Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- A starting pitcher has rewritten the record books for fastest throw in the pitch-tracking era, and the mark keeps climbing.
- The current record stands just shy of the all-time mark held by relievers for over a decade and a half.
- The race to break 105.9 mph now defines one of baseball's most watched statistical battles this season.
Jacob Misiorowski is doing something that has no precedent in the pitch-tracking era. On June 12 against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers ace threw an atomic four-seamer past Kyle Schwarber for a strikeout — and in the process made some baseball history.
It's been reported in various outlets that Misiorowski's pitch to Schwarber came in at 105 mph. The books have it recorded at 104.5 mph; that detail is important. The Miz went on to throw complete-game shutout against Philly, allowing just one hit with 15 strikeouts over pitches — including three more that cracked 104 mph. This was not a hot gun, or a fluke reading on a single pitch.
Of course, you don't need me to tell you that throwing a baseball over 104 mph is impressive. But looking at the history of baseball's fastest pitches from a starter makes Misiorowski's achievement even more remarkable than you might have thought.
A complete timeline of the fastest pitches in MLB history
The record moved four times before May was over in 2008
The pitch-tracking era began in 2008, when Johan Santana was clocked at 98.8 mph in a start on April 3, 2008. Josh Beckett took the belt two days later at 99.6. Ubaldo Jiménez broke 100 mph on April 8, then broke his own record a week later at 101.1. The first month of pitch tracking saw the record change four times in 12 days before Santana reclaimed it at 101.3 in June and held it for nearly a year.
Justin Verlander held it three times and made 102 feel like a wall
Justin Verlander set the new record in May 2009 at 101.4 before pushing it to 101.7 that September and then to 102.3 in September 2010. He held that last mark for nearly three years. We all felt we had seen the peak performance of a starting pitcher, the upper limit of the human arm. Until ...
Yordano Ventura broke that ceiling and held it for nearly a decade
Yordano Ventura made it look modest. On Sept. 17, 2013, the Kansas City Royal threw 102.6 mph — a mark no other starter was able to touch for nearly nine years. Not deGrom, not Syndergaard, not Cole, not Skenes, not Ohtani. Ventura tragically died in a car accident in January 2017, never knowing how long it would stand.
Jordan Hicks finally cracked it, and held it for almost four years
Jordan Hicks finally topped Ventura's mark on July 12, 2022, throwing 103.2 mph as a Cardinals starter in a home starter against the Dodgers, a sinker to Will Smith in the first inning that fouled off. It was Hicks' last start in St. Louis. He'd wind up holding the record for three years, 10 months and one day.
Then Jacob Misiorowski broke it three times in 35 days
Jacob Misiorowski broke Hicks’ record on May 8, 2026, against the Yankees, checking in at 103.6 mph. That record held for 29 days, until Misiorowski threw a pitch at 103.7 on June 6 against Colorado. Six days later, on June 12, he touched 104.5, and here we are.
Three records in 35 days. While the previous history of baseball's fastest pitches was one of incremental progress, Misiorowski has come along and blown the curve out of the water, proving that there is — and likely has never been — no arm quite like his. His 2026 line in mid-June: 7-2, 1.50 ERA, 0.808 WHIP and a 100.0-mph average four-seam velocity, easily the highest among all starters in baseball. He is 24 years old.
He's in a class of his own, and now there's just one number left to hit.
Who holds the all-time record for the fastest pitch in MLB history?
Of course, up to this point we've just been dealing with starting pitchers. Which makes sense: It's more difficult to hit max velocity when you have to navigate five to seven innings at a time. But Misiorowski has made that difference null and void. Could he possibly have the overall record in his sights?
That mark belongs, unsurprisingly, to Aroldis Chapman, who hit 105.8 mph with the Reds back in September of 2010. That number has stood for 16 years. To break it, one pitch needs to hit 105.9 mph. At some point, if Misiorowski keeps going like this, that becomes the only conversation left to have. There will be no new worlds for him to conquer.
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