using that method at the plate, while the clocking other pitchers the same way consistently 6-15 mph slower, lends quite a lot of credence to the film’s modern recalibration. Lastly, your comp to Chapman is a good one but you are missing two things here. First, although you touched on Ryan’s rigorous workout routine, it was his incredible conditioning of his legs they combined with the leg kick and the “drop and drive” style that would give him more power and velocity than Chapman’s sunlike mobility and flexibility that gives him great torque and long circular delivery. His style, although geared toward high velo might not be the equal of even his own fastball were he to be more of a high leg kick and drop and drive pitcher. Secondly, and this is my more abstract but salient point, Nolan possessed not just a once in a generation arm, he had a once in a century arm perhaps. He was the right handed Koufax but even more gifted by nature. Why? Unlike his hero he didn’t get hurt early in his career. So? He didn’t get hurt ever in his career. So? He was born with the right arm of God in that he threw harder than ANYONE EVER, NEVER GOT HURT, AND THREE HARDER THSN EVERYONE FOR FOUR DECADES!!!! Of course the guy who everyone thought was the fastest was indeed the fastest if he could also do it for so much longer and without interruption. It just makes sense if you think about it. If you were to imagine a pitcher who had an arm that was divinely touched, what would you expect from it? Answer- throw the hardest ever. Strikeout the most ever. No hit the most teams ever. Be the hardest thrower for the longest ever. A flame throwing arm that lasts longer than a knuckleballer’s is impossible and yet it happened. Why would you find it hard to believe that a 27 year old peak performance Ryan could have thrown a pitch harder than Aroldis did at roughly the same age? And Aroldis hit 105 at a time when we are seeing 103 from others. We didn’t see anyone that close to Nolan. There is really only one comparison to Nolan and truly may have been his equal. That would be the ageless wonder who avoided running at all times. SP. A man whose initials are the same as “Starting Pitcher.”

[@LawrenceAugust_]

Don Sutton, Nolan Ryan, and Greg Maddux are the only three players in MLB history with more than 480 Quality Starts. Number of Quality Starts / ERA / SHO / W-L% for QS: Sutton - 483 / 1.71 / 58 / .742 Ryan - 481 / 1.61 / 61 / .726 Maddux - 480 / 1.75 / 34 / .768

[@sergeantpickles4202]

Whats nuts is there is the exact same mythology about cricket. There was a player in the 70s called Jeff Thompson who everyone from back then insists bowled 105-110 mph (the current record is 100 mph). Must be something about the macho nostalgia of people looking back on the past and insisting that something was better 'in the old days' that links both sports haha.

[@MICHAEL_MAY_8]

As someone who witnessed Nolan Ryan pitch in person on numerous occasions, from several different angles, over a period of years, I am certain that Nolan threw significantly harder at the end of games. More importantly, Nolan's fastball was clearly quicker than other flamethrowers of the day. The sound of the Nolan fastball hitting the catcher's mitt was completely different than other 98-100 mph pitchers. It would not surprise me to hear that Nolan threw a 108 mph pitch in his prime.

[@justinchamberlin4195]

One of my favorite weird baseball stats was a statshot from a few years ago tracking Justin Verlander's average fastball velocity by inning. You would expect the first five or maybe six innings would be pretty consistent and then you'd see an mph or two drop for each successive inning as fatigue sets in. Verlander's velocity went up: 94-95 in the first five or six innings, 96-97 in the seventh, 97-98 in the eighth, and 99-100 in the ninth. I also recall an All-Star game when he tried throwing fire right away, and had serious control issues. At least for that season, it seemed to take him 80, 90, or 100 pitches to truly loosen up and be able to put maximum effort into his throws while still maintaining a reasonable sense of control. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Nolan Ryan was the same way. I would be surprised if he hit 108, though. 105? Maybe 106ish? Sure. And in that day and age when so few others could put that much gas behind their throws, it might as well have been 108 mph.

[@michaelperson4117]

I think you’re missing one variable, Nolan was farm strong

[@aspiceronni4462]

Yup. Agree 100%

[@RatIceCream]

What does farm strong mean?

[@andrewgabriel4866]

@@RatIceCream Strong from farm

[@Dr.Frankensteen]

@@RatIceCream They already somewhat explain it in the video. It's functional strength rather than just purely physical strength.

