Watch: Chapman fires 105.1-mph pitch to match record
One night after Masahiro Tanaka mesmerized the baseball world with his ridiculous pitch, Aroldis Chapman scared it. Twice.
With his name swirling in the trade winds, the Yankees' flamethrowing closer showed teams what they're missing, literally, with a pair of 105 mph fastballs during the ninth inning of Monday's game against the Orioles.
Chapman's first 105-mph pitch - a ball to J.J. Hardy - was officially clocked at 105.1 mph, matching the record he set in 2010 as the hardest pitch ever recorded by PITCHfx and Statcast.
Chapman vs. Hardy
| Pitch | Strike/Ball | MPH |
|---|---|---|
| Fastball | Strike | 101 |
| Fastball | Strike | 101 |
| Slider | Foul | 93 |
| Fastball | Foul | 104 |
| Fastball | Ball | 103 |
| Fastball | Ball | 105 |
| Slider | Flyout | 91 |
Two batters later, Chapman exploded Ryan Flaherty's bat with another 105-mph pitch to end the game. All told, Chapman threw the five fastest pitches ever recorded by Statcast on Monday (not including the pitch in 2010). Via MLB.com:
| Velocity | Batter | Pitch number |
|---|---|---|
| 105.1 | J.J. Hardy | 6 |
| 104.9 | Ryan Flaherty | 4 |
| 104.4 | Nolan Reimold | 1 |
| 104.3 | Ryan Flaherty | 3 |
| 104 | J.J. Hardy | 5 |
Entering Monday, Chapman, who has his own velocity leaderboard filter on MLB.com, owned the eight fastest pitches of the year and 20 of the top 23.
(Video courtesy: MLB.com)