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Hicks’ MLB-record 105 mph pitches had teammates stunned (video)
MSN.com ^ | 5/20/2018 | Andrew Joesph

Posted on 05/21/2018 7:19:24 AM PDT by simpson96

Cardinals rookie pitcher Jordan Hicks came as close as humanly possible to throwing literal fireballs against the Phillies on Sunday.

He hit 105 mph with the fastball twice, which tied the MLB mark with Aroldis Chapman for the fastest-recorded pitch. He also broke out 104 mph two other times in his 1.1 innings of work.

The Cardinals dugout couldn't believe what they were watching.

As if the 105 mph heat wasn't crazy enough, Hicks had plenty of movement too. It was ridiculous.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Sports
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To: Dilbert San Diego

Asking. I don’t know. No radar guns yet.


41 posted on 05/21/2018 10:34:47 AM PDT by LS ("Castles made of sand, fall in the sea . . . eventually" (Hendix))
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To: be-baw
"Am I the only one for whom Free Republic has become excruciatingly slow?"

Not here...It's very quick...

In fact, so much so that I often get postings that won't be posted until the day after tomorrow...

42 posted on 05/21/2018 11:05:52 AM PDT by SuperLuminal (Where is another agitator for republicanism like Sam Adams when we need him?)
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To: simpson96
He hit 105 mph with the fastball twice...
Batter: "Ump, did you see that?"
Umpire: "Yep. It was a strike."
Batter: "You sure? It sounded kinda high."
43 posted on 05/21/2018 11:17:26 AM PDT by Bratch ("The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke)
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To: dfwgator

Hats for bats...

:-)

Mark


44 posted on 05/21/2018 11:24:45 AM PDT by MarkL (Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)
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To: Dilbert San Diego

When I played as a kid growing up the faster the pitcher was the more I liked it. If I made decent contact it was going to travel a good piece. I caught a guy on my team in little league and had to use a batting glove and a huge sponge in the catchers mitt and it still hurt at times when he brought the heat.

Watching the pitcher and knowing his tells and stealing signs helps a lot. In later years the guy I caught in little league played on a different team in senior league and we were playing them. I always picked a lighter wooden bat, usually 31-32 inches at the most instead of the aluminum bats.

We had a runner on first and this guy threw a heater high and inside and I swung on it because the guy on first was stealing second and he made it. I knew the next pitch was going to be a breaking ball outside corner and waited and it was a ball. Next up was fastball outside corner of the plate low and away, knew it was coming and turned on it and drove it off the left field fence for a double and RBI.

I was standing on second and he said how did you do that? I said I caught you for a year I knew what was coming. He just grinned and struck out the rest of the side that inning. He later came within a point of making the Pittsburgh Steelers on their depth chart. I hated hitting really slow ball pitchers, messed my timing up.


45 posted on 05/21/2018 12:16:26 PM PDT by sarge83
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To: Grampa Dave

“when he batted right handed”.....Huh? Ted hit from the left side. What am I missing here?


46 posted on 05/21/2018 12:35:23 PM PDT by bobby.223 (Retired up in the snowy Mountains of the American Redoubt and it's a great life!)
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To: be-baw

I believe they see a pattern on the ball that is made by the spin of a particular pitch, not necessarily reading the rotation, per se. I may be wrong though.


47 posted on 05/21/2018 1:18:53 PM PDT by Squeako (You can lead a progressive to water, but can you make him drown?)
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To: Squeako

There are hitters who have said that when they are ‘in the zone’ they can see the seams and make contact between them!

Maybe it is just a pattern, but they certainly believe they see the individual seams.


48 posted on 05/21/2018 1:23:27 PM PDT by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: Squeako

“I believe they see a pattern on the ball that is made by the spin of a particular pitch, not necessarily reading the rotation, per se. I may be wrong though.”

I wouldn’t know. I can’t even drive at night when it’s raining because I can’t see the painted lines in the road.


49 posted on 05/21/2018 2:03:10 PM PDT by be-baw (still seeking...)
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To: bobby.223

Thanks. Ted Williams did bat left handed and did everything else right handed.

Besides being a great athlete, batting left handed and being right handed with a dominant right eye coupled with his at least 20/10 at least vision, he was an incredible batter.

According to Joe Montana, a fairly good pro QB, being left eyed and throwing a football or hitting a golf ball right handed was an advantage as well as batting left handed with a dominant right eye.

https://books.google.com/books?id=mKqZxa_qIIAC&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=ted+williams+cross+dominance+eyesight&source=bl&ots=BFM6Qpmb7g&sig=DTFQzfKKKvALyFjzxdwLnwl1EzM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLupqx8ZfbAhUPHHwKHf-yAjMQ6AEIWDAH#v=onepage&q=ted%20williams%20cross%20dominance%20eyesight&f=false

Thanks again, Dave


50 posted on 05/21/2018 4:10:14 PM PDT by Grampa Dave (Democrats aWare having trouble with their MAMA campaign, (Make America Mexico Again), versus MAGA!)
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To: jjotto

I played catch once with someone who was a pitcher drafted out of college and what surprised me was that I could actually hear the ball coming toward me. It really has a sizzling sound! Quite scary, and I had no interest in doing it again, even though he wasn’t throwing that hard. He could hit mid nineties with a lot of movement. He really threw more “junk” than “gas”.


51 posted on 05/21/2018 6:49:52 PM PDT by Squeako (You can lead a progressive to water, but can you make him drown?)
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To: simpson96

Let’s all remember Steve Dalkowski, perhaps the fastest pitcher ever, but never made the bigs because of his lack of control.

He pitched in the sixties before the radar gun was common. Estimates are that he likely regularly threw in the mid-100’s and sometimes got into the upper 100’s.


52 posted on 05/21/2018 7:42:59 PM PDT by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Still bitterly clinging to rational thought despite it's unfashionability)
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To: Some Fat Guy in L.A.
"Let’s all remember Steve Dalkowski, perhaps the fastest pitcher ever"

Yes. Many stories about him out there.

His contemporaries said he was *way* faster than any other pitcher they had seen.

But he had absolutely no control.

He never made the bigs, and became a terrible alcoholic.

Last I heard he was still alive, but doesn't really remember much of anything any more.

53 posted on 05/22/2018 12:47:44 PM PDT by boop ("I said give me the brandy!")
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To: wardaddy
Thank you for that, I thought that was interesting. Today's speed guns measure at 10 feet from the release point.

Nolan Ryan was measured at 10 feet from the plate

So by today's standards, he would have been at 108mph

When Pete Rose is asked who the most difficult pitcher he faced was, he always says Bob Gibson.

He hit both Gibson and Ryan, so that somewhat surprised me.

Gibson was fast, but no way he was over 100mph.

Gibson was known to be very "intimidating". (His own teammates were scared of him on game days, he was so intense). Glaring at batters and brushing them back, so maybe that is what Rose meant.

Or Gibson threw hard, but had tremendous movement.

if I ever meet Rose, I'll ask him.

54 posted on 05/22/2018 1:25:42 PM PDT by boop ("I said give me the brandy!")
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To: boop

Gibson
Brock
Cepeda
Carlton
Mccarver

Good days of my 10th year

Gibson was accurate


55 posted on 05/22/2018 4:34:02 PM PDT by wardaddy (Reward for young runaway goes by Kanye fancies hisself a poet...if seen contact his overseer@DNC.org)
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