[@GR-ps4dt]

I would love to know how many pitches Nolan Ryan threw in his career. Of all the records he has that will never be broken, total pitches is definitely one too. His total pitches probably doubles whoever would be #2 on that list. He was my favorite athlete and I skipped classes in college to watch him throw his 7th no hitter. Even in his twilight he was incredible to watch.

[@snerdterguson]

Probably not, because Cy Young started around 800 games and Walter Johnson threw 500+ complete games. But for players who debuted after the 1920s, you're probably right. Guy was a tank. In the new documentary on netflix, there's a line where he says what other people call pain, he refers to as discomfort. Woke up one day unable to extend his arm due to bone chips in his elbow. All he did later that day was throw a no hitter. Incredible testament to his sheer will.

[@billofbton4502]

The only modern pitcher who threw more innings was Phil Niekro. Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton, Warren Spahn and Steve Carlton are close. They probably all threw a similar number of pitches.

[@PhatLvis]

If radar guns were inaccurate in the '70s, Ryan's reading of 92 might very well have been low; it would seem better radar would almost always result in Higher readings, as catching the ball at more regular intervals (faster radar) would ensure that no increase in speed over time were missed - slip through the blips, as it were.

[@redreeler4905]

He is the greatest flame throwing pitcher, for sure!!! He holds many records I guarantee will not be broken, and threw harder way longer than 100 percent of the pitchers, so he's the best!!!

[@MrMicronano]

In a Ryan documentary I think called “Feel the Heat” there’s a video of a pitch he threw against KC that from the camera angle looked like it rose about two feet. The side by side with Hicks and Chapman make me think Ryan was definitely in the 103-105 range for sure.

[@feynmanschwingere_mc2270]

no way

[@MrMicronano]

Visually “looked like” not actually as that defies physics.

[@6thwilbury2331]

Great video. Just watched Fastball again, and it led me here. I've also had doubts about the 108 number specifically because it relies on two assumptions: an 8 mph drop in speed from the release point to home plate, and an equal distance from said release point to home plate from individual to individual. With most of the top power pitchers, the latter is probably a reasonable assumption. There are always some exceptions: Randy Johnson's height probably made his release point closer to home than, say, Kelvin Herrera's, for example. But most of the best fastballs in my lifetime belonged to pitchers between 6-1 and 6-4, plus the "tall and fall" motion (e.g. Ryan) and "drop and drive" motion (e.g. Seaver) seems to have a similar release point in relation to the rubber. No, the 8 mph drop is the one part that the Fastball doc doesn't quite nail down. I'm not saying it's wrong per se, just that I'd like to see the claimants show their work. For example, do we know the air quality was the same (or similar enough) for each fastball? After all, air density and wind velocity will have a sizable impact on the drag against the ball. So even if we stipulate that the Rockwell equipment was accurate (which we can't), I'm not sure you can safely assume an equal drop-off from setting to setting in the slowdown of the ball**. Rob, your side-by-side comparison at 19:00 is perhaps the most interesting part of this video: watching that segment frame by frame*, the two pitches are pretty much precisely in sync from start to finish. The pitch even snaps each respective catcher's glove back at the same time. Put another way, late 1970s Nolan Ryan threw a fastball every bit as fast as early 2010s Aroldis Chapman, no faster and no slower - at least if the two videos you pulled are to be our guide. Again, very cool work, even if I'm two years late to the party1 - - - - - *In case someone is not familiar with the keyboard controls on KZbin, pause the video, then use the < and > keys to move forward or back one frame at a time. With this video, it will take two taps of the key to advance the Chapman/Ryan footage one frame because this video is at 60 fps while their televised archives will be at 30 fps. **Not for nothing, but I DO buy the Bob Feller 98.6 mph reading with the old lumiline chronograph. For what those are used for, they are quite precise if used properly. The goofy part of the device is that it requires that the ball travel straight through the opening, not at an angle, or else it's getting a cosine effect. But again, while I don't doubt the 98.6 mph reading, I question the assumption of simply adding 8 mph to normalize for the distance.

[@kenw2225]

Don't we measure from release point today?

