The 22 year old southpaw with a killer arm is being called up by Cincinnati for September, with the intent to unleash him during a drive to the playoffs. We’ve heard of a lot of young sports stars getting their shot at the big leagues, but what makes Aroldis so special is his ability to throw a 105 MPH pitch- combine that with his decidedly limited experience in the majors, and it means that he’s got a hell of a gun that no one has ever seen before. It also means that he could buckle under the pressure or his arm could detach and fly into the stands or something, but we prefer to remain optimistic.
One of the fastest pitches on record (the MLB doesn’t recognize radar gun numbers- don’t ask me how that works), a 107.9 MPH rocket from Bob Feller, was timed with a speeding motorcycle. It may not be scientifically accurate, but it sure is manly. It got us to thinking- what would it be like to hit a ball that fast? In the interest of continuing in the vein of completely valid motorcycle-baseball-velocity-theory, we present you with “A Visual Guide to Hitting a Pitch (Or Other Things Just as Fast) Thrown By Aroldis Chapman.”
I believe the key here is planting the front foot.
