It was only a little less than a month ago that reports surfaced about Aroldis Chapman unleashing a 105-mph fastball during an appearance with Triple-A Louisville. Many doubted the legitimacy of the gun at the time -- and rightfully so -- after all, we usually need to see these types of things to actually believe them.
Well, we can all believe now.
Chapman made history in last night’s loss to the Padres by throwing a 105-mph fastball. Check it out here.
As Steve Henson of Yahoo! Sports tells us, it was the fastest pitch ever recorded in a major league game. The previous record was held by Joel Zumaya, who threw a 104.8-mph fastball during a playoff game on October 10, 2006. Chapman’s pitch actually topped out at 105.1 mph, according to Brooks Baseball.
Chapman threw 25 pitches in total last night, all of them over 100 mph. In perhaps the most entertaining matchup of the night, Chapman got Adrian Gonzalez to swing-and-miss on three consecutive pitches in the bottom of the seventh inning that reached 102 mph, 102 mph and 103 mph. In addition to his history-making heater, the southpaw touched 104 mph on three occasions.
Here’s what opposing manager Bud Black told Dan Hayes of the North County Times after the jaw-dropping performance.
As for any doubts about the validity of the readings, Corey Brock, who covers the Padres for MLB.com, was told everything was on the up-and-up at PETCO.
Okay, one final stat to blow you away. According to Gina Mizell of MLB.com, of the 159 pitches Chapman has thrown in the major leagues thus far, 74 of them have reached at least 100 mph. All you can really say is “wow.”