[@commiehunter733]

A 103-105 mph today, would be clocked at 97-100 mph... This is because the mlb is clocking the ball straight out of the pitchers hand, instead of at the plate... You gain a few mph by this method

[@daryljay7057]

I saw Ryan several times. He had an extra gear that others did NOT have! He'd go through the lineup the first time through, looking like a very good MLB pitcher. The next time through the lineup, he would go somewhere that ordinary humans could NOT go! The sound of those pitches was extraordinary! The ball would almost scream, with a bang when it slammed into the catcher's glove! You'd 'see' it as well. Big league hitters standing at the plate, bat on their shoulders, looking like little leaguers! Helpless against a force they could NOT deal with! Ryan was a legend! Absolutely fabulous pitcher!

[@todd.goslin6190]

There was a newspaper article I read in the early eighties about a game the Astros played against the Padres. If memory serves, the article said Nolan struck out 14 Padres. The article also said Nolan was clocked at 97 in the first inning and 98 in the ninth! This was normal for Nolan Ryan.

[@jotlum]

There is no doubt Ryan routinely threw 100 mph, but let's define what that really means. Where exactly was the mph measured? I can give some details on this as I had a lot of experience running the Jugs gun throughout the 90's. The Jugs gun itself was very accurate - if the operator used it correctly. Jugs gave specific instruction to operators on where the gun should be placed, how far away from the target it should be and so on. I most commonly used 'Continuous Mode' on the Jugs which gave two mph measurements - the first was within 8 feet after being released by the pitcher, and the second was within 8 feet of the ball reaching the catchers mitt. Notice I said mitt, not plate. When a pitcher would throw a 'wild pitch' that got past the catcher, or if the operator didn't have a clear view of the catcher, the 2nd mph measurement was notoriously unreliable. With a Radar gun, the cone expands enough to get reliable measurements as long as a pitcher is reasonably close to the strike zone. However, Laser is extremely narrow and doesn't expand the way Radar does making it very difficult to get a mph measurement unless the ball passes through a very tight window. Based on the difficulty they had acquiring mph measurements from the Laser, it certainly suggests they were trying to capture the ball closer to home plate instead of coming out of his hand. The video clips showing the Jugs gun readings of 94, 96 were measuring the pitch speed within 8 feet of Ryan throwing the ball. Having said that, Ryan was far past his prime at that point. Having said that, during Ryan's prime, the Radar guns measured the speed about 8 feet in front of the catcher. The stat on the caption of Ryan being clocked at 92 mph would translate to approximately 100 mph from his release. If I had to put money on it, I would estimate a prime Nolan Ryan threw 102-103 mph near his release.

[@paulg6274]

actually yes i think there is still a lot of doubt he routinely threw 100. Anything over 90 was considered gas in his day. I bet he lived 94-96 and occaisonally hit 100

[@johnberger5539]

One of the major differences between Ryan's fastball and Chapman's was that Ryan's moved in every direction whereas Chapman's is straight as an arrow.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

I know folks like to hate on Chapman but Chapman has averaged 14.7 K/9 and allowed only a .164 batting average against for his career. Ryan averaged 9.5 K/9 and was about .205 Batting average against. .

[@MrVegasdeuce]

@@PitchingNinjaVideos Chapman does that for 1 all out inning. Ryan had to pitch 7+ innings...

[@dthornto31]

@Ronnie o. Yeah with its still a 5 K / 9 in difference. That’s significant. No one would put Chapman’s career in the same league as Ryan’s. But Chapman was still pretty impressive

[@pherdog82]

​@Pitching Ninja hard to compare when players are taught launch angles and you rarely see a .300 average now.

[@standepain]

@@PitchingNinjaVideos But that's 700 innings compared to almost 5400 innings. Not to mention Ryan probably would be averaging 13-14 k/9 against today hitters.

[@tc9499]

ppl can talk all they want about how great todays athletes are . But the training, the tech, the value as an asset to a team, all that, winds up making them more fragile.

[@brandonduhon1933]

Sid Finch threw faster

[@lestermount3287]

I was in row 16 near first base at a Ranger game and the ball had a whizzing noise as it came to home plate. Regardless the speed how many pitches create that much noise?

[@daveware4117]

Im a 46 year old man that plays base ball with my neighbors(most of them 20something) Ive been working on my pitching(mostly body mechanics) If i could send balls over the strke zone at 65mph, everyone would consider me a stud. Its crazy how much better the pros are than the normies, and that is basicly at EVERYTHING, not just baseball pitching

[@DOGbackwardz]

Chapman gets so much extension towards the plate compared to Hicks/Ryan. It's windchill velocity of 106-107, and it definitely arrives before Ryans because of that. With Ryan's arriving before Hicks it also gives slight credence to throwing harder than that 105 especially with consideration to the easier frame timing.

[@michaelstrong3118]

Why

[@DOGbackwardz]

@@michaelstrong3118 The release point is closer to home. Plant foot is further, wingspan is larger and more of the arm is coming towards home. Essentially he had the second closest release point to HP in the league and the guy who was closer was dragging his foot while doing a hop.

[@yankees29]

After watching him and Hicks side by side I could definitely say he hit 105+ possibly

[@christalball93_]

they measure it out of the hand now so can't be compared

[@ZeuZLoD]

Clocking warm up pitches means nothing as a lot of pitchers just try to get loose and get a quick feel for the landing gear. And some pitchers just dont start hitting the gas velo wise until later in the innings. I think Verlander is that way, starts off slow then as the inning pile on he brings the heat.

[@427dynodon]

I get a little tired of people saying Ryan didn''t throw 108 mph. Yet the ball was traveling almost 101 near the plate. It's like saying Mickey Mantle never hit a ball 600 Ft. Which he certainly did. They say this because it happened years ago. Not good enough.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Watch the velo readings and how inconsistent they were. We have no idea that the gun they used was correct. It was an experimental thing that was only used twice (and this was a promotion not a scientific experiment). There's no way of knowing.

[@josephsarmento6914]

@@PitchingNinjaVideos Who are you to judge how hard a pitcher is going to throw each and every pitch to DIFFERENT batters in the lineup. You act like the pitcher is a robot and can't deviate from a certain speed or the radar gun is defective.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

@@josephsarmento6914 there is no pitcher in the history of baseball who topped out in the 80s in the 1st inning and then hit 108 in the 9th inning after 140 pitches since we’ve been measuring stuff. It’s pretty common sense to doubt that it happened here, especially when the laser was a new technology and they were having a tough time getting it to be calibrated.

[@josephsarmento6914]

Quit conflating speeds. The laser never read 108. 100.9 I believe. Pitchers are not robots. Did you see all the data from that night pitch by pitch? Was EVERY pitch clocked? Common sense applies IF you have ALL the facts which you don't. @@PitchingNinjaVideos

[@ItIsYouAreNotYour]

You also forgot about Babe Ruth. He actually flew to each base never touching the ground. Also, Wilt Chamberlain? Flew to every game himself, boy were his arms tired. Myths and exaggerations are there for a reason.

[@Axle3369]

I was a starting pitcher for a small town team up until age 17. As a small town we didn’t have much for pitcher choice so if you start the game, you usually finished it. So I can understand this. You learn to conserve your arm by throwing, curves, change ups or the odd fast ball and slider to get you through the first innings. Depending on your night, by the end of the game your arm is warmed up, and your off speed pitches are getting old so you bring the heat and you throw your heart out and basically get the k’s by stunning your opponents with the velocity in the later innings. Just my take on that point. The other point I think is that velocity should have and always been at the plate. The new measurement of clocking it as it leaves the pitchers hand is just a matter of boasting higher numbers. At the plate where the batter either contacts or doesn’t is where it counts. Just like any other pitch. Does a curveball or slider matter where it is when it leaves the pitchers hand? No! Where it is when it hits the plate is what counts. If you can start a slider well outside and then catch the corner at home plate, or a curve that may be at the batter’s chin halfway there but inside and around their knees when it crosses the plate. Do you get where I’m going with this? Every other pitch including a fastball only matters at the plate whether it’s a strike or a ball. So why would we judge every other pitch at the plate, yet a fastball at release point? Doesn’t make sense to me!

[@twolak1972]

There will NEVER be another pitcher like the one & only Nolan Ryan..Some call him a freak, I call him the most gifted ball slonger of all time. Just to put things in perspective consider this. 1. HE HAD 2 PITCHES. 2. HE PLAYED FOR 27 SEASONS 3 HE THREW HARDER IN THE LATE INNINGS AND HAS 7 NO HITTERS . Nolan had the greatest pitching mechanics of his era. He used his entire body and I think the key to why he was so good for so long was the.way he ended his delivery. WATCH his left leg as puts it down and gets all.the REACH out of it to cement the rest of his body and THEN comes the power of his arm.and upper body . He kept himself in great shape and was just physically superior to other pitchers. He never just sat around in the off season but kept up his regimen of lifting and keepint fit. His no hitter record and SO,s will never be broken ..Its too bad he was never on better teams cuz he should have 10.RINGS

[@monumentofwonders]

If you had seen him pitch in person, you would not be fooling around questioning the method of measurement. I sat behind home plate in a game he pitched in Houston. The ball was invisible to me for the first three innings. You heard Ryan grunt, then a nanosecond later, almost simultaneously, you heard the ball pop as it hit the catcher's mitt. His pitches defied the senses to follow them. And he did it forever. Strike outs, no-hitters, one-hitters, two-hitters. complete games, lowest opposing batting average, etc. He was just a unique phenomenon. Lot's of guys are throwing hard now, but let's see what they're doing when they're 42 years old. Probably not pitching a no-hitter. Probably sitting on the couch at home, watching the game.

[@curtisamos1615]

I pitched for the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jack's Nolan Ryan was my hero...top speed of mine was 92mph.....my best pitches are my curve and my slider....on a good day I could easily throw 5 innings.....scaring batters with my curve and fastball ...I recall my first time starting....very nervous.......but after warming up....I couldn't be hit....my knuckle curve is and will be remembered as my best pitch....I still have my score sheets from my time in junior.... most strikeouts came by way of hard fastball....followed by my curve was feared by right handed batters...being a pitcher......I was not great at hitting...A) I stand 6' 4 B) eyesight was not great.. In the end ...I still have my record of strike outs (K)..and wins .....I still have friends from baseball ⚾️...(IF you know baseball...and have bonds with your teammates. ..you are well respected...even though its now 20 years later.......)

[@sillymonkey725]

......

[@yippee-ki-yay9925]

I don't know if there are any contemporaneous accounts, but John D'Aquisto supposedly threw 102.4 on the same gun at Dodgers game around the same time as Ryan's game. For some reason, that doesn't get any attention.

[@trevorgoodman4895]

How much would a 35 mph tailwind add to the speed of the pitch? How strong of a wind gets the game postponed?

[@dvon1097]

The crazy thing is he was in his early 40s with the rangers and he still could hit damn near triple digits

[@TheBrimic]

I'm just realizing how much you look like Serj Tankian. Amazing vid!

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Ha! I've definitely gotten that before.

[@TheHighestGodisGood]

Maybe 106 or 107, but 108 is possible. It seems that slow mo shot is slightly faster than Hicks.

[@MrBigmike7118]

The first gun readings you showed at 10:45 were in 1990, 91 or 92 not "later in his career" at the end. He was 43, 44, or 45 years old which is amazing in itself. Another thing to keep in mind when trying to matching up video particularly with Aroldis is that Aroldis is a little taller and likely is releasing the ball slightly closer to the plate. Either way its pure gas!

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Yep. I made that point. I have no way of adjusting for extension. Though Hicks is likely a shorter strider than Ryan. In any event, it's too tough to judge or differentiate via video. It's definitely gas either way.

[@kellyem33]

If you just do the math, and measure when the ball leaves his hand, and when it hits the catchers glove, and do a simple calculation, it’s slightly more than half a second, giving a number of 108 miles an hour.

[@ryanlewis6729]

He was a machine! I've been to hundreds of games 20 or so of them Nolan pitched and whenever the ball hit the catchers glove you heard the pop from the outfield stands like if u was in the infield

[@sirtorndr]

"Undoubtably" is not a word.

[@outlaw5318]

Nolan Ryan stats are just mind boggling compared to modern day pitchers dude was pitching complete games regularly gaining velocity going into the late innings even did the same thing when he was like 45

[@danthurman9076]

Nolan was committed to excellence, he threw just as many balls in the off season as he did pitching in the regular season. Yes I believe Ryan could throw 99 plus in the late innings.

[@thomaswood8167]

Tom Seaver generated 95% of his power from his legs, which allowed him to pitch 250-300 innings/yr for 16-17 years straight. Same with Nolan Ryan. Tremendous mechanics in which the lower half did most of the work, saving shoulders and elbows

[@frankanderson4113]

To my mind, the most compelling evidence of his otherworldly velocity, is the testimony of the hall of famers who faced him. You take hank Aaron who played so long and was one of the best four or five hitters who ever lived. There is no doubt in his mind who the fastest pitcher he ever saw was. And everyone who faced him has the same testimony. You can still see the awe in their faces after all these years when they talk about a Nolan Ryan fastball.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Definitely for that era, he was an outlier in velocity.

[@doublethomas8415]

Leading sports scientists of today have said that humans are very close to reaching the top speed of what is possible. Most agree that around 107 is going to be the absolute max someone can throw before their body can no longer handle the torque and strain being put on it.

[@EdenR48]

Ryan was my childhood idol. I have picture with him as an Angel in June 1979. Saw him pitch live at least 7 times. 3X at Exhibition stadium in Toronto in the 70s, 2X with the Rangers in late 80s and 2x in early 90s. Thing that really stood out to me in the 70s was the number of straight back foul balls as hitters strained to keep up with his riser. From behind home plate the ball seemed to stand still. I still have super 8 film (24 frames per second) from one of the games.

[@Bobbynotthingham]

Have you released that film anywhere? Would be cool to see

[@EdenR48]

@@Bobbynotthingham Good idea. Have 2 reals of Super 8 film stored in a box buried under some other boxes that I should get digitized at some point

[@Bobbynotthingham]

@@EdenR48 that would be super awesome, people would absolutely love it. The more old film out there and being shared amongst people, the better chance it's preserved and available for a long time. Would hate to see a lot of history being lost. I'm sure people have some amazing footage tucked away places. Do you have a twitter or something? Just to follow if you do upload it sometime. I'll subscribe to your youtube anyway.

[@parkerclay]

@@EdenR48 every find it?

[@MrChuckwagon55]

We’ll never know how hard he ever threw because this was one random game, back then they didn’t clock every pitch like they do now.

[@TwinCityShredder]

Nolan Ryan's pitching was measured at the plate, and today it's measured leaving the hand. Nolan Ryan had potential at today's standard of 108.5.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

I discuss that in there. The measurement device is what I question. A ton of variable readings during the game.

[@GR-ps4dt]

@@PitchingNinjaVideos It's been a long time since I read this but I once read an article where Nolan's trainer at the time talked about how Nolan threw more with his push-off leg than any pitcher he had seen. The trainer also stated that more often than not Nolan would be in the weight room riding those stationary bikes before and after everyone else had arrived and left. I think it's great to talk about arm strength but there were many articles from years ago that talked about Nolan's legs.

[@commiehunter733]

Makes sense... Ryan is a once in a lifetime talent

[@yankees29]

@@GR-ps4dt his lower half was very important. His legs look like tree trunks.

[@paulchandler9241]

I truly do not understand why we can't just use real-time game footage to VISUALLY pinpoint the time it takes the ball from release to catcher's mitt.

[@deansmoker4853]

Yes, I witnessed it! Ironically, traffic tickets were at an all time high as well!

[@paysonfox88]

14:06 -- DUDE LOOK at 2011-2012 JUSTIN VERLANDER FOOTAGE!!!!! YOU seem to be missing the point sir! Justin Verlander in his MVP year of 2011 would start the first inning by throwing Fastballs in the 89-91MPH Range. By the 5th Inning, Justin Verlander would creep up to the 95-96MPH Range. By the 7th inning, Justin Verlander would creep up again to the 97-99MPH Range as he loosened up. By the 9th Inning of games, JV in 2011 would be fully loose and throw upwards on 102 MPH on the guns. So, your point is what regarding this unreliable gun????? We should discredit JV right? Cuz he was topping out at 91 MPH in the first inning, and then 102 MPH in the 8th to 9th Right????? Your argument has a counter example, explain your disbelief now! Second example of this was 2013 Yu Darvish for the Rangers. He would begin the 1st throwing 91-93 MPH and end the game at 100 MPH in the 7th or later. So what is your point? Were the modern radar guns broke in 2013?

[@Akkbar21]

I always wondered how good Nolan Ryan would have been rotating the spheroid. He could have been a top physical specimen of a qb if he ever decided to play football.

[@Wunktheskunk]

Compelling arguments. The only reason Bob Feller is even in the conversation is due to his own self-promotion for years. Loved to talk about himself!

[@brianditto]

My father told me same thing, that he was jealous of Nolans publicly!

[@frankbrooks1724]

But Nolan was doing that in the 9th with a no hitter on the line, everyone else does it for 20-30 pitches and runs off to ice their arm.

[@johnmcjunkin4613]

The sound from the pitches he tossed to the first two batters, during the 1979 MLB ASG, made sort of a strange whistle, as they were thrown. Check them out.

[@user-gz2ob9rp6r]

He could top 100 and pitch late into games. In the 70s most starters went on 3 days rest. Also pitched in the majors for 23 years.

[@jordanhofferman482]

Would be interested in seeing anything on Dalkowski. Guessing lack of video/data makes that a tough one.

[@heathhenderson7765]

The real question is why Nolan could throw that hard for a full career without blowing his arm out? Plenty of pitchers now throw 100+ but end up blowing their arms up at least once.

[@DavidHBurkart]

To me, having watched Nolan Ryan back in his Angel days, I believe his speed waa 108 mph. There were jugs readings of 110 I saw on TV. To this day, I have never seen anyone throw with Ryan's heat. It was the fastest/hardest I have seen to this day.

[@Axle3369]

Now that I watched the whole thing and the side by side, it looks like Ryan’s actually beat it by a foot or close to it! 😮

[@herbertgearing1702]

You can see where building velocity throughout the game would be conducive to racking up no hitters. If everytime you go to the plate the guy is just throwing it past you harder than the last time you might just resign yourself to the idea that you aren't going to hit it. that's a psychological edge and might create opportunities for nonos.

[@danthurman9076]

It easy to determine how fast the pitch is, measure the time it takes to reach home plate after leaving his hand. 60 feet 6 inches to home plate from the pitching rubber.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

It's not since you have no idea where his release point is. Pitchers don't release the ball 60 feet 6 inches from the plate...it's closer than that by 5-7 feet. It depends on stride length etc. And since most Ryan videos are at 30 frames per second or lower quality, getting an exact measurement of when the ball left his hand and hit the glove are next to impossible. So way easier said than done.

[@danthurman9076]

@@PitchingNinjaVideos ok if they can stride that far, I will guess more like 3.5 feet stride. I believe by the rule book the ball must leave the pitchers hand before his foot leaves the pitching rubber ?

[@tomg2304]

In his prime, I would not be surprise he did throw 108 mph, look here when he was nearly 40, blowing fastballs past the WS champs Mets. If he threw that hard at nearly 40( 2 1/2 months away), why would it be unbelievable he could touch 108 when he was younger ? kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYnSp42fpZ2kaas

[@martinbrotherton5153]

He threw an opening game pitch at 85 mph when he was 60 in khakis and a polo shirt and regular shoes ! Case closed 😂😂

[@tylerscofield5706]

Threw 98mph at age 46 with a injured elbow.

[@mitchtoftdahl9607]

I actually own the sign Speed Checked By Radar with the cut in half baseballs that Nolan was holding when his pitched that fast ball in 1974 My friends Grand father developed that radar or gun that the pitch was measured by

[@Mclark112522]

He is the best being able to throw that hard for all those years!

[@jimdavis2385]

I'm amused that the conclusion is Nolan didn't throw 108 because you don't think he did. I guess his 88 mph changeup was probably his fastest pitch. I mean, that gun was accurate at that speed, but can't be trusted when the ball goes quicker than that.

[@ryanlewis6729]

His curveball was crazy af too.........definitely in the top ten best curveball of all times but he threw so damn hard nobody even talks about it......great change up too

[@rocconorth]

The guns used back when Ryan was on the Angels were radar guns...meaning they clocked the ball as it passed through a radar line aimed at home plate. So the ball had time to slow down as it when from his hand to crossing the "line". The guns used for the passed 20 years or so (juggs guns) clock the velocity when it leaves their hand. So a 96mph ball clocked back in the late 70's would be considerable faster using a modern gun. I'm guessing 3 to 4 mph faster.

[@briangattis7708]

Not gonna lie you seem to be a little too skeptical about old methods. I think you are underrating the old timers ability

[@benf1111]

I heard from JR Richard himself that he was once clocked at 107.